Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on orthodontically induced root resorption caused by torque: A prospective, double-blind, controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on orthodontically induced tooth root resorption caused by torque in human subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ten healthy patients (12-35 years of age) who required extraction of all first premolars as a part of their routine orthodontic treatment were recruited. A 15° twist was applied in the arch wire using 0.019 × 0.025-inch TMA in a 0.022-inch bracket system (Synergy R) that produced a buccal root torque of approximately 5 N/mm at the bracket level. Using a split mouth design, randomization, and blinding, one side of the arch received LIPUS for 20 minutes per day for 4 weeks at an incident intensity of 30 mW/cm(2) of the transducers' surface area. The other side served as a self-control, which received a sham transducer. After 4 weeks, all first premolars were extracted and micro-computed tomographic analysis was performed on these extracted teeth. A linear mixed-model statistical analysis was used. RESULTS LIPUS-treated teeth showed significantly less total volume of resorption lacunae compared to control teeth by a mean difference of (0.54 ± 0.09 mm(3)) (P < .001) and percentage of root resorption by a mean difference of (0.33 ± 0.05 mm(3)) (P < .001). In addition, significantly fewer resorption lacunae were found on all root surfaces in the LIPUS group compared to the control except in the instance of the distal surface. LIMITATIONS This study was performed on limited number of cases during a 4-week period. CONCLUSIONS LIPUS minimizes root resorption when applied during torque tooth movement over a 4-week period.
Blockade of Host β2-Adrenergic Receptor Enhances Graft-versus-Tumor Effect through Modulating APCs

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation is a potential curative therapy for hematologic malignancies. Host APCs are pivotal to the desired graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect. Recent studies have shown that β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) signaling can have an important impact on immune cell function, including dendritic cells (DCs). In this article, we demonstrate that pretreatment of host mice with a β2AR blocker significantly increases the GVT effect of donor CD8+ T cells by decreasing tumor burden without increasing graft-versus-host disease. β2AR-deficient host mice have significantly increased effector memory and central memory CD8+ T cells and improved reconstitution of T cells, including CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. Notably, β2AR deficiency induces increased CD11c+ DC development. Also, β2AR-deficient bone marrow–derived DCs induce higher CD8+ T cell proliferation and improved tumor killing in vitro. Metabolic profiling shows that β2AR deficiency renders DCs more immunogenic through upregulation of mTOR activity and reduction of STAT3 phosphorylation. Altogether, these findings demonstrate an important role for host β2AR signaling in suppressing T cell reconstitution and GVT activity.
Preoperative plasma fibrinogen levels predict mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting

Summary This study was designed to investigate whether plasma fibrinogen levels as well as the β-fibrinogen –455 G/A genotype are associated with outcome after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) operation. We enrolled 249 consecutive CAD patients one day before they underwent a CABG operation. Data from 220 patients with available plasma fibrinogen levels were analyzed. The primary end-point was total mortality, the secondary end-point mortality from cardiac causes or the need for myocardial revascularization. The 2-year total mortality was 9.1% in the entire cohort. Multivariable analysis revealed an independent relationship between the primary end-point and preoperative plasma fibrinogen levels but not the β-fibrinogen –455 G/A geno-type. Neither preoperative plasma fibrinogen levels nor the β-fibrinogen –455 G/A genotype could predict the secondary end-point. We conclude, that elevated preoperative plasma fibrinogen levels, but not the β-fibrinogen -455 G/A genotype predict the total mortality after CABG operation.
Opposing effects of low versus high concentrations of water soluble vitamins/dietary ingredients Vitamin C and niacin on colon cancer stem cells (CSCs)

Colorectal cancer is one of the global causes of cancer deaths. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) inside the tumour niche responsible for metastasis and relapses, and hence need to be targeted for cancer therapeutics. Although dietary fibre and lifestyle changes have been recommended as measures for colorectal cancer prevention, no such recommendations are available for using water soluble vitamins as prophylaxis measure for colorectal cancers. High dose of Vitamin C has been proven to selectively kill colon cancer cells having BRAF and KRAS mutations by inducing oxidative stress. In this study, we show for the first time the opposing effects of the low and high dose of Vitamin C and vitamin B3 on colon CSCs isolated from HT‐29 and HCT‐15 colorectal carcinoma cell lines. At small doses, both of these vitamins exerted a cell proliferative effect only on CSCs, while there was no change in the proliferation status of non‐stem cancer cells and wild‐type (WT) populations. On the other hand, the death effects induced by high doses of Vitamin C and B3 were of the order of 50–60% and ∼30% on CSCs from HT‐29 and HCT15, respectively. Interestingly, the control fibroblast cell line (NIH3T3) was highly refractory all the tested concentrations of Vitamin C and B3, except for the highest dose – 10,000 μg of Vitamin C that induced only 15% of cell death. Hence, these results indicate the future scope of use of therapeutic doses of Vitamin C and B3 especially in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.
The relationship of dietary lipid intake and age-related macular degeneration in a case-control study: AREDS Report No. 20.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association of lipid intake with baseline severity of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS). METHODS Age-Related Eye Disease Study participants aged 60 to 80 years at enrollment (N = 4519) provided estimates of habitual nutrient intake through a self-administered semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Stereoscopic color fundus photographs were used to categorize participants into 4 AMD severity groups and a control group (participants with <15 small drusen). RESULTS Dietary total omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) intake was inversely associated with neovascular (NV) AMD (odds ratio [OR], 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-0.90), as was docosahexaenoic acid, a retinal omega-3 LCPUFA (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.36-0.80), comparing highest vs lowest quintile of intake, after adjustment for total energy intake and covariates. Higher fish consumption, both total and broiled/baked, was also inversely associated with NV AMD (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.37-1.00 and OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.45-0.93, respectively). Dietary arachidonic acid was directly associated with NV AMD prevalence (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.04-2.29). No statistically significant relationships existed for the other lipids or AMD groups. CONCLUSION Higher intake of omega-3 LCPUFAs and fish was associated with decreased likelihood of having NV AMD.
Schottky Barrier Rectifier Based on (100) $\beta$ -Ga2O3 and its DC and AC Characteristics

A Schottky barrier rectifier was fabricated with a (100)-oriented <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> substrate grown by the edge-defined film-fed method. The Sn-doped <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> substrate had an effective donor concentration of approximately <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2\times 10^{17}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> cm<sup>−3</sup>. High performance parameters were obtained, such as a high forward current (421 A/cm<sup>2</sup> at 2 V), low ON-resistance (2.9 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{m}\Omega \cdot $ </tex-math></inline-formula>cm<sup>2</sup>), and short reverse recovery time (20 ns). Furthermore, the dynamic behavior of the device is characterized through test on the half-wave rectification of ac voltages at different frequency. The diode worked well at 100 kHz. At the end of the letter, we discuss how Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Schottky rectifier can operate at high frequency.
Proteomic analysis of FOXP proteins reveals interactions between cortical transcription factors associated with neurodevelopmental disorders

FOXP transcription factors play important roles in neurodevelopment, but little is known about how their transcriptional activity is regulated. FOXP proteins cooperatively regulate gene expression by forming homo- and hetero-dimers with each other. Physical associations with other transcription factors might also modulate the functions of FOXP proteins. However, few FOXP-interacting transcription factors have been identified so far. Therefore, we sought to discover additional transcription factors that interact with the brain-expressed FOXP proteins, FOXP1, FOXP2 and FOXP4, through affinity-purifications of protein complexes followed by mass spectrometry. We identified seven novel FOXP-interacting transcription factors (NR2F1, NR2F2, SATB1, SATB2, SOX5, YY1 and ZMYM2), five of which have well-estabslished roles in cortical development. Accordingly, we found that these transcription factors are co-expressed with FoxP2 in the deep layers of the cerebral cortex and also in the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, suggesting that they may cooperate with the FoxPs to regulate neural gene expression in vivo. Moreover, we demonstrated that etiological mutations of FOXP1 and FOXP2, known to cause neurodevelopmental disorders, severely disrupted the interactions with FOXP-interacting transcription factors. Additionally, we pinpointed specific regions within FOXP2 sequence involved in mediating these interactions. Thus, by expanding the FOXP interactome we have uncovered part of a broader neural transcription factor network involved in cortical development, providing novel molecular insights into the transcriptional architecture underlying brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Physical, Mechanical and Water Absorption Behaviour of Coir Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites Filled With Al2O3 Particulates

The objective of the present work is to study the physical, mechanical and water absorption behaviour of coir fiber reinforced epoxy composites filled with Al2O3 particulates. Composites with different compositions were prepared by varying the length of the fiber and content of fiber using hand lay-up technique. The experimental investigation reveals that the properties of composite increases with the incorporation of Al2O3 particulates. It is observed that the density of composites increases with increase in fiber content, while a decrease in density is observed with increase in fiber length. The strength properties of the composites increases with the increase in fiber content up to 15 wt. % and 12mm fiber length, however further increase in fiber length and fiber content the value decreases. The maximum tensile strength of 25.71MPa, flexural strength of 29.75MPa and impact strength of 14.76kJ/m2 is obtained for composites with 12 mm fiber length and 15 wt. % of fiber content. The hardness and tensile modulus, on the other hand, increases with increase in fiber length and fiber content. The maximum hardness value of 19.52Hv and tensile modulus of 3.412GPa is obtained for composites with 15mm fiber length and 20 wt. % of fiber content. Finally, morphological analysis is also carried out using scanning electron microscope (SEM) to study the fracture behaviour of the composite samples.
Pressures, green supply chain management practices and performance of ISO 14001 certified manufacturers in Malaysia

As the language of environmentalism become more vocal globally— including in Malaysia—a growing number of organizations are intending to adopt green approaches throughout their entire supply chains. Issues of environmental protection are central and dynamic; as such, there is an ongoing need for studies to fully understand and update knowledge in this area. This paper investigates green supply chain management (GSCM) among 112 ISO14001 certified manufacturers in Malaysia. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to examine the influence of various pressures (regulation, marketing, competition, management, and cost) on the level of green practices, and the interrelationships between drivers, practices, and performance. The study also looks at the moderating effect of partner relationships. Results indicate that manufacturers in Malaysia experience high external pressures such as regulatory and marketing/customers pressures. The GSCM implementation, especially on external activities, are still at a moderate level except for internal environmental initiatives. GSCM practices affect firms’ financial/market performance and customer satisfaction, but are not significant to environmental performances. The partner relationship (trust and commitment) moderate the relationship between GSCM practices and environmental performances but is not applicable to relationships between GSCM practices and other firms’ performances such as market/financial outcomes and customer satisfaction. Subsequent implications for both theory and practice are discussed in the paper.
BNTagger: improved tagging SNP selection using Bayesian networks

Genetic variation analysis holds much promise as a basis for disease-gene association. However, due to the tremendous number of candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), there is a clear need to expedite genotyping by selecting and considering only a subset of all SNPs. This process is known as tagging SNP selection. Several methods for tagging SNP selection have been proposed, and have shown promising results. However, most of them rely on strong assumptions such as prior block-partitioning, bi-allelic SNPs, or a fixed number or location of tagging SNPs. We introduce BNTagger, a new method for tagging SNP selection, based on conditional independence among SNPs. Using the formalism of Bayesian networks (BNs), our system aims to select a subset of independent and highly predictive SNPs. Similar to previous prediction-based methods, we aim to maximize the prediction accuracy of tagging SNPs, but unlike them, we neither fix the number nor the location of predictive tagging SNPs, nor require SNPs to be bi-allelic. In addition, for newly-genotyped samples, BNTagger directly uses genotype data as input, while producing as output haplotype data of all SNPs. Using three public data sets, we compare the prediction performance of our method to that of three state-of-the-art tagging SNP selection methods. The results demonstrate that our method consistently improves upon previous methods in terms of prediction accuracy. Moreover, our method retains its good performance even when a very small number of tagging SNPs are used.
Thermoelastic Stability Analysis of Imperfect Functionally Graded Shallow Spherical Shells

Abstract Thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded spherical shells with geometrical imperfection is presented in this article. It is assumed that the material properties of functionally graded spherical shell are changed by a power law function through the thickness of shell. The equilibrium and stability equations of an imperfect functionally graded spherical shell are derived using the Donnell-Mushtari-Velasov theory (DMV). Approximate solutions considered for displacement components are based on the assumption that they satisfy the boundary conditions. The Galerkin method is used to minimize the errors caused by using the approximation. Three various types of thermal loadings including the uniform temperature rise (UTR), linear radial temperature rise (LTR), and the nonlinear radial temperature rise (NTR) are assumed for analytical solution. The results are validated with the known data in literature.
Deixis: This and That in Written Narrative Discourse

The existing literature presents conflicting models of how this and that access different segments of a written discourse, frequently relying on implicit analogies with spoken discourse. On the basis of this literature, we hypothesized that in written discourse, this more readily accesses the adjacent/right frontier of a preceding chunk of text, whereas that more readily accesses the distant/left. We tested this hypothesis in two eye-tracking experiments, one sentence completion experiment, and one corpus study. Our results showed that both this and that access the adjacent frontier more easily than the distant. Contrary to existing theories, this accessed the distant frontier more frequently and easily than that. We propose a processing model integrating segmented discourse representation theory's concept of the left/distant leaf with Grosz and Sidner's attentional and intentional model and Garrod and Sandford's focus framework model, suggesting an important role for working memory and emphasizing the different production modes of readers and writers.
An overview of deep learning based methods for unsupervised and semi-supervised anomaly detection in videos

Videos represent the primary source of information for surveillance applications and are available in large amounts but in most cases contain little or no annotation for supervised learning. This article reviews the state-of-the-art deep learning based methods for video anomaly detection and categorizes them based on the type of model and criteria of detection. We also perform simple studies to understand the different approaches and provide the criteria of evaluation for spatio-temporal anomaly detection.
HCV clearance by direct-acting antiviral treatments reverses insulin resistance in chronic hepatitis C patients

Clinical usefulness of new noninvasive serum biomarkers for the assessment of liver fibrosis and steatosis in children with chronic hepatitis C. Pokorska-Śpiewak M1, KowalikMikołajewska B1, Aniszewska M1, Pluta M1, Marczyńska M1. Clin Exp Hepatol. 2017 Dec;3(4):198-202. doi: 10.5114/ceh.2017. 71337. Epub 2017 Nov 10. AIM OF THE STUDY: Recently, novel serum markers modified by the body mass index zscore (BMI z-score) were proposed as a reliable noninvasive alternative for the detection of significant fibrosis and steatosis in children with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of these biomarkers. MATERIAL AND ETHODS: Thirty children aged 9.4 ± 3.7 years (14 males, 16 females) with CHC were included in this study. In all patients, histopathological evaluation of the liver fibrosis was performed using a 5point METAVIR scoring system (≥ 2 points = significant fibrosis). Significant steatosis was diagnosed with > 33% of hepatocytes affected. The following noninvasive markers of liver disease were calculated: the modified aspartate transaminase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (MAPRI: BMI z-score × APRI), the modified Fibrosis-4 index (M-FIB-4: BMI z-score × FIB-4), and a novel marker, B-AST (BMI z-score × AST). The clinically useful cut-offs for each marker were selected as simple round numbers, indicating significant fibrosis and steatosis. RESULTS: Significant fibrosis was detected in 7/30 (23%) cases, and significant steatosis was observed in 4 (13%) patients. Comparison with the histopathological evaluation revealed that B-AST < 0 excluded significant fibrosis, and < 100 excluded all patients with significant steatosis. For the M-APRI, < 0 excluded significant fibrosis, and < 0.5 excluded significant steatosis. For the MFIB-4, < 0 excluded significant fibrosis and < 0.2 excluded significant steatosis. CONCLUSIONS: Negative values of all three markers that included the BMI z-score excluded all patients with both significant fibrosis and significant steatosis.
Reducing future fears by suppressing the brain mechanisms underlying episodic simulation

Significance Humans possess the remarkable ability to recombine details of divergent memories into imaginings of future events. Such imaginings are useful, for example, because they foster planning and motivate farsighted decisions. Importantly, recurrently imagining feared situations can also undermine our well-being and may even contribute to the development of anxiety. Here, we demonstrate that fearful imaginings about the future can be inhibited by neural mechanisms that help to suppress the past. Importantly, suppression reduces later apprehensiveness about the feared events, a benefit that was diminished in individuals with greater trait anxiety. This pattern suggests that the observed inhibition mechanism serves to control people’s future fears and its disruption may foster psychological disorders characterized by intrusive prospective thoughts. Imagining future events conveys adaptive benefits, yet recurrent simulations of feared situations may help to maintain anxiety. In two studies, we tested the hypothesis that people can attenuate future fears by suppressing anticipatory simulations of dreaded events. Participants repeatedly imagined upsetting episodes that they feared might happen to them and suppressed imaginings of other such events. Suppressing imagination engaged the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which modulated activation in the hippocampus and in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Consistent with the role of the vmPFC in providing access to details that are typical for an event, stronger inhibition of this region was associated with greater forgetting of such details. Suppression further hindered participants’ ability to later freely envision suppressed episodes. Critically, it also reduced feelings of apprehensiveness about the feared scenario, and individuals who were particularly successful at down-regulating fears were also less trait-anxious. Attenuating apprehensiveness by suppressing simulations of feared events may thus be an effective coping strategy, suggesting that a deficiency in this mechanism could contribute to the development of anxiety.
Study on the Photocatalytic Activity of Rare Earth Gd-doped TiO2 Nanocrystallites under Simulated Sunlight

以甲基橙的光催化降解为探针反应,采用氙灯模拟自然条件下的太阳光,评价了通过酸催化的溶胶-凝胶法制备的稀土Gd掺杂改性TiO2纳米晶的光催化活性及对甲基橙水溶液TOC的去除效果. 运用XRD和UV-Vis DRS表征技术考察了Gd掺杂对纳米TiO2的微晶尺寸、晶体结构与光学性能的影响. 结果表明,Gd掺杂可以抑制TiO2由锐钛矿相向金红石相的转变,阻碍TiO2晶粒增长,使TiO2的光吸收带边发生蓝移且有利于对可见光的吸收,从而使Gd掺杂TiO2在模拟太阳光下光催化降解甲基橙的能力得到明显提高,但样品对甲基橙水溶液TOC的去除效果要滞后于其对色度的去除.