Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SEXUAL FUNCTION IN MEN WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Background: Sexual dysfunction is one of the most common complications of diabetes in men because of several factors including neurological, endocrine, vascular and psychological factors due to the use of medication or a combined effect of some of these factors. Male sexual dysfunction in diabetics may include erectile dysfunction (ED), ejaculatory problems and libido disorders. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in type 2diabetic men in addition to evaluate the association of effective and associated factors in these patients. Method and result: In this cross-sectional study, 101 diabetic men visiting Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Qom, Iran were evaluated. The Participants enrolled the study consecutively from November 2011 to March 2012. The 5 items form of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) was used to measure sexual dysfunction in men. The mean age of 46.65±5.39 years were evaluated. With the mean duration of 7.39±5.29 years. Of these men, 52(51.5%) had sexual dysfunction. The mean age of patients, diabetes duration, BMI, The mean HBA1c level were not statistically significant in both groups but a significance association was found between albuminuria and sexual dysfunction (p<0.001). retinopathy and diabetic neuropathy with sexual dysfunction (p=0.04 and p=0.02 respectively). Also was no statistically significant different between SD and hypertension (p=0.29). Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction is a common complication in diabetic men and should be considered by physicians. A significant association was found between erectile dysfunction and diabetic microvascular complications including nephropathy, retinopathy and neuropathy but sexual dysfunction was not associated with hypertension and coronary artery diseases.
DOWEL ACTION OF REINFORCEMENT CROSSING CRACKS IN CONCRETE

THIS PAPER DESCRIBES TESTS ON THE DOWEL ACTION OF STEEL CROSSING ARTIFICIAL CRACKS IN REINFORCED CONCRETE. THEORETICAL RELATIONSHIPS OBTAINED BY ANALYZING THE TEST RESULTS HAVE BEEN COMPARED TO THE ACTUAL TEST VALUES. /AUTHOR/
Management of Root Resorption Using Chemical Agents: A Review

Root resorption (RR) is defined as the loss of dental hard tissues because of clastic activity inside or outside of tooth the root. In the permanent dentition, RR is a pathologic event; if untreated, it might result in the premature loss of the affected tooth. Several hypotheses have been suggested as the mechanisms of root resorption such as absence of the remnants of Hertwig's epithelial root sheath (HERS) and the absence of some intrinsic factors in cementum and predentin such as amelogenin or osteoprotegerin (OPG). It seems that a barrier is formed by the less-calcified intermediate cementum or the cementodentin junction that prevents external RR. There are several chemical strategies to manage root resorption. The purpose of this paper was to review several chemical agents to manage RR such as tetracycline, sodium hypochlorite, acids (citric acid, phosphoric acid, ascorbic acid and hydrochloric acid), acetazolamide, calcitonin, alendronate, fluoride, Ledermix and Emdogain.
Effects of age and physical fitness on microcirculatory function.

Sedentary aging is associated with endothelial dysfunction and nitric oxide (NO) impairment. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of regular physical exercise on nitrite/nitrate (NOx) concentrations and microcirculatory function in older men compared with young individuals. We measured NOx plasma concentrations and baseline and stimulated skin blood flow (SBF) by laser Doppler flowmetry in 39 male athletes [range, 22-72 years; maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), 60.0 +/- 4.7 ml.min(-1). kg of body weight(-1) (mean +/- S.D.)] and 45 age- and sex-matched sedentary controls (VO2max, 38.0 +/- 7.1 ml.min(-1). kg of body weight(-1)). NOx concentrations were higher in athletes than in controls (50.4 +/- 16.3 compared with 39.0 +/- 15.4 micromol/l; P<0.005), whereas baseline SBF was comparable. Hand SBF after heating and ischaemia and foot SBF after heating were higher in athletes (P<0.0001) than in controls. By comparing the lowest and the highest tertile of age, sedentary young subjects had higher NOx concentrations than sedentary older subjects (43.3 +/- 13.4 compared with 31.8 +/- 12.2 micromol/l respectively; P<0.05). Exercise abolished this difference (49.1 +/- 9.6 micromol/l for young subjects and 52.1 +/- 11.5 micromol/l for older subjects; not significant). Resting SBF was similar in all the subgroups, but stimulated SBFs were lower in both subgroups of untrained compared with trained subjects. NOx concentrations were positively correlated with VO2max (r=0.46, P<0.001). Stimulated SBFs were correlated with NOx (r>0.30, P<0.05). These findings show that chronic exercise may improve endothelial function in older (and young) men, probably by increasing NO availability.
The influence of nano-SiO2 particle size on dilatant effect of shear thickening fluids

Recently, the shear thickening phenomenon has drawn the attention of many researchers. The ability of shear thickening fluid to resist operative force creates a possibility of applying this kind of material wherever there is a necessity to dampen and disperse energy. Therefore, dilatant slurries have found their application in dampers, devices that protect buildings against seismic shocks or military applications in so called “liquid armor”. A great deal of research has focused on investigation of the mechanism and influence of parameters such as volume fraction, polydispersity and medium viscosity of the dilatant effect, however, some fields are still unexplored. In this work, the influence of nanosilica particle size on the dilatant effect of shear thickening fluids was investigated. For the tests, nanosilica with diameters of 7 and 200 nm was chosen. The suspension was prepared by dispersing the nanosilica into poly (propylene glycol) of a molecular weight of 400 g/mol. The concentration of the ceramic powder varied from 12 to 30 vol.%. The influence of the particle size on the dilatant effect was observed by a rotational rheometer Kinexus Pro with a plate-plate system. In this case, viscosity as a function of shear rate was measured. The shear rate increased from 1 to 1000 s. The measurement showed that the diameter of silica particles has a significant influence on the rheological properties of the investigated suspensions. With an increase in particle size the dilatant effect increases. However, its position is shifted to a lower shear rate. The maximum volume fraction and relative viscosity of the suspension also was examined. The measurements showed that with increasing particle size, the relative viscosity of the suspension decreases, which result in an increase in the maximum volume fraction of nano-SiO2.
Chinese Dependency Parsing with Large Scale Automatically Constructed Case Structures

This paper proposes an approach using large scale case structures, which are automatically constructed from both a small tagged corpus and a large raw corpus, to improve Chinese dependency parsing. The case structure proposed in this paper has two characteristics: (1) it relaxes the predicate of a case structure to be all types of words which behaves as a head; (2) it is not categorized by semantic roles but marked by the neighboring modifiers attached to a head. Experimental results based on Penn Chinese Treebank show the proposed approach achieved 87.26% on unlabeled attachment score, which significantly outperformed the baseline parser without using case structures.
Degradation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene by P. aeruginosa and characterization of some metabolites

Degradation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), a nitroaromatic explosive found in the soil and ground water, was investigated using Pseudomonas aeruginosa in in vitro experiments . Biodegradable abilitiy of this bacteria was performed with 50 and 75 mg L −1 TNT concentrations in a defined liquid medium for 96 h time period. Treatment of TNT in supernatant samples taken at 0, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h from agitated vessels was followed by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In cultures supplemented with 50 and 75 mgL −1 TNT, after 96 h of incubation 46% and 59% reduction were detected respectively. Two metabolites as degradation intermediates with nitrite release into the medium, 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) and 4-aminodinitrotoluene (4-ADNT), were elucidated by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). These findings clearly indicate that Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be used in bioremediation of TNT contaminated sites.
Ethanol Production by Selected Intestinal Microorganisms and Lactic Acid Bacteria Growing under Different Nutritional Conditions

To gain some specific insight into the roles microorganisms might play in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), some intestinal and lactic acid bacteria and one yeast (Anaerostipes caccae, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus fecalis, Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus plantarum, Weissella confusa, Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were characterized by high performance liquid chromatography for production of ethanol when grown on different carbohydrates: hexoses (glucose and fructose), pentoses (arabinose and ribose), disaccharides (lactose and lactulose), and inulin. Highest amounts of ethanol were produced by S. cerevisiae, L. fermentum, and W. confusa on glucose and by S. cerevisiae and W. confusa on fructose. Due to mannitol-dehydrogenase expressed in L. fermentum, ethanol production on fructose was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced. Pyruvate and citrate, two potential electron acceptors for regeneration of NAD+/NADP+, drastically reduced ethanol production with acetate produced instead in L. fermentum grown on glucose and W. confusa grown on glucose and fructose, respectively. In fecal slurries prepared from feces of four overweight volunteers, ethanol was found to be produced upon addition of fructose. Addition of A. caccae, L. acidophilus, L. fermentum, as well as citrate and pyruvate, respectively, abolished ethanol production. However, addition of W. confusa resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) increased production of ethanol. These results indicate that microorganisms like W. confusa, a hetero-fermentative, mannitol-dehydrogenase negative lactic acid bacterium, may promote NAFLD through ethanol produced from sugar fermentation, while other intestinal bacteria and homo- and hetero-fermentative but mannitol-dehydrogenase positive lactic acid bacteria may not promote NAFLD. Also, our studies indicate that dietary factors interfering with gastrointestinal microbiota and microbial metabolism may be important in preventing or promoting NAFLD.
Experimental Determination of Effective Diffusion Parameters in the Matrix of Fractured Till

Diffusion is often the dominant mode of solute transport in soils when advection is minimal. This paper describes the application of a radial diffusion cell method to estimate the effective diffusion coefficient (De) and effective diffusive porosity (θDe) for use in solute transport models for fractured‐porous media. Twenty‐four experiments were conducted for 28 d using three conservative solutes (Br, PFBA, and PIPES) on eight late Wisconsinan and Pre‐Illinoian till samples from Iowa. The mean value of the total porosity (θT) of the till samples was 30.0%. Concentrations of the three tracers in the reservoir decreased with time and eventually approached equilibrium concentrations. A model simulated the observed concentration data and the modified goodness‐of‐fit (d1) values ranged from 0.878 to 0.950. Mean values of θDe from the model were 28.3 (Br−), 26.5 (PFBA), and 21.6% (PIPES) and there were significant differences in θDe among the three tracers (p = 0.05). Mean values of De were 5.6 × 10−10 m2 s−1 (Br−), 2.9 × 10−10 m2 s−1 (PFBA), and 1.3 × 10−10 m2 s−1 (PIPES). Values of De differed significantly by compound and were significantly different (p = 0.05) from the aqueous diffusion coefficient (D0). Calculated mean values of the first‐order mass exchange coefficient (α) were 8.4 × 10−7 (Br−), 4.1 × 10−7 (PFBA), and 1.6 × 10−7 s−1 (PIPES); they differed by compound (p = 0.05) and generally decreased with increasing molecular weight of the tracer. This study confirmed that the radial diffusion cell method is an efficient method to estimate effective diffusion parameters necessary to accurately model solute transport in fractured till and soil.
Performance evaluation of evolving classifier algorithms in high dimensional spaces

Evolving systems and high dimensional stream data processing algorithms are of enormous practical importance and currently are under intensive investigation. This paper introduces an evolving neural classifier approach and evaluates its performance using high dimensional data and evolving and classic classifier algorithms representative of the current state of the art. The proposed approach works in one-pass mode to simultaneously find the neural network structure and its weights using high dimensional stream data. The results suggests that the classification rate achieved by the proposed approach is very competitive with the evolving models addressed in this paper. It outperforms all of them in most of the datasets considered. Also, the approach requires the lowest per sample processing time amongst the evolving and classic batch classifiers.
Aquifex aeolicus PilT, Homologue of a Surface Motility Protein, Is a Thermostable Oligomeric NTPase

ABSTRACT Bacterial surface motility works by retraction of surface-attached type IV pili. This retraction requires the PilT protein, a member of a large family of putative NTPases from type II and IV secretion systems. In this study, the PilT homologue from the thermophilic eubacterium Aquifex aeolicus was cloned, overexpressed, and purified. A. aeolicus PilT was shown to be a thermostable ATPase with a specific activity of 15.7 nmol of ATP hydrolyzed/min/mg of protein. This activity was abolished when a conserved lysine in the nucleotide-binding motif was altered. The substrate specificity was low; UTP, CTP, ATP, GTP, dATP, and dGTP served as substrates, UTP having the highest activity of these in vitro. Based on sedimentation equilibrium and size exclusion chromatography, PilT was identified as a ≈5- to 6-subunit oligomer. Potential implications of the NTPase activity of PilT in pilus retraction are discussed.
What developers want and need from program analysis: An empirical study

Program Analysis has been a rich and fruitful field of research for many decades, and countless high quality program analysis tools have been produced by academia. Though there are some well-known examples of tools that have found their way into routine use by practitioners, a common challenge faced by researchers is knowing how to achieve broad and lasting adoption of their tools. In an effort to understand what makes a program analyzer most attractive to developers, we mounted a multi-method investigation at Microsoft. Through interviews and surveys of developers as well as analysis of defect data, we provide insight and answers to four high level research questions that can help researchers design program analyzers meeting the needs of software developers. First, we explore what barriers hinder the adoption of program analyzers, like poorly expressed warning messages. Second, we shed light on what functionality developers want from analyzers, including the types of code issues that developers care about. Next, we answer what non-functional characteristics an analyzer should have to be widely used, how the analyzer should fit into the development process, and how its results should be reported. Finally, we investigate defects in one of Microsoft's flagship software services, to understand what types of code issues are most important to minimize, potentially through program analysis.
Stable receding-horizon cooperative control of a class of distributed agents

This paper develops a cooperative control scheme for a team of distributed agents. Each agent is assumed to evolve in discrete-time and exchange delayed state information with a subset of neighboring or cooperating agents. Delays can be different for each pair of cooperating agents. The control design is derived using a finite-horizon cost function that includes both the regulation and cooperation objectives. The cooperative control problem is formulated in a receding-horizon framework, where the control law can be explicitly broken up in two components: one due feedback from the local state variables and the other based on delayed information gathered from cooperating neighboring agents. Novel theoretical and constructive results are presented, concerning the choice of the cost function in order to guarantee stability of the overall team of agents, and extending sufficient conditions previously established by the authors. Simulation results are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Optical Coherence Tomography Reveals Distinct Patterns of Retinal Damage in Neuromyelitis Optica and Multiple Sclerosis

Background Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) are difficult to differentiate solely on clinical grounds. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) studies investigating retinal changes in both diseases focused primarily on the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) while rare data are available on deeper intra-retinal layers. Objective To detect different patterns of intra-retinal layer alterations in patients with NMO spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and RRMS with focus on the influence of a previous optic neuritis (ON). Methods We applied spectral-domain OCT in eyes of NMOSD patients and compared them to matched RRMS patients and healthy controls (HC). Semi-automatic intra-retinal layer segmentation was used to quantify intra-retinal layer thicknesses. In a subgroup low contrast visual acuity (LCVA) was assessed. Results NMOSD-, MS- and HC-groups, each comprising 17 subjects, were included in analysis. RNFL thickness was more severely reduced in NMOSD compared to MS following ON. In MS-ON eyes, RNFL thinning showed a clear temporal preponderance, whereas in NMOSD-ON eyes RNFL was more evenly reduced, resulting in a significantly lower ratio of the nasal versus temporal RNFL thickness. In comparison to HC, ganglion cell layer thickness was stronger reduced in NMOSD-ON than in MS-ON, accompanied by a more severe impairment of LCVA. The inner nuclear layer and the outer retinal layers were thicker in NMOSD-ON patients compared to NMOSD without ON and HC eyes while these differences were primarily driven by microcystic macular edema. Conclusion Our study supports previous findings that ON in NMOSD leads to more pronounced retinal thinning and visual function impairment than in RRMS. The different retinal damage patterns in NMOSD versus RRMS support the current notion of distinct pathomechanisms of both conditions. However, OCT is still insufficient to help with the clinically relevant differentiation of both conditions in an individual patient.
Effect of Fluid Physical Properties on the Emulsification

Slag entrainment during metallurgical processes is a common source of macro inclusions, existing in a final product. This is the main reason why emulsification of slag should be controlled during the steel making processes. The onset for emulsification during the metallurgical processes is a function of practice specific issues and properties of used melts. The objective of this research was to study the effect of fluid physical properties on the emulsification. The research was made with a water model, using oil simulating slag and water simulating metal. Critical fluid flow velocity needed for emulsification and diameter of entrained droplets were measured. Role of fluid physical properties, affecting critical fluid flow velocity and diameter of entrained droplet were studied with varying density difference, oil viscosity and interfacial tension. Thickness of oil layer was also varied. Use of dimensionless numbers were also studied as a criterion for droplet formation. The results of this research proved, that the increase in density difference, oil viscosity, interfacial tension and oil layer thickness increase the fluid flow velocity needed for emulsification. Entrained oil droplet diameter increased with increasing oil viscosity, interfacial tension and oil layer thickness. On the other hand, oil droplet diameter decreased with increasing density difference. Research proved also, that dimensionless numbers can be used as a criterion for emulsification but dimensionless numbers usually suffers from lack of necessary variables. Studied dimensionless numbers were also compared to the real ladle system.
A Rapid Colorimetric Assay for Determination of Leukocyte‐Mediated Inhibition of Mycelial Growth of Candida albicans

A staining method with crystal violet (CV) was demonstrated to be useful for a simple, quick and objective assessment of in vitro growth inhibitory activity of leukocytes against Candida albicans cells. Candida cells incubated with murine neutrophils or macrophages for 14 hr in microwells were stained with CV and, after washing with 0.25% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), treated with isopropanol containing HCl (0.04 N) to extract Candida cell‐bound CV. Then the absorbance at 590 nm of the isopropanol extract was photometrically measured. The results showed that the photometrical absorbance was proportional to the amount of3H‐glucose taken up by C. albicans cells, which reflected the number of viable Candida cells.
MWNT‐filled PC/ABS blends: Correlation of morphology with rheological and electrical response

A systematic study was done on morphological, electrical and rheological behavior of co-continuous or dispersed-type polycarbonate (PC)/acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene (ABS) blends, containing different amounts of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT). The MWNTs gave substantial electrical conductivities to these nanocomposites at very low concentrations, owing to the effective melt processing method. Because of selective localization of MWNTs in the PC phase, along with double percolation phenomenon, the blend with co-continuous morphology showed a lower electrical and rheological percolation threshold, higher melt viscosity and elasticity, as compared to the system with dispersed morphology. The morphology of both the blend systems was refined as a result of MWNTs incorporation but the morphology type remained unchanged. A typical role of compatibilizer in refining blend morphology was observed in both the systems. The electrical conductivity of the system filled with MWNTs in presence of compatibilizer, was lower than the systems filled with MWNTs only, which was attributed to role of compatibilizer in directing a part of MWNTs from PC matrix toward ABS phase. With increasing compatibilizer/MWNTs ratio, the influence of compatibilizer on morphology refinement and conductivity reduction was intensified. By comparing TEM micrograph of PC/SAN/MWNTs with that of PC/ABS/MWNTs, it was revealed that small portion of MWNTs was also located on polybutadiene rubber fraction of ABS. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 739-748, 2013