Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new in vitro method to evaluate radio-opacity of endodontic sealers.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate a new method for assessing the radio-opacity of endodontic sealers and to compare radio-opacity values with a well-established standard method. METHODS The sealers evaluated in this study were AH Plus(®) (Dentsply DeTrey GmbH, Konstanz, Germany), Endo CPM Sealer (EGEO SRL, Buenos Aires, Argentina) and MTA Fillapex(®) (Angelus Dental Products Industry S/A, Londrina, Parana, Brazil). Two methods were used to evaluate radio-opacity: (D) standard discs and (S) a tissue simulator. For (D), ten standard discs were prepared for each sealer and were radiographed using Digora(®) phosphor storage plates (Soredex; Orion Corporation, Helsinki, Finland), alongside an aluminium stepwedge. For (S), polyethylene tubes filled with sealer (n = 10 for each) were radiographed inside the simulator as described. The digital images were analysed using Adobe Photoshop(®) software v. 10.0 (Adobe Systems, San Jose, CA). To compare the radio-opacity among the sealers, the data were analysed by ANOVA and Tukey's test, and to compare methods, they were analysed by the Mann-Whitney U test. To compare the data obtained from dentin and sealers in method (S), Student's paired t-test was used (=0.05). RESULTS In both methods, the sealers showed significant differences, according to the following decreasing order: AH Plus, MTA Fillapex and Endo CPM. In (D), MTA Fillapex and Endo CPM showed less radio-opacity than aluminium. For all of the materials, the radio-opacity was higher in (S) than in (D). Compared with dentin, all of the materials were more radio-opaque. CONCLUSIONS The comparison of the two assessment methods for sealer radio-opacity testing validated the use of a tissue simulator block.
Infiltration of river water to a shallow aquifer investigated with 3 H / 3 He , noble gases and CFCs

Noble gas isotopes ( He, He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe), tritium (H), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and dissolved oxygen (O 2) were seasonally measured in a small groundwater system recharged by infiltration of river water at Linsental, northeastern Switzerland. All Groundwater samples contained an excess of atmospheric noble gases (‘excess air’) usually with an elemental composition equal to air. The concentrations of atmospheric noble gases in the groundwater were used to calculate the excess air component and the water temperature at recharge. The noble gas temperatures (NGTs) in the boreholes close to the river vary seasonally, however, the average NGT of all samples lies close to the mean annual temperature of the river water. Groundwater ages were calculated using the tritium/helium-3 ( H/He) dating method. The water ages of the samples obtained near the river depend on the amount of recently infiltrated river water and are young during times of active river discharge. In contrast, the mean water age of about 3 years of the deep aquifer remained nearly constant over the sampling period. The observed CFC-11 (CFCl 3) and CFC-12 (CF 2Cl2) concentrations are significantly higher than the atmospheric equilibrium concentrations and therefore CFCs do not provide any direct information on the residence time of the groundwater. Nevertheless, the CFC excess in the groundwater shows a linear increase with the H/H age. Additionally, both accumulation of radiogenic He ( Herad) and O2 consumption are strongly correlated with residence time. All these correlations can be interpreted either in terms of mixing of recently infiltrated river water with older groundwater or in terms of accumulation/consumption rates.q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Long‐term evaluation of 164 patients with essential thrombocythaemia treated with pipobroman: occurrence of leukaemic evolution

Summary. Essential thrombocythaemia (ET) is usually considered an indolent disease, but it may progress during its natural course into acute leukaemia (AL); however, an influence of myelosuppressive agents in the blastic transformation of ET cannot be excluded. We performed a retrospective study to assess the incidence of AL in ET patients treated with pipobroman (PB) as first‐line therapy. One hundred and sixty‐four patients with ET were managed with PB at a dose of 1 mg/kg/d until a stable platelet count below 400 × 109/l was achieved. Maintenance therapy was given at a planned dose ranging between 0·2 and 1 mg/kg/d according to platelet count, in all cases, with a median daily dose of 25 mg (range 7–75 mg/d). The median treatment time was 100 months (range 25–243 months). The patients were evaluated for the occurrence of AL and/or secondary malignancies and survival end‐points. AL was observed in nine patients (5·5%) after a median treatment time of 153 months (range 79–227 months). The overall survival (OS) and the event‐free survival (EFS) at 120 months were 95% and 97%, whereas at 180 months, they were 84% and 76% respectively. In conclusion, this retrospective analysis shows a low incidence of AL in a large group of patients consecutively treated with PB as first‐line chemotherapy. Therefore, an investigation of the role of myelosuppressive agents in the blastic transformation of ET would be of interest.
XRCC1 Is Specifically Associated with Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase and Negatively Regulates Its Activity following DNA Damage

ABSTRACT Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP; EC 2.4.2.30 ) is a zinc-finger DNA-binding protein that detects and signals DNA strand breaks generated directly or indirectly by genotoxic agents. In response to these breaks, the immediate poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of nuclear proteins involved in chromatin architecture and DNA metabolism converts DNA damage into intracellular signals that can activate DNA repair programs or cell death options. To have greater insight into the physiological function of this enzyme, we have used the two-hybrid system to find genes encoding proteins putatively interacting with PARP. We have identified a physical association between PARP and the base excision repair (BER) protein XRCC1 (X-ray repair cross-complementing 1) in theSaccharomyces cerevisiae system, which was further confirmed to exist in mammalian cells. XRCC1 interacts with PARP by its central region (amino acids 301 to 402), which contains a BRCT (BRCA1 C terminus) module, a widespread motif in DNA repair and DNA damage-responsive cell cycle checkpoint proteins. Overexpression of XRCC1 in Cos-7 or HeLa cells dramatically decreases PARP activity in vivo, reinforcing the potential protective function of PARP at DNA breaks. Given that XRCC1 is also associated with DNA ligase III via a second BRCT module and with DNA polymerase β, our results provide strong evidence that PARP is a member of a BER multiprotein complex involved in the detection of DNA interruptions and possibly in the recruitment of XRCC1 and its partners for efficient processing of these breaks in a coordinated manner. The modular organizations of these interactors, associated with small conserved domains, may contribute to increasing the efficiency of the overall pathway.
Examination of Inertial Sensor-Based Estimation Methods of Lower Limb Joint Moments and Ground Reaction Force: Results for Squat and Sit-to-Stand Movements in the Sagittal Plane

Joint moment estimation by a camera-based motion measurement system and a force plate has a limitation of measurement environment and is costly. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate quantitatively inertial sensor-based joint moment estimation methods with five-link, four-link and three-link rigid body models using different trunk segmented models. Joint moments, ground reaction forces (GRF) and center of pressure (CoP) were estimated for squat and sit-to-stand movements in the sagittal plane measured with six healthy subjects. The five-link model and the four-link model that the trunk was divided at the highest point of the iliac crest (four-link-IC model) were appropriate for joint moment estimation with inertial sensors, which showed average RMS values of about 0.1 Nm/kg for all lower limb joints and average correlation coefficients of about 0.98 for hip and knee joints and about 0.80 for ankle joint. Average root mean square (RMS) errors of horizontal and vertical GRFs and CoP were about 10 N, 15 N and 2 cm, respectively. Inertial sensor-based method was suggested to be an option for estimating joint moments of the trunk segments. Inertial sensors were also shown to be useful for the bottom-up estimation method using measured GRFs, in which average RMS values and average correlation coefficients were about 0.06 Nm/kg and larger than about 0.98 for all joints.
Education-Related Parameters in High Myopia: Adults versus School Children

Purpose Since high myopia in the younger generation may differ etiologically from high myopia in older generations, we examined whether education-related parameters differ between high myopia in today´s school children and high pathological myopia in today´s elderly generation. Methods The investigation included the adult populations of the population-based Beijing Eye Study (BES) (3468 adults;mean age:64.6±9.8years;range:50–93years) and Central India Eye and Medical Study (CIEMS) (4711 adults;age:49.±13.2years;range:30–100years), and the children and teenager populations of the Shandong Children Eye Study (SCES) (6026 children;age:9.7±3.3years;range:4–18years;cycloplegic refractometry), Gobi Desert Children Eye Study (1565;age:11.9±3.5years;range:6–21 years;cycloplegic refractometry), Beijing Pediatric Eye Study (681 children;age:7.7±1.6years;range:5–13 years;non-cycloplegic refractometry,calculation of axial length to corneal curvature radius ratio), Beijing Children Eye Study (15066 children;age:13.2±3.4years;range:7–18years;non-cycloplegic refractometry), Beijing High School Teenager Eye Study (4677 children;age:16.9±0.7years;range:16–18years;non-cycloplegic refractometry). Results In the BES and CIEMS, educational level did not differ significantly between, or was significantly lower in the highly myopic group (myopic refractive error ≥6 diopters) than in the non-highly myopic group. In all non-adult study populations, higher prevalence of high myopia was significantly associated with higher degree of education related parameters such as attendance of high-level schools, and more time spent for indoors near work versus time spent outdoors. Conclusions Comparing associations of old or genetic high myopia in adults with new or acquired high myopia in school children revealed that education-related parameters did not show a clear association with old or genetic high myopia, while in contrast, new high myopia showed strong associations with education. It confirms previous studies that the two forms of high myopia not only differed in age of onset, but also in associations with education as well. The data support the notion of two types of high myopia. Future studies may assess whether the risk of pathologic myopic maculopathy and high myopia associated open-angle glaucoma differs between both types of high myopia.
Hyperuricaemia in cyclosporin-treated patients: GFR-related effect.

BACKGROUND Hyperuricaemia is a well known side-effect of cyclosporin A (CsA) treatment. The pathogenic mechanisms, however, remain controversial. There is no convincing evidence that hyperuricaemia is due to CsA-induced, impaired tubular handling of uric acid. The impact of diminished GFR in this particular context has never been investigated. METHODS We prospectively studied plasma uric acid, inulin clearances, and fractional clearances of uric acid in two groups of CsA-treated patients (bone-marrow transplant patients, n = 50; renal transplant patients, n = 32), and one healthy control group without CsA (living related kidney donors, n = 28). Bone-marrow transplant patients were examined before transplantation and 6, 12, 18, 24 months after transplantation, renal transplant patients 1 year after transplantation, and living related kidney donors before and 1 year after unilateral nephrectomy. RESULTS After 1 year of CsA treatment, hyperuricaemia was found in 36% of bone-marrow transplant patients and in 53% of renal transplant patients. Thirty per cent of living related kidney donors were borderline hyperuricaemic 1 year after unilateral nephrectomy. The fractional clearance of uric acid, measured serially in bone-marrow transplant patients did not change significantly over time; it was, however, slightly higher during CsA treatment than after CsA withdrawal. Moreover, the bone-marrow transplant patients' fractional clearance of uric acid was not statistically different from the renal transplant patients' and the living related kidney donors' (values 1 year after transplantation/unilateral nephrectomy: bone-marrow transplant patients, 15.3 +/- 2.3%; renal transplant patients, 11.9 +/- 0.9%; living related kidney donors, 11.1 +/- 0.8%). The GFR at 1 year measured by inulin clearance, was identical in the CsA-treated groups and slightly higher in the living related kidney donors (bone-marrow transplant patients, 51 +/- 6 ml/min per 1.73 m2; renal transplant patients, 49 +/- 3 ml/min per 1.73 m2; living related kidney donors, 61 +/- 2 ml/min per 1.73 m2). CONCLUSION There is no evidence for impaired tubular handling of uric acid, induced by a CsA-specific tubulotoxic effect. Hyperuricaemia in CsA-treated transplant patients can therefore be attributed to the cyclosporin-associated decrease of GFR.
Microalgae—novel highly efficient starch producers

The freshwater alga Chlorella, a highly productive source of starch, might substitute for starch‐rich terrestrial plants in bioethanol production. The cultivation conditions necessary for maximizing starch content in Chlorella biomass, generated in outdoor scale‐up solar photobioreactors, are described. The most important factor that can affect the rate of starch synthesis, and its accumulation, is mean illumination resulting from a combination of biomass concentration and incident light intensity. While 8.5% DW of starch was attained at a mean light intensity of 215 µmol/(m2 s1), 40% of DW was synthesized at a mean light intensity 330 µmol/(m2 s1). Another important factor is the phase of the cell cycle. The content of starch was highest (45% of DW) prior to cell division, but during the course of division, its cellular level rapidly decreased to about 13% of DW in cells grown in light, or to about 4% in those kept in the dark during the division phase. To produce biomass with high starch content, it is necessary to suppress cell division events, but not to disturb synthesis of starch in the chloroplast. The addition of cycloheximide (1 mg/L), a specific inhibitor of cytoplasmic protein synthesis, and the effect of element limitation (nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus) were tested. The majority of the experiments were carried out in laboratory‐scale photobioreactors, where culture treatments increased starch content to up to about 60% of DW in the case of cycloheximide inhibition or sulfur limitation. When the cells were limited by phosphorus or nitrogen supply, the cellular starch content increased to 55% or 38% of DW, respectively, however, after about 20 h, growth of the cultures stopped producing starch, and the content of starch again decreased. Sulfur limited and cycloheximide‐treated cells maintained a high content of starch (60% of DW) for up to 2 days. Sulfur limitation, the most appropriate treatment for scaled‐up culture of starch‐enriched biomass, was carried out in an outdoor pilot‐scale experiment. After 120 h of growth in complete mineral medium, during which time the starch content reached around 18% of DW, sulfur limitation increased the starch content to 50% of DW. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:766–776. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
COLD-PCR finds hot application in mutation analysis.

With the rapid development of targeted therapy and personalized medicine, gaining knowledge of the genetic and molecular characteristics of a patient’s tumor has become a crucial step in therapeutic and prognostic decision-making in oncology. A good example is the administration of therapy targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)1 in cancer patients. Several studies have shown that mutations that cause constitutive activation of the KRAS 2 oncogene (v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog) predict resistance to anti-EGFR therapy (1)(2)(3), whereas activating mutations in EGFR predict response to therapy and favorable clinical outcome (4)(5). Because of such findings, the clinical demand for mutation testing has exploded recently in cancer diagnostics. The specimens used for molecular testing range from large surgical resections to tiny fine-needle aspiration biopsies to cytology smears. Samples are submitted as either frozen or formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, and the percentage of tumor cells varies substantially among different specimens. One of the major challenges that molecular diagnostics laboratories face is to detect mutations in samples with a low percentage of mutation-carrying tumor cells in a background of wild-type nonmalignant cells. The fact that the mutation-detection limit is approximately 20% for the gold standard of Sanger sequencing and approximately 5%–10% for pyrosequencing (6) necessitates implementation of tumor-enrichment strategies for samples with a small tumor component. When tissue sections or smears on …
It's all about Control: Memory Bias in Anxiety is Restricted to Threat Cues that Signal Controllable Danger

Although cognitive models of emotion propose that elevated trait anxiety may be associated with a memory bias for threatening information, evidence for such an anxiety-linked memory bias has been highly inconsistent. Given the crucial role of anxiety in preparing individuals to deal with impending danger, we hypothesized that an anxiety-linked memory bias may be restricted to cues that signal danger which can be controlled. High and low trait anxious participants performed a memory task in which three sets of neutral words were presented. These words acted as either controllable threat cues (signaled a loud noise burst that could be avoided through a secondary task), uncontrollable threat cues (signaled an unavoidable noise burst), or non-threat cues (did not signal a noise bursts). As hypothesized, high anxious participants showed better recognition of controllable threat cues as compared to non-threat cues, whereas no memory bias for uncontrollable threat cues was observed. No memory bias for either type of threat cue was observed in low anxious participants. Future research directions into the relationship between anxiety-linked memory bias and danger controllability are discussed.
A qualitative study of couples'experience of the Preventative and Relationship Enhancement Program

This study explores the experience of couples, married five or more years, of the Preventative and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP). This study examined specific skills the couples’ gleaned from the workshop, as well as, the relational impact that PREP had on the couples’ marriage. Six couples were surveyed, ranging in age from mid-forties to mid-fifties and ranging in years married from 8.5 to 29 years. Content analysis was employed to examine the data. Two themes emerged—motivation and impact, and results were organized under these themes. Clinical implications were identified concerning working with couples married five or more years in therapy and future research is discussed.
Heart in Diabetes: A Microvascular Disease

Diabetes currently affects about 5% of world’s populations, and its prevalence is rapidly increasing particularly in elderly subjects. Because over 80% of all diabetic subjects have type 2 diabetes, the increase in the number of individuals with diabetes implies an epidemic of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is associated with hyperglycemia-specific microvascular complications. Furthermore, macrovascular complications, especially coronary artery disease (CAD) but also stroke and peripheral vascular disease, are increased by two- to fourfold in type 2 diabetes. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most important long-term complication and by far the greatest cause of death in people with diabetes. In fact, over 50% of all patients with type 2 diabetes die of CAD (1). Although much of the excess risk of CAD among patients with diabetes is accounted for by the presence of diabetes-associated CVD risk factors such as LDL cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and smoking, a substantial proportion remains unexplained. A deleterious effect of the diabetic state on vascular and endothelial function is likely to be important via its ability to increase the potential for vasoconstriction and thrombosis. In population-based studies, the relationship of hyperglycemia to CAD is evident but the association is less strong than that of LDL cholesterol and elevated blood pressure. There is also evidence that the role of hyperglycemia with respect to the risk of CVD is larger among patients with type 1 diabetes than in patients with type 2 diabetes. In our study, an increment of 1 unit (%) of glycated hemoglobin increased CVD mortality by 52.5% (95% CI 28.4–81.3) in patients with type 1 diabetes and by 7.5% (4.3–10.8) in patients with type 2 diabetes (2). CAD also includes a microvascular component. Diabetic cardiomyopathy, a relatively rare condition, associates with the presence of microvascular complications in diabetes. Therefore, changes in small arteries …
Predicting Physical, Verbal, Social, Racial, and Sexual Bullying with Individual and Environmental Factors from an Evolutionary Ecological Framework

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF APPENDICES vx INTRODUCTION 1 Proposed Research Objectives 2 Bullying from an Evolutionary Ecological Theoretical Framework 3 Bullying and Individual Factors (Microsystem) 5 Sex and Age 6 Temperament and Personality 7 Temperament and Bullying 8 Personality and Bullying 10 Bullying and Environmental Factors (Micro-, Meso-, and ExoSystems). 13 Perceptions of Parents 13 Perceptions of Parents and Bullying 14 Friendship Quality 15 Friendship Quality and Bullying 16 School Connectedness 17 School Connectedness and Bullying 17 Socio-Economic Status 18 Socio-Economic Status and Bullying 19 Current Study 20 Hypotheses 20 METHOD 23 Participants 23 Measures 23 Bullying 23
Development of an intracanal mature Enterococcus faecalis biofilm and its susceptibility to some antimicrobial intracanal medications; an in vitro study

Objectives: To develop a mature biofilm of Enterococcus faecalis inside the root canal system and to test its susceptibility to some antimicrobial medications in vitro. Methods: Single rooted premolars were mechanically enlarged, sterilized, and then infected with a clinical isolate of E. faecalis. Biofilm formation and maturation was monitored using SEM. Biofilm bacteria were exposed to Amoxicillin+clavulanate, Ciprofloxacin, Clindamycin, Doxycycline, and calcium hydroxide as intracanal medications for 1 week. Finally bacterial samples were collected, and colony-forming units were enumerated. Results: SEM examination confirmed the formation of a mature biofilm at the end of the incubation period. All the chemotherapeutic agents used were significantly better than Calcium hydroxide in elimination of biofilm bacteria. The antimicrobial effect of Amoxicillin + clavulanate, Ciprofloxacin and Clindamycin was significantly better than Doxycycline (P=.05). However the difference in the antimicrobial effectiveness among them was statistically non-significant (P=.05). Conclusions: The method used for bacterial biofilm development and maturation is reliable and can be used to assess the anti bacterial potential of endodontic materials. Also, the local application of antibacterial agents can be beneficial in resistant cases of apical periodontitis but only after careful culture and sensitivity testing to choose the appropriate agent for the existing flora.