Consultant Oral Consultant Dental Surgeon

Bio: Consultant Oral Consultant Dental Surgeon is an academic researcher. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 748 citations.

Facebook photo activity associated with body image disturbance in adolescent girls.

Abstract: The present study examined the relationship between body image and adolescent girls' activity on the social networking site (SNS) Facebook (FB). Research has shown that elevated Internet “appearance exposure” is positively correlated with increased body image disturbance among adolescent girls, and there is a particularly strong association with FB use. The present study sought to replicate and extend upon these findings by identifying the specific FB features that correlate with body image disturbance in adolescent girls. A total of 103 middle and high school females completed questionnaire measures of total FB use, specific FB feature use, weight dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, thin ideal internalization, appearance comparison, and self-objectification. An appearance exposure score was calculated based on subjects' use of FB photo applications relative to total FB use. Elevated appearance exposure, but not overall FB usage, was significantly correlated with weight dissatisfaction, drive fo...

Quantification of ligand bias for clinically relevant β2-adrenergic receptor ligands: implications for drug taxonomy.

Abstract: The concepts of functional selectivity and ligand bias are becoming increasingly appreciated in modern drug discovery programs, necessitating more informed approaches to compound classification and, ultimately, therapeutic candidate selection. Using the β2-adrenergic receptor as a model, we present a proof of concept study that assessed the bias of 19 β-adrenergic ligands, including many clinically used compounds, across four pathways [cAMP production, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) activation, calcium mobilization, and receptor endocytosis] in the same cell background (human embryonic kidney 293S cells). Efficacy-based clustering placed the ligands into five distinct groups with respect to signaling signatures. In some cases, apparent functional selectivity originated from off-target effects on other endogenously expressed adrenergic receptors, highlighting the importance of thoroughly assessing selectivity of the responses before concluding receptor-specific ligand-biased signaling. Eliminating the nonselective compounds did not change the clustering of the 10 remaining compounds. Some ligands exhibited large differences in potency for the different pathways, suggesting that the nature of the receptor-effector complexes influences the relative affinity of the compounds for specific receptor conformations. Calculation of relative effectiveness (within pathway) and bias factors (between pathways) for each of the compounds, using an operational model of agonism, revealed a global signaling signature for all of the compounds relative to isoproterenol. Most compounds were biased toward ERK1/2 activation over the other pathways, consistent with the notion that many proximal effectors converge on this pathway. Overall, we demonstrate a higher level of ligand texture than previously anticipated, opening perspectives for the establishment of pluridimensional correlations between signaling profiles, drug classification, therapeutic efficacy, and safety.

The Effect of Host Star Spectral Energy Distribution and Ice-Albedo Feedback on the Climate of Extrasolar Planets

Abstract: Planetary climate can be affected by the interaction of the host star spectral energy distribution with the wavelength-dependent reflectivity of ice and snow. In this study, we explored this effect with a one-dimensional (1-D), line-by-line, radiative transfer model to calculate broadband planetary albedos as input to a seasonally varying, 1-D energy balance climate model. A three-dimensional (3-D) general circulation model was also used to explore the atmosphere's response to changes in incoming stellar radiation, or instellation, and surface albedo. Using this hierarchy of models, we simulated planets covered by ocean, land, and water-ice of varying grain size, with incident radiation from stars of different spectral types. Terrestrial planets orbiting stars with higher near-UV radiation exhibited a stronger ice-albedo feedback. We found that ice extent was much greater on a planet orbiting an F-dwarf star than on a planet orbiting a G-dwarf star at an equivalent flux distance, and that ice-cov...

Acute gastroenteritis surveillance through the National Outbreak Reporting System, United States.

Abstract: Implemented in 2009, the National Outbreak Reporting System provides surveillance for acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United States resulting from any transmission mode. Data from the first 2 years of surveillance highlight the predominant role of norovirus. The pathogen-specific transmission pathways and exposure settings identified can help inform prevention efforts.

Classification of normal/abnormal heart sound recordings: The PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2016

Abstract: In the past few decades heart sound signals (i.e., phono-cardiograms or PCGs) have been widely studied. Automated heart sound segmentation and classification techniques have the potential to screen for pathologies in a variety of clinical applications. However, comparative analyses of algorithms in the literature have been hindered by the lack of a large and open database of heart sound recordings. The PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology (CinC) Challenge 2016 addresses this issue by assembling the largest public heart sound database, aggregated from eight sources obtained by seven independent research groups around the world. The database includes 4,430 recordings taken from 1,072 subjects, totalling 233,512 heart sounds collected from both healthy subjects and patients with a variety of conditions such as heart valve disease and coronary artery disease. These recordings were collected using heterogeneous equipment in both clinical and nonclinical (such as in-home visits). The length of recording varied from several seconds to several minutes. Additional data provided include subject demographics (age and gender), recording information (number per patient, body location, and length of recording), synchronously recorded signals (such as ECG), sampling frequency and sensor type used. Participants were asked to classify recordings as normal, abnormal, or not possible to evaluate (noisy/uncertain). The overall score for an entry was based on a weighted sensitivity and specificity score with respect to manual expert annotations. A brief description of a baseline classification method is provided, including a description of open source code, which has been provided in association with the Challenge. The open source code provided a score of 0.71 (Se=0.65 Sp=0.76). During the official phase of the competition, a total of 48 teams submitted 348 open source entries, with a highest score of 0.86 (Se=0.94 Sp=0.78).