Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonvascularized iliac bone grafts for mandibular reconstruction--requirements and limitations.

BACKGROUND Treatment of intraoral malignant tumors often leads to continuity defects of the mandible. Whereas the use of free vascularised flaps has shortcomings regarding donor site morbidity and a worse-fitting bone geometry, the nonvascularized iliac crest graft could be an alternative option. The purpose of this study was to describe the treatment outcome with nonvascularized iliac crest grafts over a 10-year period and to determine possible limitations of their use. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eighty-four patients with bicortical nonvascularized iliac crest grafts for mandibular reconstruction were examined at least one year after reconstruction. Patients' records and the radiological and/or surgical data were analyzed. RESULTS Sixty-three patients (75%) showed complete healing, in 20 patients the treatment was not successful and in one patient the treatment result was unclear. Interestingly, comparing the successfully and the unsuccessfully treated patients, only the irradiation dose played a crucial role. Neither defect length nor defect localisation, nor time interval between resection and reconstruction were statistically significant parameters in graft success. Comparing only patients with malignancies, the non-irradiated patients had a higher success rate (77.3%). CONCLUSION The nonvaslcularized iliac crest graft seems to be a reasonably reliable treatment option for reconstruction of mandibular defects up to about 5-6 cm in size. Radiotherapy is a strong confounder reducing the success rate. Necessary constraints are sufficient soft tissue conditions. However, primary reconstruction by free flaps (e.g. fibula flap) has a higher success rate in literature and should be preferred whenever possible.
Awareness of ionizing radiation exposure among junior doctors and senior medical students in radiological investigations

The awareness and knowledge of ionizing radiation exposure in radiological investigations among junior doctors and medical students were studied. The participants were year four to year six senior medical students enrolled at University of Dammam and interns in King Fahad University Hospital. The survey consisted of 22 questions designed online using the software ‘QuestionPro’ licensed to the University of Dammam. 100 hard copies were also distributed manually and collected. A total of 221 (88.5%) questionnaires were completed. 213 participants viewed, 151 started and 128 (84.7%) completed online. 93% of the distributed samples were completed. Overall knowledge was poor; 44% and 19% of the respondents thought incorrectly that MRI and ultrasound emit ionizing radiation, respectively. Respondents (92%; n = 203) underestimated the dose of abdominal spiral computed tomography (CT) and 4% thought no ionizing radiation involved in CT. 59% of respondents underestimated the radiation doses in nuclear medicine; bone scan 87%, PET/CT scan 67%, thyroid isotope scan 45% and PET scan 36%. 47% of the subjects had attended formal lectures, tutorials or workshops on radiation protection while 53% (n = 119) had not. For future education the majority stated they would prefer tutorials or workshops (42.3%) or problem-based learning/case studies (32.4%), while web-based modules would be their last choice (8.1%).
Exposure to nickel oxide nanoparticles induces pulmonary inflammation through NLRP3 inflammasome activation in rats

With recent advances in the manufacture and application of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs), concerns about their adverse effects on the respiratory system are increasing. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of NiONP-induced pulmonary toxicity remain unclear. In this study, we focused on the impacts of NiONPs on pulmonary inflammation and investigated whether the NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in NiONP-induced pulmonary inflammation and injury. NiONP suspensions were administered by single intratracheal instillation to rats, and inflammatory responses were evaluated at 3 days, 7 days, or 28 days after treatment. NiONP exposure resulted in sustained pulmonary inflammation accompanied by inflammatory cell infiltration, alveolar proteinosis, and cytokine secretion. Expression of Nlrp3 was markedly upregulated by the NiONPs, which was accompanied by overexpression of the active form of caspase-1 (p20) and interleukin (IL)-1β secretion in vivo. NiONP-induced IL-1β secretion was partially prevented by co-treatment with a caspase-1 inhibitor in macrophages. Moreover, siRNA-mediated Nlrp3 knockdown completely attenuated NiONP-induced cytokine release and caspase-1 activity in macrophages in vitro. In addition, NiONP-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation requires particle uptake and reactive oxygen species production. Collectively, our findings suggest that the NLRP3 inflammasome participates in NiONP-induced pulmonary inflammation and offer new strategies to combat the pulmonary toxicity induced by NiONPs.
Concave Generalized Flows with Applications to Market Equilibria

We consider a nonlinear extension of the generalized network How model, with the How leaving an arc being an increasing concave function of the How entering it, as proposed by Truemper [1] and Shigeno [2]. We give a polynomial time combinatorial algorithm for solving corresponding How maximization problems, finding an ε-approximate solution in O(m(m + log n) log(MUm/ε)) arithmetic operations and value oracle queries, where M and U are upper bounds on simple parameters. This also gives a new algorithm for linear generalized Hows, an efficient, purely scaling variant of the Fat-Path algorithm by Goldberg, Plotkin and Tardos [3], not using any cycle cancellations. We show that this general convex programming model serves as a common framework for several market equilibrium problems, including the linear Fisher market model and its various extensions. Our result immediately provides combinatorial algorithms for various extensions of these market models. This includes nonsymmetric Arrow-Debreu Nash bargaining, settling an open question by Vazirani [4].
Spatial prediction based intra-coding

According to H.264 video coding standard, spatial prediction is used for intra block coding. The luma prediction may be based on 4×4 block, for which there are nine prediction modes, or 16×16 macroblock. , for which four prediction modes. For chroma prediction, there are also four prediction modes. In this paper, a new method is proposed for improving the intra prediction algorithm, the first step in which is to apply direction to the results of the DC prediction and the second step in which is to use simplified modes to reduce computational complexity.
Fire, climate change and biodiversity in Amazonia: a Late-Holocene perspective

Fire is an important and arguably unnatural component of many wet Amazonian and Andean forest systems. Soil charcoal has been used to infer widespread human use of landscapes prior to European Conquest. An analysis of Amazonian soil carbon records reveals that the records have distinct spatial and temporal patterns, suggesting that either fires were only set in moderately seasonal areas of Amazonia or that strongly seasonal and aseasonal areas are undersampled. Synthesizing data from 300 charcoal records, an age–frequency diagram reveals peaks of fire apparently coinciding with some periods of very strong El Niño activity. However, the El Niño record does not always provide an accurate prediction of fire timing, and a better match is found in the record of insolation minima. After the time of European contact, fires became much scarcer within Amazonia. In both the Amazonia and the Andes, modern fire pattern is strongly allied to human activity. On the flank of the Andes, forests that have never burned are being eroded by fire spreading downslope from grasslands. Species of these same forests are being forced to migrate upslope due to warming and will encounter a firm artificial fire boundary of human activity.
Regional and temporal variation in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis across the UK: a descriptive register-based cohort study

Objectives To describe current disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) prescription in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with reference to best practice and to identify temporal and regional trends in the UK. Design Descriptive, register-based cohort study. Participants Permanently registered patients aged ≥18 years with a recorded diagnosis of RA between 1 January 1995 and 31 March 2010 and matched controls. Participants with RA were identified through screening of all patients in the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) with a clinical or referral record for RA and at least 1 day of follow-up. Setting 639 general practices in the UK supplying data to the GPRD. Main outcome measures Medication prescribing between 3 and 12 months of RA diagnosis by region and time period (1995–1999, 2000–2005 and 2006–April 2010). Results Of the 35 911 patients in the full RA cohort, 15 259 patients (42%) had incident RA. Analysis of prescribing in incident RA patients demonstrated that between 1995 (baseline) and 2010 there was a substantial increase in DMARD, and specifically methotrexate, prescribing across all regions with a less marked increase in combination DMARD prescribing. Taking 12-month prescribing as a snapshot: DMARD prescribing was 19–49% at baseline increasing to 45–74% by 2006–April 2010; methotrexate prescribing was 4–16% at baseline increasing to 32–60%; combination DMARD prescribing was 0–8% at baseline increasing to 3–17%. However, there was marked regional variation in the proportion of RA patients receiving DMARD regardless of time period. Conclusions There has been a substantial increase in prescribing of DMARDs for RA since 1995; however, regional variation persists across the UK with relative undertreatment, according to established best practice. Improved implementation of evidence-based best clinical practice to facilitate removal of treatment variation is warranted. This may occur as a result of the implementation of published national guidance.
Harvesting the Buccal Fat Pad Does Not Result in Aesthetic Deformity in Cleft Patients: A Retrospective Analysis

Background: Buccal fat is often used as a pedicled flap in cleft palate repairs to minimize scarring and fortify tenuous closures. Although many surgeons have adopted this technique, others have remained circumspect because of the concern for subsequent facial asymmetry. Methods: Patients who underwent cleft palate repair using buccal fat pad flaps for closure between 2007 and 2015 were reviewed. Only patients with unilateral buccal fat pad flaps and three-dimensional photography were included. Volumetric analysis was performed on each patient to measure cheek volumes of both the flap and nonflap sides. A subgroup analysis on cleft palate and bilateral cleft lip and palate patients was performed to eliminate the confounding asymmetries of unilateral cleft lip and palate patients. Paired t tests were used to determine differences in cheek volumes. In addition, three reviewers examined photographs of patients and were asked to determine the side of fat pad harvest. Results: Twenty-four patients met inclusion criteria. Mean follow-up was 55 months. The volume difference between the flap and nonflap sides was not significant (p = 0.81). Subgroup analysis on cleft palate and bilateral cleft lip and palate patients did not reveal a volume difference between the flap and nonflap sides (p = 0.98). When asked to determine which side buccal fat pads were harvested from based on patient photographs, the average percentage correct for three independent reviewers was 57 percent and the Cohen’s kappa was −0.084, indicating poor agreement. Conclusion: Although the buccal fat pad is thought to play a role in facial aesthetics, the authors found no difference in volume between harvest and nonharvest sides, nor was there a clinically detectable difference. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.
Evaluating Models for Model-Based Debugging

Developing model-based automatic debugging strategies has been an active research area for several years, with the aim of locating defects in a program by utilising fully automated generation of a model of the program from its source code. We provide an overview of current techniques in model-based debugging and assess strengths and weaknesses of the individual approaches. An empirical comparison is presented that investigates the relative accuracy of different models on a set of test programs and fault assumptions, showing that our abstract interpretation based model provides high accuracy at significantly less computational effort than slightly more accurate techniques. We compare a range of model-based debugging techniques with other state-of-the-art automated debugging approaches and outline possible future developments in automatic debugging using model-based reasoning as the central unifying component in a comprehensive framework.
Site-specific gene delivery in vivo through engineered Sendai viral envelopes.

Inspite of several stimulating developments in gene therapy, the formulation of a targeted gene delivery "vector" is still far from ideal. We have demonstrated the potential of reconstituted Sendai viral envelopes containing only the fusion glycoprotein (F-virosomes) in targeted delivery of reporter genes to liver cells of BALB/c mouse in vivo. The membrane fusion-mediated high efficiency of gene transfer to liver cells was ascertained following a critical evaluation of the level of the DNA, mRNA, and relevant proteins. Furthermore, the involvement of viral glycoprotein both as a unique natural ligand and as a membrane fusogen could lead to preferential transfection of parenchymal cell types of liver. The integration of transgenes in the mouse chromosomal DNA and its stable expression up to 4 mo after single i.v. administration of this gene carrier has bolstered its efficiency and novelty. Moreover, the F-virosomes did not elicit significant humoral immune response against the fusion protein in the injected animal. The findings reported here open up the possibility for considering "F-virosomes" as a promising "vehicle" for site-specific DNA delivery in gene therapy.
Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma: Immunohistochemical Methods for Differentiation from Fibrous Histiocytomas with Similar Morphology

Three cases of primary intracranial tumours fulfilling the clinical and histological criteria of pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma are presented. As is typical, they occurred in young people, aged 15, 17, and 22 years, and were composed of lipid-laden pleomorphic cells with frequent bizarre multinucleated forms and a prominent reticulin network. However, subsequent immunohistochemistry, further histological review, and clinical follow-up suggest that these tumours were different entities. In one case the tumour cells were negative for GFAP but positive with a panel of histiocytic markers. The lesion, which extended rapidly and caused death within 6 months, was assumed to be a true meningeal fibrous histiocytoma. The remaining two cases were positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S100 protein. One of these was mitotically active, contained areas of necrosis and vascular proliferation, and also led rapidly to death. This, we concluded, was a glioblastoma. The third case showed little mitotic activity and the patient remains well; this is probably a true pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma. These results indicate that tumours with light-microscopic appearance of pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma require detailed immunohistochemical investigation. Only those lesions with low mitotic activity and undoubted evidence of glial origin should be accepted as true pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma. Extensive necrosis in a tumour with GFAPpositive, lipid-rich cells indicates a lipidised glioblastoma, while positive histiocytic immunocytochemistry should suggest a fibrous histiocytoma.
Mutations in Drosophila Greatwall/Scant Reveal Its Roles in Mitosis and Meiosis and Interdependence with Polo Kinase

Polo is a conserved kinase that coordinates many events of mitosis and meiosis, but how it is regulated remains unclear. Drosophila females having only one wild-type allele of the polo kinase gene and the dominant Scant mutation produce embryos in which one of the centrosomes detaches from the nuclear envelope in late prophase. We show that Scant creates a hyperactive form of Greatwall (Gwl) with altered specificity in vitro, another protein kinase recently implicated in mitotic entry in Drosophila and Xenopus. Excess Gwl activity in embryos causes developmental failure that can be rescued by increasing maternal Polo dosage, indicating that coordination between the two mitotic kinases is crucial for mitotic progression. Revertant alleles of Scant that restore fertility to polo–Scant heterozygous females are recessive alleles or deficiencies of gwl; they show chromatin condensation defects and anaphase bridges in larval neuroblasts. One recessive mutant allele specifically disrupts a Gwl isoform strongly expressed during vitellogenesis. Females hemizygous for this allele are sterile, and their oocytes fail to arrest in metaphase I of meiosis; both homologues and sister chromatids separate on elongated meiotic spindles with little or no segregation. This allelic series of gwl mutants highlights the multiple roles of Gwl in both mitotic and meiotic progression. Our results indicate that Gwl activity antagonizes Polo and thus identify an important regulatory interaction of the cell cycle.
HIV/AIDS orofacial lesions in 156 Zimbabwean patients at referral oral and maxillofacial surgical clinics.

OBJECTIVE To document the prevalence, age and gender distribution and clinical features of HIV/AIDS orofacial lesions in patients referred to the two largest Oral and Maxillofacial specialist centers in Harare, Zimbabwe, and compare the findings with those from other parts of the world. DESIGN Descriptive study. SETTING Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Clinics at specialist referral hospitals; Harare Central Hospital and Parirenyatwa Government Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe. SUBJECTS A total of 7800 consecutive patients referred for various orofacial conditions were examined. From this group, 156 patients with orofacial lesions of or suggestive of HIV/AIDS were further interviewed and examined by the oral and maxillofacial surgeon in charge of the clinics. METHODS Head, neck and oral examinations were carried out. Oral examination was carried out using mouth mirror and dental light in a dental chair. HIV/AIDS orofacial lesions were recorded and diagnosed using the EC Clearing House Criteria on Oral Problems related to HIV Infection (1993). RESULTS There were 79 males and 77 females. Male:female ratio 1:1; age range 1-56 years; candidiasis (55.1%) was the most common lesion with the pseudomembranous type (55.8%) predominating. High prevalences of Kaposi's sarcoma (18.6%), salivary gland disease (12.2%) and cancrum oris (3.8%) were noted. Heterosexual contact and mother to child transmissions appear to be the mode of transmission. CONCLUSION The spectrum of orofacial lesions is similar to that in other countries. This study shows a high prevalence of candidiasis, Kaposi's sarcoma, salivary gland disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cancrum oris and rampant caries.
Gamma Oscillation by Synaptic Inhibition in a Hippocampal Interneuronal Network Model

Fast neuronal oscillations (gamma, 20–80 Hz) have been observed in the neocortex and hippocampus during behavioral arousal. Using computer simulations, we investigated the hypothesis that such rhythmic activity can emerge in a random network of interconnected GABAergic fast-spiking interneurons. Specific conditions for the population synchronization, on properties of single cells and the circuit, were identified. These include the following: (1) that the amplitude of spike afterhyperpolarization be above the GABAA synaptic reversal potential; (2) that the ratio between the synaptic decay time constant and the oscillation period be sufficiently large; (3) that the effects of heterogeneities be modest because of a steep frequency–current relationship of fast-spiking neurons. Furthermore, using a population coherence measure, based on coincident firings of neural pairs, it is demonstrated that large-scale network synchronization requires a critical (minimal) average number of synaptic contacts per cell, which is not sensitive to the network size. By changing the GABAA synaptic maximal conductance, synaptic decay time constant, or the mean external excitatory drive to the network, the neuronal firing frequencies were gradually and monotonically varied. By contrast, the network synchronization was found to be high only within a frequency band coinciding with the gamma (20–80 Hz) range. We conclude that the GABAA synaptic transmission provides a suitable mechanism for synchronized gamma oscillations in a sparsely connected network of fast-spiking interneurons. In turn, the interneuronal network can presumably maintain subthreshold oscillations in principal cell populations and serve to synchronize discharges of spatially distributed neurons.
Effects of High-Density Lipoprotein Elevation With Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein Inhibition on Insulin Secretion

Rationale: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol elevation via cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibition represents a novel therapy for atherosclerosis, which also may have relevance for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Objective: The current study assessed the effects of a CETP inhibitor on postprandial insulin, ex vivo insulin secretion, and cholesterol efflux from pancreatic &bgr;-cells. Methods and Results: Healthy participants received a daily dose of CETP inhibitor (n=10) or placebo (n=15) for 14 days in a randomized double-blind study. Insulin secretion and cholesterol efflux from MIN6N8 &bgr;-cells were determined after incubation with treated plasma. CETP inhibition increased plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein AI, and postprandial insulin. MIN6N8 &bgr;-cells incubated with plasma from CETP inhibitor–treated individuals (compared with placebo) exhibited an increase in both glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and cholesterol efflux over the 14-day treatment period. Conclusions: CETP inhibition increased postprandial insulin and promoted ex vivo &bgr;-cell glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, potentially via enhanced &bgr;-cell cholesterol efflux.