Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Periodontal changes in children and adolescents with diabetes: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the level of oral disease in children and adolescents with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Dental caries and periodontal disease were clinically assessed in 182 children and adolescents (6-18 years of age) with diabetes and 160 nondiabetic control subjects. RESULTS There were no differences between case and control subjects with respect to dental caries. Children with diabetes had significantly higher plaque and gingival inflammation levels compared with control subjects. The number of teeth with evidence of attachment loss (the hallmark of periodontal disease) was significantly greater in children with diabetes (5.79 +/- 5.34 vs. 1.53 +/- 3.05 in control subjects, unadjusted P < 0.001). When controlling for age, sex, ethnicity, gingival bleeding, and frequency of dental visits, diabetes remained a highly significant correlate of periodontitis, especially in the 12- to 18-year-old subgroup. In the case group, BMI was significantly correlated with destruction of connective tissue attachment and bone, but duration of diabetes and mean HbA(1c) were not. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that periodontal destruction can start very early in life in diabetes and becomes more prominent as children become adolescents. Programs designed to promote periodontal disease prevention and treatment should be provided to young patients with diabetes.
Characterizing Sexual Violence in Intimate Relationships: An Examination of Blame Attributions and Rape Acknowledgment

Rape by an intimate partner frequently involves a precedence of sexual consent between victim and perpetrator, often does not include the use of physical force, and may not fit societal definitions of rape. Given these unique characteristics, women who are assaulted by an intimate partner may be less likely to acknowledge the experience as a rape. In turn, they might make fewer blame attributions toward themselves and their perpetrators than victims of rape by a nonpartner. Consistent with these expectations, results from 208 community women reporting rape in adulthood revealed the presence of indirect effects of perpetrator type (nonpartner vs. intimate partner) on both behavioral self-blame and perpetrator blame through rape acknowledgment, even when controlling for both victim substance use at the time of the assault and coercion severity. Compared with women who experienced a rape by a nonpartner, women who experienced rape in the context of a marital or dating relationship were less likely to blame themselves or the perpetrator for the assault, in part because they were less likely to label their experience as a rape. Overall, these findings highlight the unique nature of intimate partner rape and provide further information about the relatively underresearched area of sexual violence in intimate relationships.
Cisplatin and Cetuximab Treatment for Metastatic Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer and metastasizes in 2% to 5% of cases. OBJECTIVE Systematic evaluation of published cases of metastatic cSCC (mSCC) treated with cisplatin or cetuximab from 1989 to 2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS A literature search was performed to identify cases of mSCC treated with cisplatin or cetuximab. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, response rates, and disease-free survivals were extracted. RESULTS A total of 60 cases of mSCC treated with cisplatin and 9 cases treated with cetuximab reported in the literature from 1989 to 2014 were included in the analysis. Patients treated with cetuximab obtained a complete response of 67%, an overall response of 78%, and a median disease-free survival of 25 (range 3–48) months. Patients treated with cisplatin obtained a complete response of 22%, an overall response of 45%, and a median disease-free survival of 14.6 (range 3–112) months. CONCLUSION Head-to-head prospective clinical studies between cetuximab and cisplatin are needed to determine which is more efficacious. In addition, prospective tumor registries and randomized controlled trials should be developed in order to establish the ideal systemic regimen in cSCC.
On the single-mass model of the vocal folds

An analysis is made of the fluid–structure interactions necessary to support self-sustained oscillations of a single-mass mechanical model of the vocal folds subject to a nominally steady subglottal overpressure. The single-mass model of Fant and Flanagan is re-examined and an analytical representation of vortex shedding during ‘voiced speech’ is proposed that promotes cooperative, periodic excitation of the folds by the glottal flow. Positive feedback that sustains glottal oscillations is shown to occur during glottal contraction, when the flow separates from the ‘trailing edge’ of the glottis producing a low-pressure ‘suction’ force that tends to pull the folds together. Details are worked out for flow that can be regarded as locally two-dimensional in the glottal region. Predictions of free-streamline theory are used to model the effects of quasi-static variations in the separation point on the glottal wall. Numerical predictions are presented to illustrate the waveform of the sound radiated towards the mouth from the glottis. The theory is easily modified to include feedback on the glottal flow of standing acoustic waves, both in the vocal tract beyond the glottis and in the subglottal region.
Amphipathic antenna of an inward rectifier K+ channel responds to changes in the inner membrane leaflet

Membrane lipids modulate the function of membrane proteins. In the case of ion channels, they bias the gating equilibrium, although the underlying mechanism has remained elusive. Here we demonstrate that the N-terminal segment (M0) of the KcsA potassium channel mediates the effect of changes in the lipid milieu on channel gating. The M0 segment is a membrane-anchored amphipathic helix, bearing positively charged residues. In asymmetric membranes, the M0 helix senses the presence of negatively charged phospholipids on the inner leaflet. Upon gating, the M0 helix revolves around the axis of the helix on the membrane surface, inducing the positively charged residues to interact with the negative head groups of the lipids so as to stabilize the open conformation (i.e., the “roll-and-stabilize model”). The M0 helix is thus a charge-sensitive “antenna,” capturing temporary changes in lipid composition in the fluidic membrane. This unique type of sensory device may be shared by various types of membrane proteins.
Dispersion in Beliefs among Active Mutual Funds and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns

We propose a measure of dispersion in fund managers׳ beliefs about future stock returns based on their active holdings, i.e., deviations from benchmarks. We find that both the level of and the change in dispersion positively predict subsequent stock returns on a risk-adjusted basis. This effect is particularly pronounced among stocks with high information asymmetry and binding short-sale constraints. These results suggest that a subgroup of informed managers drives up the dispersion in active holdings when they place large bets after receiving positive private information. Binding short-sale constraints, however, prevent them from fully using their negative private information, leading to low dispersion in active holdings.
Hierarchical Control System for Robust Microgrid Operation and Seamless Mode Transfer in Active Distribution Systems

This paper presents a robust hierarchical control system of distributed generation converters for robust microgrid operation and seamless transfer between grid-connected and isolated modes. The proposed control scheme employs 1) an internal model voltage controller with a variable structure control element to provide means for mitigating fast and dynamic voltage disturbances, such as dynamic voltage disturbance during mode transition and normal operation, and 2) a droop-based power-sharing controller with an active damping feature to mitigate large power-angle swings and oscillations associated with large-signal disturbances (e.g., mode transition and heavy loading conditions). The proposed voltage and power sharing controllers provide high disturbance rejection performance against voltage disturbances and power angle swings, respectively. Accordingly, robust microgrid operation with seamless transfer in the transition mode has been obtained. Comparative experimental results are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Rapid, Highly Discriminatory Binary Genotyping to Demonstrate Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Transmission in a Tertiary Care Intensive Care Unit

Objectives No previous studies of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) epidemiology in adult intensive care units (ICUs) have assessed the utility of rapid, highly discriminatory strain typing in the investigation of transmission events. Design Observational. Setting A 22-bed medical-surgical adult ICU. Patients Those admissions MRSA-positive on initial screening and all admissions <48 hours in duration were excluded, leaving a cohort of 653 patients (median age, 61 years; APACHE-II, 19). Methods We conducted this study of MRSA transmission over 1 year (August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012) using a multiplex PCR-based reverse line blot (mPCR/RLB) assay to genotype isolates from surveillance swabs obtained at admission and twice weekly during ICU stays. MRSA prevalence and incidence rates were calculated and transmission events were identified using strain matching. Colonization pressure was calculated daily by summation of all MRSA cases. Results Of 1,030 admissions to ICU during the study period, 349 patients were excluded. MRSA acquisition occurred during 31 of 681 (4.6%) remaining admissions; 19 of 31(61%) acquisitions were genotype-confirmed, including 7 (37%) due to the most commonly transmitted strain. Moving averages of MRSA patient numbers on the days prior to a documented event were used in a Poisson regression model. A significant association was found between transmission and colonization pressure when the average absolute colonization pressure on the previous day was ≥3 (χ2=7.41, P=0.01). Conclusions mPCR/RLB characterizes MRSA isolates within a clinically useful time frame for identification of single-source clusters within the ICU. High MRSA colonization pressure (≥3 MRSA-positive patients) on a given day is associated with an increased likelihood of a transmission event. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;00(0):1–9
Community belonging and self-perceived health.

People who are socially isolated and havefew ties to other individuals are more likely to sufferfrom poor physical and mental health and to dieprematurely.The notion of “social capital” has receivedincreasing attention in health research. Social capitalis generally defined as aspects of social organization,such as civic participation and trust in others, thatfacilitate cooperation among community members.
Genotyping mitochondrial DNA single nucleotide polymorphisms by PCR ligase detection reactions

Abstract Background: The identification of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variations, especially single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), is important for many applications. The PCR-ligase detection reaction (LDR) method can reduce false-positives and eliminate the need for both post-PCR and post-ligation purifications in SNP analyses. In addition, it has been successfully employed to detect point mutations in various nuclear genes. In this study, we used the PCR-LDR platform to characterize mtDNA SNPs. Methods: Multiplex PCR-LDRs were used to genotype 19 mtDNA single nucleotide polymorphic sites from 812 samples. Performance of the method was assessed by direct sequencing of 44 samples. Results: We established an overall 97.4% success rate with 99.2% accuracy using the multiplex PCR-LDR methodology. Conclusions: The PCR-LDR mtDNA genotyping technique is simple, highly accurate, has high-throughput, and is cost-effective. Therefore, this method is applicable to mtDNA haplotyping in various applications. Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48:475–83.
xciting journey of 10 years from genomes to fields and markets : ome success stories of genomics-assisted breeding in chickpea , igeonpea and groundnut ajeev

Legume crops such as chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut, mostly grown in marginal environments, are the major source of nutrition and protein to the human population in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. These crops, however, have a low productivity, mainly due to their exposure to several biotic and abiotic stresses in the marginal environments. Until 2005, these crops had limited genomics resources and molecular breeding was very challenging. During the last decade (2005–2015), ICRISAT led demand-driven innovations in genome science and translated the massive genome information in breeding. For instance, large-scale genomic resources including draft genome assemblies, comprehensive genetic and physical maps, thousands of SSR markers, millions of SNPs, several high-throughput as well as low cost marker genotyping platforms have been developed in these crops. After mapping several breeding related traits,
Evaluation of endothelial function in exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism and the effect of treatment

Background: Subclinical hyperthyroidism (SHy) is a widespread condition in which cardiovascular manifestations are frequently occur, but there is still a debate about the vascular responsiveness in it. Measuring flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and intimae-media thickness (IMT) are used to evaluate endothelial function in these patients. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients with a diagnosis of exogenous SHy and 25 full matched healthy subjects were enrolled. At first FMD of brachial artery and IMT of common carotid artery were obtained from all the participants. In the second phase, in the second phase of study, the dosage of levothyroxine was reduced at least 25% of prior dosage, and this was continued until thyroid stimulating hormone became normal range. Measuring FMD and IMT was repeated after this intervention in the case group. Results: The mean age of case and control groups were 38.48 ± 12.05 and 36.72 ± 11.15 years, respectively. The mean of FMD in healthy people was dramatically higher than the subclinical hyperthyroid patients (P < 0.001) but no statistically significant difference was found for IMT (P = 0.459). After intervention in the case group, FMD was meaningfully increased (P < 0.001) but IMT of common carotid artery was not considerably changed (P = 0.491). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that FMD decreased in exogenous subclinical hyperthyroid patients which could be partially restored by treatment. These findings suggest that treatment of subclinical hyperthyroid state could improve endothelial dysfunction and at the end decreased the cardiovascular complications.
TOOBIS: Application de la gestion de données temporelles dans le domaine de la recherche clinique

Temporal data, i.e. data varying over time dimension whose history of evolutions are maintained, are not used in the industrial word. But, far from managing only non-temporal data, numerous and various applications and industrial sectors such as banking, insurance, disease management in medicine, booking and so on, face the management of temporal data. These applications often use results of own developments, simulating temporal data in a more or less effective ways. This paper presents the results of the European project TOOBIS Temporal Object Oriented dataBase within Information System underlying an application using and managing temporal data, in the domain of Clinical Research. TOOBIS offers an extension of the object-oriented database standard in order to provide a full temporal object-oriented database management system, as well as a temporal methodology of analysis and design.
Calibration of DC current up to 600A

DC large current ratio standard is developed, calibrating DC large current based on the principle of ampere-turn balance. Under the same equilibrium condition of ampere-turn, large current can be traced to the magnetic balance current, which is relatively small, easy to be calibrated. The consistency of magnetic balance current of each turn, the linearity of magnetic balance ratios and the accuracy of current transferring at the same flux should be taken into consider.
Personality Dimensions and Extreme Response Tendency

In a study of the relationship between pathology and rating style, 68 Ss rated 10 Rorschach inkblots on 15 semantic differential scales. Ss were selected from a total of 158 Japanese college students as extreme neuroticism and/or extraversion scorers based on the Japanese version of the Maudsley Personality Inventory. It was found that neurotics made significantly more extreme ratings than non-neurotic Ss and that stable introverts had significantly fewer extreme ratings than neurotic extraverts. No significant differences were found in intermediate and neutral ratings.
Pelvic circumferential compression in the presence of soft-tissue injuries: a case report.

Unstable pelvic ring disruptions are frequently associated with hemodynamic instability. Although the source of hemorrhage can be from multiple sites, the severity and type of pelvic disruption strongly correlates with retroperitoneal blood loss. Pelvic stabilization in the early posttraumatic phase is reported to provide an effective means of controlling this retroperitoneal hemorrhage. Pelvic circumferential compression with a bed sheet has been recommended for emergent stabilization of unstable pelvic fractures in hemodynamically unstable patients. More recently, pelvic circumferential compression devices (PCCDs) have become commercially available for time-saving, provisional stabilization. This report describes a complication associated with the use of a PCCD for a patient with an unstable pelvic ring injury and associated Morel-Lavallee lesion.
Targeting Antigen to Diverse APCs Inactivates Memory CD8+ T Cells without Eliciting Tissue-Destructive Effector Function

Memory T cells develop early during the preclinical stages of autoimmune diseases and have traditionally been considered resistant to tolerance induction. As such, they may represent a potent barrier to the successful immunotherapy of established autoimmune diseases. It was recently shown that memory CD8+ T cell responses are terminated when Ag is genetically targeted to steady-state dendritic cells. However, under these conditions, inactivation of memory CD8+ T cells is slow, allowing transiently expanded memory CD8+ T cells to exert tissue-destructive effector function. In this study, we compared different Ag-targeting strategies and show, using an MHC class II promoter to drive Ag expression in a diverse range of APCs, that CD8+ memory T cells can be rapidly inactivated by MHC class II+ hematopoietic APCs through a mechanism that involves a rapid and sustained downregulation of TCR, in which the effector response of CD8+ memory cells is rapidly truncated and Ag-expressing target tissue destruction is prevented. Our data provide the first demonstration that genetically targeting Ag to a broad range of MHC class II+ APC types is a highly efficient way to terminate memory CD8+ T cell responses to prevent tissue-destructive effector function and potentially established autoimmune diseases.
Effects of Posttraining Treatments in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex on Short- and Long-Term Memory for Inhibitory Avoidance in Rats

Adult male Wistar rats were bilaterally implanted with indwelling cannulae in the caudal region of the posterior cingulate cortex. After recovery, animals were trained in a step-down inhibitory avoidance task (3.0-s, 0.4-mA foot shock) and received, right after training, a 0.5-microl infusion of vehicle (phosphate-buffered saline, pH 7.4), of the GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol (0.1 or 0.5 microg), of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) stimulant Sp-cAMPS (0.1 or 0.5 microg), or of the PKA inhibitor Rp-cAMPS (0.1 or 0.5 microg). Animals were tested twice, 1.5 h and, again, 24 h after training, in order to examine the effects of these agents on short- and long-term memory, respectively. Muscimol (0.5 but not 0.1 microg) hindered retention for both short- and long-term memory (p <.05). Rp-cAMPS (0.1 or 0.5 microg) hindered retention for short-term memory (p <.05). In addition, these animals showed lower, but not significantly lower, latencies than controls in the test session for long-term memory (p >.10). A trend toward an amnesic effect on long-term memory was also observed after Sp-cAMPS infusion at 0.1 microg (p <.10). These results show that strong stimulation of GABAergic synapses in the caudal region of the rat posterior cingulate cortex right after training impairs short- and long-term memory (the latter less dramatically). The same occurs by inhibiting PKA activity with regard to STM and possibly to LTM.
Health expenditure dynamics and years of U.S. residence: analyzing spending disparities among Latinos by citizenship/nativity status.

OBJECTIVE We investigate health expenditure disparities between Latinos and non-Latino whites by years of United States residence and citizenship/nativity status. DATA SOURCES We link the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the National Health Interview Survey from 2000 to 2007. The sample consists of 31,514 Latinos and 76,021 white adults (18-64 years). STUDY DESIGN The likelihood of any health spending, total health expenditure, and the out-of-pocket (OOP) share of health expenditure are our main dependent variables. We use two-part multivariate models to adjust for confounding factors. A stratified analysis by insurance status checks for the results' robustness. The decomposition technique is implemented to estimate the share of disparities that can be explained by observed and unobserved variables. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Latinos are much less likely to have any health spending (68 percent), total health expenditure (57 percent), and more likely to pay OOP (6 percent) compared with the white population. Overall, disparities narrow or disappear for naturalized Latinos the longer they stay in the country. Among noncitizen Latinos, disparities remain constant or decline slightly, but they remain large over time. CONCLUSIONS Low-health spending by foreign-born Latinos contributes to health expenditure disparities between Latinos and whites. Our findings provide preliminary evidence on health-spending convergence over time between foreign-born Latinos and that of whites.