Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Malocclusion in Elementary School Children in Beirut: Severity and Related Social/Behavioral Factors

Aim. To assess severity of malocclusion in Lebanese elementary school children and the relationship between components of malocclusion and sociodemographic and behavioral factors. Methods. Dental screening was performed on 655 school children aged 6–11 from 2 public (PB) and 5 private (PV) schools in Beirut. A calibrated examiner recorded occlusion, overjet, overbite, posterior crossbite, midline diastema, and crowding. Another examiner determined the DMFT (Decayed/Missing/Filled Teeth) score. A questionnaire filled by the parents provided data on sociodemographic and behavioral factors. Multinomial, binomial, and multiple linear regressions tested the association of these factors with occlusal indices. Results. Malocclusion was more severe in PB students. Age and sucking habit were associated with various components of malocclusion. Crowding was more prevalent among males and significantly associated with the DMFT score. Income and educational level were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in PV pupils and deleterious habits were more frequent in PB children. Conclusions. Children of lower socioeconomic background had more severe malocclusions and poorer general dental health. Compared to Western and WHO norms, the findings prompt health policy suggestions to improve dental care of particularly public school children through regular screenings in schools, prevention methods when applicable, and cost effective practices through public and private enabling agencies.
The Otago Exercise Program: Innovative Delivery Models to Maximize Sustained Outcomes for High Risk, Homebound Older Adults

Background It is estimated one in two adults age 80 and over fall each year, resulting in substantial morbidity and mortality rates among this oldest-old population. The Otago Exercise program (OEP) is an evidence-based fall prevention program shown to reduce falls by 35% among high-risk older adults. The OEP was designed to be delivered in the home by physical therapists. This model has encountered multiple implementation challenges in the United States health-care system, which has resulted in the development and testing of innovative models to support a broader reach and dissemination of this program. Methods The Northwest Senior and Disability Services is an Area Agency on Aging (AAA) serving a five-county region in Oregon. This AAA developed a model where a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and exercise physiologist delivered the OEP with a physical therapist available to consult on all cases. Physical function assessments and self-reported perceptions about physical function were collected at baseline and 6 months. Results Baseline measures were collected on 239 participants enrolled in the OEP, and 62 participants at 6 months. Those who completed 6 months of the OEP demonstrated significant improvements in all physical function assessments and self-perceived functional improvements. A subset of this group that demonstrated improvements in the ability to rise from a chair also reported significantly fewer falls during the 6-month intervention. Conclusion Innovative models in which the OEP exercise sessions are delivered by non-physical therapists appear to be effective in improving physical performance measures and decreasing fall risk over a 6-month period. Because these models do not require a physical therapist, they may require fewer resources to implement. These findings have implications to inform implementation and dissemination strategies to bring the OEP to scale.
Administrative health databases for addressing emerging issues in adults with CHD: a systematic review

Abstract The need for population-based studies of adults with CHD has motivated the growing use of secondary analyses of administrative health data in a variety of jurisdictions worldwide. We aimed at systematically reviewing all studies using administrative health data sources for adult CHD research from 2006 to 2016. Using PubMed and Embase (1 January, 2006 to 1 January, 2016), we identified 2217 abstracts, from which 59 studies were included in this review. These comprised 12 different data sources from six countries. Of these, 55% originated in the United States of America, 28% in Canada, and 17% in Europe and Asia. No study was published before 2007, after which the number of publications grew exponentially. In all, 41% of the studies were cross-sectional and 25% were retrospective cohort studies with a wide variation in the availability of patient-level compared with hospitalisation-level episodes of care; 58% of studies from eight different data sources linked administrative data at a patient level; and 37% of studies reported validation procedures. Assessing resource utilisation and temporal trends of relevant epidemiological and outcome end points were the most reported objectives. The median impact factor of publication journals was 4.04, with an interquartile range of 3.15, 7.44. Although not designed for research purposes, administrative health databases have become powerful data sources for studying adult CHD populations because of their large sample sizes, comprehensive records, and long observation periods, providing a useful tool to further develop quality of care improvement programmes. Data linkage with electronic records will become important in obtaining more granular life-long adult CHD data. The health services nature of the data optimises the impact on policy and public health.
Applicability of Precision Medicine Approaches to Managing Hypertension in Rural Populations

As part of the Heart Healthy Lenoir Project, we developed a practice level intervention to improve blood pressure control. The goal of this study was: (i) to determine if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that associate with blood pressure variation, identified in large studies, are applicable to blood pressure control in subjects from a rural population; (ii) to measure the association of these SNPs with subjects’ responsiveness to the hypertension intervention; and (iii) to identify other SNPs that may help understand patient-specific responses to an intervention. We used a combination of candidate SNPs and genome-wide analyses to test associations with either baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) or change in systolic blood pressure one year after the intervention in two genetically defined ancestral groups: African Americans (AA) and Caucasian Americans (CAU). Of the 48 candidate SNPs, 13 SNPs associated with baseline SBP in our study; however, one candidate SNP, rs592582, also associated with a change in SBP after one year. Using our study data, we identified 4 and 15 additional loci that associated with a change in SBP in the AA and CAU groups, respectively. Our analysis of gene-age interactions identified genotypes associated with SBP improvement within different age groups of our populations. Moreover, our integrative analysis identified AQP4-AS1 and PADI2 as genes whose expression levels may contribute to the pleiotropy of complex traits involved in cardiovascular health and blood pressure regulation in response to an intervention targeting hypertension. In conclusion, the identification of SNPs associated with the success of a hypertension treatment intervention suggests that genetic factors in combination with age may contribute to an individual’s success in lowering SBP. If these findings prove to be applicable to other populations, the use of this genetic variation in making patient-specific interventions may help providers with making decisions to improve patient outcomes. Further investigation is required to determine the role of this genetic variance with respect to the management of hypertension such that more precise treatment recommendations may be made in the future as part of personalized medicine.
Depressive Symptoms Are Associated with More Hopelessness among White than Black Older Adults

Background Hopelessness is a core component of depression. Our information is, however, very limited on ethnic variations in the magnitude of the link between depression and hopelessness. Using a national sample of older adults in United States, we compared Blacks and Whites for the magnitude of the association between depressive symptoms and hopelessness. Methods With a cross-sectional design, we used baseline data of the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, 2001. Linear regression models were used for data analysis. Depressive symptoms (CES-D) and hopelessness were conceptualized as independent and dependent variables in different models, respectively. Demographic factors (age and gender), socioeconomic status (education and marital status), and health (self-rated health) were covariates. Ethnicity was the moderator. Results In the pooled sample, higher depressive symptoms were predictive of hopelessness, above and beyond all covariates. We also found significant interactions suggesting that the association between depressive symptoms and hopelessness is weaker among Blacks compared to Whites. In ethnic-specific models, there were significant associations between depressive symptoms and hopelessness among Whites but not Blacks. Conclusion Depressive symptoms accompany more hopelessness among Whites than Blacks. This finding may explain why Blacks with depression have a lower tendency to commit suicide. Future research should test whether or not Whites with depression better respond to psychotherapies and cognitive behavioral therapies that focus on hope enhancement. This finding may explain differential correlates of depression based on race and ethnicity.
A Heparan-Dependent Herpesvirus Targets the Olfactory Neuroepithelium for Host Entry

Herpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens that cause much disease. The difficulty of clearing their established infections makes host entry an important target for control. However, while herpesviruses have been studied extensively in vitro, how they cross differentiated mucus-covered epithelia in vivo is unclear. To establish general principles we tracked host entry by Murid Herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4), a lymphotropic rhadinovirus related to the Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus. Spontaneously acquired virions targeted the olfactory neuroepithelium. Like many herpesviruses, MuHV-4 binds to heparan sulfate (HS), and virions unable to bind HS showed poor host entry. While the respiratory epithelium expressed only basolateral HS and was bound poorly by incoming virions, the neuroepithelium also displayed HS on its apical neuronal cilia and was bound strongly. Incoming virions tracked down the neuronal cilia, and either infected neurons or reached the underlying microvilli of the adjacent glial (sustentacular) cells and infected them. Thus the olfactory neuroepithelium provides an important and complex site of HS-dependent herpesvirus uptake.
The Longitudinal Relationship Between African American Status, Psychopathic Traits, and Violent Recidivism in Juvenile Offenders

This project assessed the relationship between psychopathic traits, racial identity, and violent behavior in 257 delinquent boys. The Psychopathy Checklist–Youth Version (PCL:YV) was administered to youth across a 7-year window. The group was then followed for a mean of 14.7 years (range = 9.3 to 18.5 years), to determine if the presence of psychopathic features in adolescence predicted violent recidivism in adulthood. After controlling for race, Facet 3 was predictive of violent recidivism, whereas PCL:YV total score and all other Facets were not. Overall, African American youth obtained significantly higher PCL:YV scores and had higher rates of violent recidivism than did Caucasian youth, even when controlling for urban status. Implications for the use of the PCL:YV in clinical and legal settings will be discussed in light of the need for further research to be conducted on psychopathic traits in minority adolescents.
Detectability of cosmic topology in generalized Chaplygin gas models

If the spatial section of the universe is multiply connected, repeated images or patterns are expected to be detected in observations. However, due to the finite distance to the last scattering surface, such repeated patterns could be unobservable. This raises the question of whether a given cosmic topology is detectable, depending on the values of the parameters of the cosmological model. We study how the detectability is affected by the choice of the model itself for the matter-energy content of the universe, focusing our attention on the generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG) model for dark matter and dark energy unification, and investigate how the detectability of cosmic topology depends on the GCG parameters. We determine to what extent a number of topologies is detectable for the current observational bounds on these parameters. It emerges from our results that the choice of the GCG as an alternative to the Λ CDM matter-energy content model has an impact on the detectability of cosmic topology. In particular more topologies become detectable for a certain range of the GCG parameters. We stress that the method described here can be applied to any model for the matter-energy content.
Use of an Electrochemical Split Cell Technique to Evaluate the Influence of Shewanella oneidensis Activities on Corrosion of Carbon Steel

Microbially induced corrosion (MIC) is a complex problem that affects various industries. Several techniques have been developed to monitor corrosion and elucidate corrosion mechanisms, including microbiological processes that induce metal deterioration. We used zero resistance ammetry (ZRA) in a split chamber configuration to evaluate the effects of the facultatively anaerobic Fe(III) reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 on the corrosion of UNS G10180 carbon steel. We show that activities of S. oneidensis inhibit corrosion of steel with which that organism has direct contact. However, when a carbon steel coupon in contact with S. oneidensis was electrically connected to a second coupon that was free of biofilm (in separate chambers of the split chamber assembly), ZRA-based measurements indicated that current moved from the S. oneidensis-containing chamber to the cell-free chamber. This electron transfer enhanced the O2 reduction reaction on the coupon deployed in the cell free chamber, and consequently, enhanced oxidation and corrosion of that electrode. Our results illustrate a novel mechanism for MIC in cases where metal surfaces are heterogeneously covered by biofilms.
Light nuclei as quantized Skyrmions

We consider the rigid-body quantization of Skyrmions with topological charges 1 to 8, as approximated by the rational map ansatz. Novel general expressions for the elements of the inertia tensors, in terms of the approximating rational map, are presented and are used to determine the kinetic energy contribution to the total energy of the ground and excited states of the quantized Skyrmions. Our results are compared to the experimentally determined energy levels of the corresponding nuclei, and the energies and spins of a few as yet unobserved states are predicted.
Explicit Loss Inference in Multicast Tomography

Network performance tomography involves correlating end-to-end performance measures over different network paths to infer the performance characteristics on their intersection. Multicast based inference of link-loss rates is the first paradigm for the approach. Existing algorithms generally require numerical solution of polynomial equations for a maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE), or iteration when applying the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. The purpose of this note is to demonstrate a new estimator for link-loss rates that is computationally simple, being an explicit function of the measurements, and that has the same asymptotic variance as the MLE, to first order in the link-loss rates
Hypoglycaemic and Antioxidant Effects of Propolis of Chihuahua in a Model of Experimental Diabetes

Propolis is a bee-collected natural product that has been proven to have various bioactivities. This study tested the effects of a Mexican propolis on streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in a murine model. The results showed that an ethanolic extract of propolis of Chihuahua (EEPCh) significantly inhibited increases in blood glucose and the loss of body weight in diabetic mice. EEPCh increased plasma insulin levels in STZ-diabetic mice, whereas, in untreated diabetic mice, there was no detection of insulin. EEPCh had a high antioxidant capacity (SA50 = 15.75 μg/mL), which was directly related to the concentrations of total phenols (314 mg GAE/g of extract) and flavonoids (6.25 mg QE/g of extract). In addition, increased activities of the enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase were observed in diabetic mice treated with EEPCh. Compounds such as pinocembrin, quercetin, naringin, naringenin, kaempferol, acacetin, luteolin, and chrysin were identified by HPLC-MS analysis. This investigation demonstrated that propolis of Chihuahua possesses hypoglycaemic and antioxidant activities and can alleviate symptoms of diabetes mellitus in mice. These effects may be directly related to the chemical composition of propolis, as most of the compounds identified in propolis are reportedly active in terms of the different parameters evaluated in this work.
Star formation and stellar populations in the Wolf-Rayet(?) luminous compact blue galaxy IRAS 08339+6517 ,

Aims. IRAS 08339+6517 is a luminous infrared and Lyα-emitting starburst galaxy that possesses a dwarf companion object at a projected distance of 56 kpc. An H i tidal tail has recently been detected between both galaxies, suggesting that about 70% of the neutral gas has been ejected from them. Methods. We present deep broad-band optical images, together with narrow band Hα CCD images, and optical intermediate-resolution spectroscopy of both galaxies. Results. The images reveal interaction features between both systems and strong Hα emission in the inner part of IRAS 08339+6517. The chemical composition of the ionized gas of the galaxies is rather similar. The analysis of their kinematics also indicates interaction features and reveals an object that could be a candidate tidal dwarf galaxy or a remnant of an earlier merger. Our data suggest that the H i tail has been mainly formed from material stripped from the main galaxy. We find weak spectral features that could be attributed to the presence of Wolf-Rayet stars in this starburst galaxy and estimate an age of the most recent burst of around 4–6 Myr. A more evolved underlying stellar population, with a minimal age between 100–200 Myr, is also detected and fits an exponential intensity profile. A model which combines 85% young and 15% old populations can explain both the spectral energy distribution and the H i Balmer and He i absorption lines presented in our spectrum. The
WAXSiS: a web server for the calculation of SAXS/WAXS curves based on explicit-solvent molecular dynamics

Small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS) has evolved into a powerful tool to study biological macromolecules in solution. The interpretation of SWAXS curves requires their accurate predictions from structural models. Such predictions are complicated by scattering contributions from the hydration layer and by effects from thermal fluctuations. Here, we describe the new web server WAXSiS (WAXS in solvent) that computes SWAXS curves based on explicit-solvent all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations (http://waxsis.uni-goettingen.de/). The MD simulations provide a realistic model for both the hydration layer and the excluded solvent, thereby avoiding any solvent-related fitting parameters, while naturally accounting for thermal fluctuations.
Parathyroid Hormone Administration Improves Bone Marrow Microenvironment and Partially Rescues Haematopoietic Defects in Bmi1-Null Mice

The epigenetic regulator Bmi1 is key in haematopoietic stem cells, and its inactivation leads to defects in haematopoiesis. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), an important modulator of bone homeostasis, also regulates haematopoiesis, so we asked whether PTH administration improves bone marrow microenvironment and rescues the haematopoietic defects in Bmi1-null mice. The mice were treated with PTH1-34 (containing the first 34 residues of mature PTH), an anabolic drug currently used for treating osteoporosis, and compared with the vehicle-treated Bmi1 -/- and wild-type littermates in terms of skeletal and haematopoietic phenotypes. We found that the administration significantly increased all parameters related to osteoblastic bone formation and significantly reduced the adipocyte number and PPARγ expression. The bone marrow cellularity, numbers of haematopoietic progenitors and stem cells in the femur, and numbers of lymphocytes and other white blood cells in the peripheral blood all increased significantly when compared to vehicle-treated Bmi1-/- mice. Moreover, the number of Jagged1-positive cells and percentage of Notch intracellular domain-positive bone marrow cells and protein expression levels of Jagged1 and NICD in bone tissue were also increased in Bmi1 -/- mice upon PTH1-34 administration,whereas the up-regulation of PTH on both Notch1 and Jagged1 gene expression was blocked by the Notch inhibitor DAPT administration. These results thus indicate that PTH administration activates the notch pathway and partially rescues haematopoietic defects in Bmi1-null mice, further suggesting that haematopoietic defects in the animals are not only a result of reduced self-renewal of haematopoietic stem cells but also due to impaired bone marrow microenvironment.
Do schizotypy dimensions reflect the symptoms of schizophrenia?

Objective: The personality characteristics and symptoms observed in schizophrenia are postulated to lie on a continuum, with non-clinical manifestations referred to as schizotypy. High schizotypy behaviours are argued to correspond with the three main clusters of symptoms in schizophrenia: positive, negative and cognitive/disorganised symptoms, yet there is limited empirical evidence to support this. This study aimed to investigate whether schizotypy dimensions significantly correlate with their respective schizophrenia symptomatology in the largest sample to date. Methods: A total of 361 adults (103 patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and 258 healthy controls) were assessed for schizotypy using the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences. The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery supplemented by the Stroop task and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was administered to all participants to obtain objective measurements of cognition. Schizophrenia symptomatology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in patients only. Results: The results demonstrated significant correlations between the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences positive and negative subscales and their respective Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale subscales only, indicating that positive and negative schizotypy dimensions across patients and controls accurately reflect the respective schizophrenia symptomatology observed in patients. Cognitive performance did not correlate with cognitive/disorganised symptom dimensions of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences or the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, indicating that cognitive impairment is an independent symptom dimension that requires objective cognitive testing. Conclusion: Collectively, the findings provide empirical evidence for the continuum theory and support the use of schizotypy as a model for investigating schizophrenia.