Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative study of two collagen membranes for guided tissue regeneration therapy in periodontal intrabony defects: a randomized clinical trial

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of guided tissue regeneration therapy for human periodontal intrabony defects using two different collagen membranes: a porous nonchemical cross-linking collagen membrane (NC) and a bilayer collagen membrane (BC). Methods Thirty subjects were randomly assigned and divided into the following 3 groups: a test group (NC+BM), in which a NC was used with xenograft bone mineral (BM), a positive control group (BC+BM), in which a BC was used with xenograft BM, and a negative control group (BM), in which only xenograft BM was used. The following clinical measurements were taken at baseline and 3 months after surgery: plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth, gingival recession, and clinical attachment level. Radiographic analysis was performed at baseline, 1 week and 3 months after surgery. Results Membrane exposure was not observed in any cases. Significant probing depth reduction, attachment-level gain and bone fill were observed for both test and control groups compared to baseline at 3 months after surgery (P<0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences in clinical improvement and radiographic bone fill between treatment protocols (P>0.05). Conclusions Within the limitations of this study, the results suggest that both NC and BC were comparable in terms of clinical and radiographic outcomes for the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects in human subjects. Graphical Abstract
Spanish Stock Returns: Rational or Weather-Influenced?

Psychological studies support the existence of an influence of weather on mood. It could affect the behaviour of market traders, as suggested by some authors, and this should be reflected by the stock returns. This paper investigates the possible relation between weather and market index returns in the context of the Spanish market, in order to test the above hypothesis. In 1989, this market changed its open outcry trading system into a computerised and decentralised trading system. Therefore, it is possible to check the influence of weather variables (sunshine hours and humidity levels) on index returns in an open outcry trading system, and to compare it with a screen traded environment. The empirical evidence indicates that, independently of the trading system, there is no influence of weather on stock prices. Thus, these findings do not contest the notion of efficient market.
AN ASSESSMENT OF ADOPTION OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PRACTICES WANG

This paper investigates the role of the perceived usefulness management accounting practices as well as in its associations with uncertainty, firm interdependence and firm size. To explore the relationships, this paper employs multiple regression analyses and Sobel’s procedures. The results suggest that the perceived usefulness adoption of management accounting practices. The findings also offer statistical evidence on the mediating role of accounting practices in the effects of interdependence and firm size on practices. The perceived usefulness transmits a part of the effect of environmental uncertainty, firm interdependence and firm size on the accounting practices. insight into the complicated relationships among practices, environmental uncertainty, firm interdependence and firm size.
Optical spectroscopy of X-Mega targets – II. The massive double-lined O-type binary HD 93205

A new high-quality set of orbital parameters for the O-type spectroscopic binary HD 93205 has been obtained combining e´chelle and coude´ CCD observations. The radial velocity orbits derived from the He II l 4686 A ˚ (primary component) and He I l 4471 A ˚ (secondary component) absorption lines yield semi-amplitudes of 133 ^ 2 and 314 ^ 2 km s 2 1 for each binary component, resulting in minimum masses of 31 and 13 M ( (cid:133) q (cid:136) 0 : 42 (cid:134) . We also conﬁrm for the binary components the spectral classiﬁcation of O3 V 1 O8 V previously assigned. Assuming for the O8 V component a ‘normal’ mass of 22–25 M ( we would derive for the primary O3 Va mass of ‘only’ 52–60 M ( and an inclination of about 55 8 for the orbital plane. We have also determined for the ﬁrst time a period of apsidal motion for this system, namely 185 ^ 16 yr using all available radial velocity data sets of HD 93205 (from 1975 to 1999). Phase-locked variations of the X-ray emission of HD 93205 consisting of a rise of the observed X-ray ﬂux near periastron passage are also discussed.
GK Persei and EX Hydrae: Intermediate polars with small magnetospheres

Observed hard X-ray spectra of intermediate polars are determined mainly by the accretion flow velocity at the white dwarf surface, which is normally close to the free-fall velocity. This allows us to estimate the white dwarf masses as the white dwarf mass-radius relation M − R and the expected free-fall velocities at the surface are well known. This method is widely used. However, derived white dwarf masses M can be systematically underestimated because the accretion flow is stopped at, and re-accelerates from, the magnetospheric boundary R_m and, therefore, its velocity at the surface is lower than free fall. To avoid this problem, we computed a two-parameter set of model hard X-ray spectra, which allows us to constrain a degenerate M – R_m dependence. Previous works showed that power spectra of accreting X-ray pulsars and intermediate polars exhibit breaks at frequencies corresponding to Keplerian frequencies at the magnetospheric boundary. Therefore, the break frequency ν_b in an intermediate polar power spectrum gives another relation in the M – R_m plane. The intersection of the two dependences allows us, therefore, to determine the white dwarf mass and magnetospheric radius simultaneously. To verify the method, we analysed the archival Suzaku observation of EX Hya, obtaining M/M⊙ = 0.73 ± 0.06 and R_m/R = 2.6 ± 0.4, which is consistent with the values determined by other authors. Subsequently, we applied the same method to a recent NuSTAR observation of another intermediate polar GK Per performed during an outburst and found M/M⊙ = 0.86 ± 0.02 and R_m/R = 2.8 ± 0.2. The long duration observations of GK Per in quiescence performed by Swift/BAT and INTEGRAL observatories indicate increase of magnetosphere radius R_m at lower accretion rates.
Steps to Preventing Type 2 Diabetes: Exercise, Walk More, or Sit Less?

Accumulated evidence supports the promotion of structured exercise for treating prediabetes and preventing Type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, contemporary societal changes in lifestyle behaviors (occupational, domestic, transportation, and leisure-time) have resulted in a notable widespread deficiency of non-exercise physical activity (e.g., ambulatory activity undertaken outside the context of purposeful exercise) that has been simultaneously exchanged for an excess in sedentary behaviors (e.g., desk work, labor saving devices, motor vehicle travel, and screen-based leisure-time pursuits). It is possible that the known beneficial effects of more structured forms of exercise are attenuated or otherwise undermined against this backdrop of normalized and ubiquitous slothful living. Although public health guidelines have traditionally focused on promoting a detailed exercise prescription, it is evident that the emergent need is to revise and expand the message to address this insidious and deleterious lifestyle shift. Specifically, we recommend that adults avoid averaging <5,000 steps/day and strive to average ≥7,500 steps/day, of which ≥3,000 steps (representing at least 30 min) should be taken at a cadence ≥100 steps/min. They should also practice regularly breaking up extended bouts of sitting with ambulatory activity. Simply put, we must consider advocating a whole message to “walk more, sit less, and exercise. ”
Educating One & All: Students with Disabilities and Standards-Based Reform.

In the movement toward standards-based education, an important question stands out: How will this reform affect the 10% of school-aged children who have disabilities and thus qualify for special education? In Educating One and All, an expert committee addresses how to reconcile common learning for all students with individualized education for "one"--the unique student. The book makes recommendations to states and communities that have adopted standards-based reform and that seek policies and practices to make reform consistent with the requirements of special education. The committee explores the ideas, implementation issues, and legislative initiatives behind the tradition of special education for people with disabilities. It investigates the policy and practice implications of the current reform movement toward high educational standards for all students. Educating One and All examines the curricula and expected outcomes of standards-based education and the educational experience of students with disabilities--and identifies points of alignment between the two areas. The volume documents the diverse population of students with disabilities and their school experiences. Because approaches to assessment and accountability are key to standards-based reforms, the committee analyzes how assessment systems currently address students with disabilities, including testing accommodations. The book addresses legal and resource implications, as well as parental participation in children's education.
The process of adjustment from the place of loss and disconnection into rediscovery of sense of wellness following Acquired Brain Injury

Context: Acquired brain injury (ABI) can have a profound impact on virtually any aspect of an individual’s functioning and recent figures suggest ABI affects approximately 700,000 people in the UK each year. However, treatment and rehabilitation guidelines state there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend any specific form of therapy to support the process of emotional adjustment following ABI. Aim: This research portfolio aimed to increase the understanding of the experience of well-being following ABI and the resources, which may contribute to this. Design: The project is presented in a thesis portfolio format combing two main research papers: a systematic review and a qualitative, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), research study. The systematic review explored the existing evidence for the effectiveness of creative activity groups on psychological well-being including mood and quality of life. The IPA study examined eleven participant’s accounts of their experience of well-being post-ABI and explored the resources that helped them to achieve this. Results: The systematic review identified some tentative, preliminary evidence for the usefulness of creative activity groups as a potential resource towards improving psychological outcomes well-being post-stroke. The IPA research identified six main themes, which illuminated the experience of wellbeing in relation to internal and external resources. The resources identified broadly related to either; personality traits or states of mind, engaging in activities or support from others. Well-being tended to be described as feelings of “inner-peace”, warmth or happiness. Conclusion: Findings are presented tentatively, and further research is required. However, there is some evidence to suggest that supporting individuals to engage meaningfully in their environments may be beneficial to post-ABI adjustment and well-being.
A Multiple-Goal Reinforcement Learning Method for Complex Vehicle Overtaking Maneuvers

In this paper, we present a learning method to solve the vehicle overtaking problem, which demands a multitude of abilities from the agent to tackle multiple criteria. To handle this problem, we propose to adopt a multiple-goal reinforcement learning (MGRL) framework as the basis of our solution. By considering seven different goals, either Q-learning (QL) or double-action QL is employed to determine action decisions based on whether the other vehicles interact with the agent for that particular goal. Furthermore, a fusion function is proposed according to the importance of each goal before arriving to an overall but consistent action decision. This offers a powerful approach for dealing with demanding situations such as overtaking, particularly when a number of other vehicles are within the proximity of the agent and are traveling at different and varying speeds. A large number of overtaking cases have been simulated to demonstrate its effectiveness. From the results, it can be concluded that the proposed method is capable of the following: 1) making correct action decisions for overtaking; 2) avoiding collisions with other vehicles; 3) reaching the target at reasonable time; 4) keeping almost steady speed; and 5) maintaining almost steady heading angle. In addition, it should also be noted that the proposed method performs lane keeping well when not overtaking and lane changing effectively when overtaking is in progress.
Empirical studies of end-user information searching

An empirical investigation of information retrieval (IR) using the MEDLINE1 database was carried out to study user behaviour, performance and to investigate the reasons for suboptimal searches. The experimental subjects were drawn from two groups of final year medical students who differed in their knowledge of the search system (i.e., novice and expert users). The subjects carried out four search tasks and their recall and precision performance was recorded. Data was captured on the search strategies used, duration, and logs of submitted queries. Differences were found between the groups for the performance measure of recall in only one of the four experimental tasks. Overall performance was poor. Analysis of strategies, timing data, and query logs showed that there were many different causes for search failure or success. Poor searchers either gave up too quickly, employed few search terms, used only simple queries, or used the wrong search terms. Good searchers persisted longer, used a larger, richer set of terms, constructed more complex queries, and were more diligent in evaluating the retrieved results. However, individual performances were not correlated with all of these factors. Poor performers frequently exhibited several factors of good searcher behaviour and failed for just one reason. Overall end-user searching behaviour is complex and it seems that just one factor can cause poor performance, whereas good performance can result from suboptimal strategies that compensate for some difficulties. The implications of the results for the design of IR interfaces are discussed.
Different sucrose-isomaltase response of Caco-2 cells to glucose and maltose suggests dietary maltose sensing

Using the small intestine enterocyte Caco-2 cell model, sucrase-isomaltase (SI, the mucosal α-glucosidase complex) expression and modification were examined relative to exposure to different mono- and disaccharide glycemic carbohydrates. Caco-2/TC7 cells were grown on porous supports to post-confluence for complete differentiation, and dietary carbohydrate molecules of glucose, sucrose (disaccharide of glucose and fructose), maltose (disaccharide of two glucoses α-1,4 linked), and isomaltose (disaccharide of two glucoses α-1,6 linked) were used to treat the cells. qRT-PCR results showed that all the carbohydrate molecules induced the expression of the SI gene, though maltose (and isomaltose) showed an incremental increase in mRNA levels over time that glucose did not. Western blot analysis of the SI protein revealed that only maltose treatment induced a higher molecular weight band (Mw ~245 kDa), also at higher expression level, suggesting post-translational processing of SI, and more importantly a sensing of maltose. Further work is warranted regarding this putative sensing response as a potential control point for starch digestion and glucose generation in the small intestine.
Dynamics of marine bacterial community diversity of the coastal waters of the reefs, inlets, and wastewater outfalls of southeast Florida

Coastal waters adjacent to populated southeast Florida possess different habitats (reefs, oceanic inlets, sewage outfalls) that may affect the composition of their inherent microbiomes. To determine variation according to site, season, and depth, over the course of 1 year, we characterized the bacterioplankton communities within 38 nearshore seawater samples derived from the Florida Area Coastal Environment (FACE) water quality survey. Six distinct coastal locales were profiled – the Port Everglades and Hillsboro Inlets, Hollywood and Broward wastewater outfalls, and associated reef sites using culture‐independent, high‐throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region. More than 227,000 sequences helped describe longitudinal taxonomic profiles of marine bacteria and archaea. There were 4447 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) identified with a mean OTU count of 5986 OTUs across all sites. Bacterial taxa varied significantly by season and by site using weighted and unweighted Unifrac, but depth was only supported by weighted Unifrac, suggesting a change due to presence/absence of certain OTUs. Abundant microbial taxa across all samples included Synechococcus, Pelagibacteraceae, Bacteroidetes, and various Proteobacteria. Unifrac analysis confirmed significant differences at inlet sites relative to reef and outfalls. Inlet‐based bacterioplankton significantly differed in greater abundances of Rhodobacteraceae and Cryomorphaceae, and depletion of SAR406 sequences. This study also found higher counts of Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, and wastewater associated SBR1093 bacteria at the outfall and reef sites compared to inlet sites. This study profiles local bacterioplankton populations in a much broader context, beyond culturing and quantitative PCR, and expands upon the work completed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration FACE program.
The Patterns of Cross-Border Bank Mergers and Shareholdings in OECD Countries

In recent years there has been a surge in mergers and aquisitions in all sectors of economic activity. Cross-border operations have followed this trend, creating global companies operating in all major world markets. In this paper we study the pattern of cross-border M&As in the banking industry relative to the non-financial sector of the economy and investigate which factors make it more likely that a bank will expand its ctivities abroad. We find that cross-border M&As are rarer in banking than in other sectors, possibly owing to the importance of information asymmetries in banking relationships and to egulatory restrictions. Using data on almost 2,500 banks from 29 OECD countries, we also show that the most significant features of banks with foreign equity interests relate to efficiency: banks with cross-border shareholdings are on average larger, more profitable, and based in countries with a more highly developed banking market.
Broad Insecurity and Perceived Victimization Risk

Appealing to fear of crime and perceived risk of victimization is a known political strategy for gaining popular support. While fear of crime and perceived risk may stem from vulnerability and past experiences of victimization, high levels of fear and perceived risk, despite declining crime rates, had prompted researchers to investigate other sources of fear of crime and perceived victimization risk. We used survey data from 1,200 households in Metro Manila to test the hypothesis that perceived risk of victimization may be predicted by broad insecurity, which encompasses insecurities in finances, employment, education, health, disaster preparedness and rights protection. Multivariate regression is used to measure variable effects. Our results showed that broad insecurity significantly influences perceived risk of victimization. Other reliable predictors included past victimization, local government spending and social identifiers such as age and gender, but none was as strong as broad insecurity. These findings suggest that perceptions of public safety depend not only on tough policing, but also economic opportunities, human capital development and overall wellbeing. This article corroborates budding research on the diffuse sources of fear of crime and victimization. It informs political and economic prioritization in pursuit of social harmony and development amidst a rapidly changing socioeconomic and political landscape. JEL: Z13, Z18
H∞ optimality of the LMS algorithm

We show that the celebrated least-mean squares (LMS) adaptive algorithm is H/sup /spl infin// optimal. The LMS algorithm has been long regarded as an approximate solution to either a stochastic or a deterministic least-squares problem, and it essentially amounts to updating the weight vector estimates along the direction of the instantaneous gradient of a quadratic cost function. We show that the LMS can be regarded as the exact solution to a minimization problem in its own right. Namely, we establish that it is a minimax filter: it minimizes the maximum energy gain from the disturbances to the predicted errors, whereas the closely related so-called normalized LMS algorithm minimizes the maximum energy gain from the disturbances to the filtered errors. Moreover, since these algorithms are central H/sup /spl infin// filters, they minimize a certain exponential cost function and are thus also risk-sensitive optimal. We discuss the various implications of these results and show how they provide theoretical justification for the widely observed excellent robustness properties of the LMS filter.
The appreciation of multilingual advertising for spanish/ntourist destination brands in the target market/ngermany

The application of foreign language in advertising has become ever more common in advertising praxis. Scientific investigation about this phenomenon is however little. As foreign languages evoke associations and stereotypes in advertisee’s minds, this work investigates the effects of foreign language in one special kind of advertising; namely the one for destination brands. The latter bear the particular characteristic that the language applied in this kind of marketing communication is already part of their actual product. Paying attention to intercultural sensitivity, the research focuses on one language/target combination and lays its interest on how German people appreciate multilinguality in Spanish destination advertising. A triple diamond research design, developed for this study, guides the research proposal administered for a three year doctoral thesis. Following a sequential exploratory strategy of a mixed method approach, the three stepped research design proposes to conceive one qualitative research being succeeded by two additional quantitative steps.