Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Cigarette Smoke Condensate and Nicotine on Periodontal Tissue in a Periodontitis Model Mouse

Cigarette smoking is a major lifestyle-related risk factor for periodontal diseases. However, the pathophysiological role of cigarette smoking in periodontal disease has yet to be fully elucidated. Here we report that the systemic administration of cigarette smoke condensate or nicotine, which is the major ingredient of cigarette smoke, augmented alveolar bone loss. Concomitantly, the number of osteoclasts in periodontal tissues increased and the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand was upregulated at the ligated side in mice with periodontitis. Nicotine also attenuated alveolar bone repair after ligature removal. These observations highlight the destruction of periodontal tissue by smoking and the unfavorable clinical course of periodontal disease in patients with a cigarette smoking habit. The present study demonstrates that periodontal disease models are useful for elucidating the pathogenesis of cigarette smoking-related periodontal diseases.
The Impact of non-Intellectual Variables on the Academic Success of Business Students

The study investigated the impact of non-intellectual variables such as demographics, personality, and behavior as predictors of academic success for students who are early in their undergraduate career and students who are late in their undergraduate career. After controlling for intellect, non-intellectual variables explained between 16% and 23% of the variance in academic success of 269 business students. While student motivation was a significant predictor of academic success, behavioral variables such as time spent at work or time spent on studying did not show expected relationships with academic success. Implications for marketing education and direction for future research are also discussed.
Risikoverhalten bei Aktiengeschäften

Zusammenfassung: Verschiedene Studien lassen vermuten, dass Urteile nicht nur durch die verfugbaren Vor- und Nachteile eines Urteilsgegenstands beeinflusst sind, sondern auch von der Leichtigkeit, mit der diese Informationen generiert werden. In Studie 1 wurde diese Uberlegung auf die Beurteilung von Aktienfonds angewendet. Eine Voruntersuchung hatte gezeigt, dass das Auflisten von einem Vor- oder Nachteil von Aktienfonds mit wenig, das Auflisten von mehr als einem Vor- oder Nachteil jedoch mit erhohten Schwierigkeiten verbunden war. Teilnehmer sollten daher entweder ein oder drei Vor- oder Nachteile von Aktienfonds mit hohen Wertschwankungen nennen. Bei der Auflistung von einem Argument zeigte sich der Inhalt als bedeutsam. Wurde ein Vorteil von Fonds mit hohen Wertschwankungen genannt, so wurden diese Fonds positiver beurteilt als bei der Nennung eines Nachteils. Die Generierung von drei Argumenten verstarkte diesen Effekt allerdings nicht. Vielmehr war die Nennung von drei Vorteilen mit einer ungunstig.
Thyroid cancer profile in Mures County (Romania): a 20 years study.

UNLABELLED The aim of the present study was to present data on frequency of thyroid cancer in Mures County (Romania) and border counties, a goiter endemic area, and to analyze its histopathological characteristics, over a 20 years period (1990-2009). MATERIALS AND METHODS Demographic, clinical and pathological data were obtained from database registries. Histological subtypes of thyroid cancer were classified according to the WHO criteria (sixth edition, 2004) in the following categories: papillary thyroid carcinoma with its histological subtypes, follicular thyroid carcinoma, poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma, undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma, medullary carcinoma, lymphoma, metastatic tumors. RESULTS Our analyze included 524 cases of thyroid cancer of the 3460 surgical thyroid specimens resected between 1990-2009: 410 (78.2%) cases of papillary carcinoma, 19 (3.6%) cases of follicular carcinoma, 24 (4.6%) cases of poorly differentiated carcinoma, 33 (6.3%) cases of undifferentiated carcinoma, 22 (4.1%) medullary carcinomas, eight (1.6%) lymphomas, and eight (1.6%) metastatic tumors. Papillary thyroid carcinoma is the most common histological form (78%) and an increasing incidence of this form was observed. A statistical significant increase in the incidence of the follicular variant of papillary carcinoma was noticed between 2000-2009, compared to 1990-2000. An increased incidence of small tumors was also found (6.66%, 1990-1999 vs. 23.5%, 2000-2009). The undifferentiated thyroid cancer had a marked decreasing trend (20%, 1990-1999 vs. 3.45%, 2000-2009). CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates an increasing trend in the incidence of thyroid cancer in the last 20 years. This increase is mainly due to the small papillary cancers, by contrast to the undifferentiated thyroid cancers that have a decreasing trend. A better understanding and description of the morphological criteria could explained the increasing incidence of the follicular variant of papillary carcinoma.
Bias in phylogenetic estimation and its relevance to the choice between parsimony and likelihood methods.

DAVID L. SWOFFORD,1,6 PETER J. WADDELL,2 JOHN P. HUELSENBECK,3 PETER G. FOSTER,1,7 PAUL O. LEWIS,4 AND JAMES S. ROGERS5 Laboratory of Molecular Systematics, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center, 4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland 20746, USA; E-mail: swofford@lms.si. edu Institute of Molecular BioSciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand; E-mail: waddell@onyx.si. edu Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA; E-mail: johnh@brahms.biology. rochester.edu Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Connecticut, U-43, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-30437 , USA; E-mail: plewis@uconnvm.uconn. edu Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, USA; E-mail: jsrogers@uno.edu
Effects of M‐current modulators on the excitability of immature rat spinal sensory and motor neurones

M‐currents have been shown to control neuronal excitability in a variety of central and peripheral neurones. Here we studied the effects of specific M‐current modulators on the excitability of spinal neurones and their response to synaptic activation. Experiments were performed in vitro using the hemisected spinal cord from 7‐ to 11‐day‐old rats. Intracellular recordings were obtained from lumbar deep dorsal horn and motor neurones. Neuronal excitability was assessed by applying outward current pulses and synaptic responses were elicited by activation of a lumbar dorsal root. The M‐current antagonist 10,10‐bis(4‐pyridinylmethyl)‐9(10H)‐anthracenone (XE‐991) and the agonist retigabine were superfused at 10 µm. Retigabine produced hyperpolarization and a large decrease in the excitability of motor (7/7) and dorsal horn neurones (11/12). The effects of retigabine were fully reversed by XE‐991. XE‐991 induced depolarization of most neurones tested and a large increase in the excitability of motor neurones (7/7) but only a weak increase in the excitability of a proportion of dorsal horn neurones (4/10). The effects of XE‐991 were partly reversed by retigabine. Consistent with their effects on neuronal excitability, retigabine showed a general depressant effect on synaptic transmission, whereas XE‐991 showed the opposite tendency to potentiate responses to dorsal root stimulation, particularly in motor neurones. The results show that retigabine can depress spinal excitability and the transmission of nociceptive information. Results also indicate a post‐synaptic expression of functional M‐currents in most motor neurones and a considerable proportion of deep dorsal horn neurones.
Validação da Versão Brasileira da Escala ISMI Adaptada para Dependentes de Substâncias

Esse estudo teve como objetivo validar a escala Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness – ISMI adaptada para dependentes de substâncias psicoativas, no Brasil. Metodo: a pesquisa foi conduzida com uma amostra de 299 dependentes de substâncias. Resultados: O valor do alfa de Cronbach do escore total foi de 0,83 e o Coeficiente Spearman-Brown de 0,76. A validade de constructo, estimada pela Analise Fatorial Exploratoria de Maxima Verossimilhanca, demonstrou correlacao estatisticamente significativa (p<0,01) entre a ISMI e as escalas CES-D (r=0,47), Escala de Esperanca de Herth (r=-0,19) e Escala de Auto-estima de Rosenberg (r=-0,48). Discussao: A versao brasileira da ISMI demonstrou propriedades psicometricas satisfatorias e promete ser um instrumento util para mensurar estigma internalizado entre dependentes de substâncias.
Beyond the Pales of Babylon: The Ideational Components and Social Psychological Foundations of Rastafari

While resource mobilization theory has been the dominant paradigm for the study of social movements in the last several decades, critics contend that it is flawed because it glosses over the role of ideational elements in the development of such collective ventures. As a corrective to the weaknesses of this approach, we utilize a recently developed social psychological framework derived from the social constructionist perspective and the new social movement literature to examine a non-western social movement primarily located in the Caribbean, Rastafari. Concepts used to analyze the Rastafari include social movement community, framing, and collective identity. In directing attention to the symbolic beliefs and informal social processes of this group, we suggest that both political and religious motivations shape the Rastafarians' perceptions of the dominant order which they oppose (i.e., Babylon). Attention is also directed to the Rastafarians' ability to refashion their language and interpretations of the world. This study, we argue, is significant because it contributes to international, historical, and/or comparative research of collective enterprises, which is essential to a more comprehensive understanding of social movements.
Existe-t-il un modèle universel des structures d'organisation ?

Le detour n'est qu'apparent entre le theme des conditions de travail et celui des structures d'organisation de l'entreprise, si l'on admet avec les auteurs la commune reference de Max Weber et de Taylor a la theorie rationaliste qui sous-tend la recherche du «one best way». N'est-ce pas d'ailleurs cette meme theorie qui fonde l'universalite des modeles d'organisation des etudes dont M. Brossard et M. Maurice montrent les limites, proposant de situer l'entreprise dans la societe, pour mieux saisir les effets de chaque societe sur son organisation ?
Design and Analysis of Benchmarking Experiments for Distributed Internet Services

The successful development and deployment of large-scale Internet services depends critically on performance. Even small regressions in processing time can translate directly into significant energy and user experience costs. Despite the widespread use of distributed server infrastructure (e.g., in cloud computing and Web services), there is little research on how to benchmark such systems to obtain valid and precise inferences with minimal data collection costs. Correctly A/B testing distributed Internet services can be surprisingly difficult because interdependencies between user requests (e.g., for search results, social media streams, photos) and host servers violate assumptions required by standard statistical tests. We develop statistical models of distributed Internet service performance based on data from Perflab, a production system used at Facebook which vets thousands of changes to the company's codebase each day. We show how these models can be used to understand the tradeoffs between different benchmarking routines, and what factors must be taken into account when performing statistical tests. Using simulations and empirical data from Perflab, we validate our theoretical results, and provide easy-to-implement guidelines for designing and analyzing such benchmarks.
Curcumin-containing diet inhibits diethylnitrosamine-induced murine hepatocarcinogenesis.

Curcumin has been widely used as a spice and coloring agent in foods. Recently, curcumin was found to possess chemopreventive effects against skin cancer, forestomach cancer, colon cancer and oral cancer in mice. Clinical trials of curcumin for prevention of human cancers are currently ongoing. In this study, we examine the chemopreventive effect of curcumin on murine hepatocarcinogenesis. C3H/HeN mice were injected i.p. with N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN) at the age of 5 weeks. The curcumin group started eating 0.2% curcumin-containing diet 4 days before DEN injection until death. The mice were then serially killed at the scheduled times to examine the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and changes in intermediate biological markers. At the age of 42 weeks, the curcumin group, as compared with the control group (DEN alone), had an 81% reduction in multiplicity (0.5 versus 2.57) and a 62% reduction in incidence (38 versus 100%) of development of HCC. A series of intermediate biological markers were examined by western blot. While hepatic tissues obtained from the DEN-treated mice showed a remarkable increase in the levels of p21(ras), PCNA and CDC2 proteins, eating a curcumin-containing diet reversed the levels to normal values. These results indicate that curcumin effectively inhibits DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in the mouse. The underlying mechanisms of the phenomenon and the feasibility of using curcumin in the chemoprevention of human HCC should be further explored.
Enhanced and prolonged cross‐presentation following endosomal escape of exogenous antigens encapsulated in biodegradable nanoparticles

CD8+ T‐cell responses are critical in the immunological control of tumours and infectious diseases. To prime CD8+ T cells against these cell‐associated antigens, exogenous antigens must be cross‐presented by professional antigen‐presenting cells (APCs). While cross‐presentation of soluble antigens by dendritic cells is detectable in vivo, the efficiency is low, limiting the clinical utility of protein‐based vaccinations. To enhance the efficiency of presentation, we generated nanoparticles from a biodegradable polymer, poly(d,l‐lactide‐co‐glycolide) (PLGA), to deliver antigen into the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigen presentation pathway. In primary mouse bone marrow‐derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), the MHC class I presentation of PLGA‐encapsulated ovalbumin (OVA) stimulated T cell interleukin‐2 secretion at 1000‐fold lower concentration than soluble antigen and 10‐fold lower than antigen‐coated latex beads. The microparticles also served as an intracellular antigen reservoir, leading to sustained MHC class I presentation of OVA for 72 hr, decreasing by only 20% after 96 hr, a time at which the presentation of soluble and latex bead‐associated antigens was undetectable. Cytosol extraction demonstrated that antigen delivery via PLGA particles increased the amount of protein that escaped from endosomes into the cytoplasm, thereby increasing the access of exogenous antigen to the classic MHC class I loading pathway. These data indicate that the unique properties of PLGA particle‐mediated antigen delivery dramatically enhance and sustain exogenous antigen presentation by MHC class I, potentially facilitating the clinical use of these particles in vaccination.
Using Facebook-based e-portfolio in ESL writing classrooms: impact and challenges

In English as a second language (ESL) writing pedagogy, much attention has been given to electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) assessment via social networking sites. However, little is known about how Facebook can be used as an e-portfolio platform. Hence, this paper describes the impact of Facebook-based e-portfolio on ESL students’ writing practices and the challenges they encountered in implementing this type of e-portfolio. For this purpose, 171 first-year university students completed a 15-item self-report questionnaire and provided details on the problems they encountered during the e-portfolio implementation. Results indicate that Facebook-based e-portfolio had a positive impact on students’ writing practices, making it a viable tool for e-portfolio assessment. Nevertheless, some challenges and suggestions for future implementation were reported. The paper concludes with implications for writing assessment practices and future studies.
Der Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS) – Entwicklung und Validierung von Schwellenwerten zur Klassifikation

Zusammenfassung Anliegen: Es sollen Schwellenwerte für die Klassifikation von Vernachlässigung und Missbrauch mithilfe des CTS entwickelt und validiert werden. Methodik: Auf Basis zweier Bevölkerungsstudien werden Schwellenwerte bestimmt und anhand des Außenkriteriums Depression validiert. Ergebnisse: Die bestimmten Schwellenwerte differenzieren gut hinsichtlich der Häufigkeit von Depressionen, und zeigen mit Ausnahme der Dimension „körperliche Vernachlässigung“ gute bis sehr gute Sensitivitäten und Spezifitäten zum Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Schlussfolgerung: Die Schwellenwerte unterstützen die Nutzung des CTS zur kategorialen Diagnostik.
Active Harmonic Reduction for 12-Pulse Diode Bridge Rectifier at DC Side With Two-Stage Auxiliary Circuit

A 12-pulse diode bridge rectifier is often used in high-power rectification. However, the total harmonic distortion (THD) of input line current in 12-pulse rectifier does not meet the IEEE-519 standard. In order to reduce the harmonics to an acceptable level, we use a two-stage auxiliary circuit at dc side of the 12-pulse rectifier to eliminate harmonics actively. The effect of the auxiliary circuit's parameter on the system performance is analyzed first, which indicates the necessity of applying two-stage auxiliary circuit. The front-stage auxiliary circuit plays a role in producing circulating current to cancel harmonics, and the back stage adjusts the output voltage of the front stage and feeds the power absorbed by the front stage to load in accordance with load current and input voltage of 12-pulse rectifier. Besides the good performance in harmonic elimination, the proposed auxiliary circuit has low kilovolt ampere rating.
Study and analysis of power quality for an electric power distribution system — Case study: Moscow region

In this paper, a case-study analysis of radial distribution system of Moscow region is presented. This is a part of a research project on Moscow region in Russia. The purpose of this project is to improve the power quality of an important radial distribution system of Moscow region by measuring and analysis the data of the system; and then solving the problems of power quality in this system. This paper shows the practical measurement and analysis of the radial distribution system, which has important loads with high power quality disturbances. In this study, a study and analysis of voltage profile disturbances considering over and under voltage has been provided as power quality disturbance. In addition, the voltage drops and power losses are calculated during simulation. Also, suggestions of a suitable solution to mitigate these problems have been discussed. The power distribution system has been modeled in order to simulation modeling and analysis using Matlab/Simulink.
The significance of IgM antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen in hepatitis B carriers and hepatitis B‐associated chronic liver disease

IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (IgM anti‐HBc) was determined in 60 patients whose serum was positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and 18 patients whose serum was negative for HBsAg, but positive for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti‐HBc). Two radioimmunoassays were done utilizing either anti‐u antibody to capture IgM or Staphylococcus A protein to separate IgG and IgM. Both methods failed to detect IgM anti‐HBc in 30 healthy carriers, 5 HBsAg‐positive cirrhotics, 2 patients with HBsAg‐positive hepatocellular carcinoma, and 18 HBsAg‐negative anti‐HBc‐positive patients. IgM anti‐HBc was present in all 4 patients with acute hepatitis B and in 4 of 8 patients with HBsAg‐positive chronic active hepatitis. In patients with chronic active hepatitis, IgM anti‐HBc was positive in those with the most intense infiltrate of mononuclear cells on liver biopsy. There was no correlation with the presence of hepatitis B e antigen or anti‐HBe. Three of 11 patients with HBsAg‐positive chronic persistent hepatitis were intermittently positive by the Staphylococcus A method but all were negative by the u‐capture method when a low sensitivity cutoff was employed. The sensitivity of the test can be adjusted at will by the manufacturers and, therefore, introduction of interchangeable controls and standards will enable clinical application of this testing system with meaningful results.
The Intersection of Victim Race and Gender

Previous research on race and the death penalty has shown that victim race is a significant predictor of whether a jury imposes a death sentence. However, less attention has been given to the effects of victim gender and to the combined effects of victim race and gender. With a growing scholarly interest in intersectionality, it is crucial to consider the interaction effect of victim race and gender on death sentencing outcomes. Data from the Capital Jury Project were used to examine whether the intersection of victim race and gender is associated with an increased odds of defendants receiving a death sentence and whether a “White female victim effect” exists. This study instead reveals a significant “Black male victim” effect. Black male victim cases are the least likely to be perceived by jurors as involving brutality, heinousness, and victim suffering. Results indicate that a defendant’s odds of receiving a death sentence in a White female victim case is 3.8 times greater and 3.6 times greater in a White male victim case than in a Black male victim case. Victim race rather than victim gender appears to be the factor most strongly influencing jury decision making in capital cases.
3D spectroscopy of merger Seyfert galaxy Mrk 334: nuclear starburst, superwind and the circumnuclear cavern

We are presenting new results on kinematics and structure of the Mrk 334 Seyfert galaxy. Panoramic (3D) spectroscopy is performed at the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences using the integral-field Multi-Pupil Fiber Spectrograph (MPFS) and scanning Fabry―Perot interferometer. The deep images have revealed that Mrk 334 is observed during the final stage of its merging with a massive companion. A possible mass ratio ranges from 1/5 to 1/3. The merger has triggered mass redistribution in the disc resulting in an intensification of nuclear activity and in a burst of star formation in the inner region of the galaxy. The circumnuclear starburst is so intense that its contribution to the gas ionization exceeds that contribution of the active galactic nuclei (AGN). We interpret the nuclear gas outflow with velocities of ∼200 km s ―1 as a galactic superwind that accompanies the violent star formation. This suggestion is consistent with the asymmetric X-ray brightness distribution in Mrk 334. The trajectory of the fragments of the disrupted satellite in the vicinity of the main galaxy nucleus can be traced. In the galaxy disc, a cavern is found that is filled with a low-density ionized gas. We consider this region to be the place where the remnants of the companion have recently penetrated through the gaseous disc of the main galaxy.