Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of complete and partial removable dentures on chewing movements.

Partial or complete edentulism impairs mastication. However, it is unclear how the chewing cycle is affected by prosthetics. We evaluated the chewing movements of patients fitted with complete (CD) or removable partial denture (RPD). A total of 29 subjects were kinesiographically evaluated during chewing of peanuts and Optocal portions in a random sequence. The subjects were divided into two groups according to prosthesis type. Group RPD was composed of 14 partially edentulous patients using a lower distal extension RPD (mean age 61 ± 8 years), and group CD contained 15 completely edentulous patients using CD (mean age 65·9 ± 7·9 years) in both jaws. Opening, closing, occlusal and masticatory cycle times, movement angle (opening and closing), maximum velocity (opening and closing), total area and chewing cycle amplitudes were evaluated. The results were subjected to anova and Tukey's HSD test at a significance level of 5%. The RPD group exhibited shorter opening and closing phases and masticatory cycle time (P < 0·05). Maximum velocities were also higher in the RPD group, irrespective of the test material (P < 0·05). The area and amplitude of the chewing envelope was smaller in the CD group (P < 0·0001). The test material did not influence chewing cycles in any of the parameters evaluated (P > 0·05). RPD wearers use a faster chewing sequence with greater vertical and lateral jaw excursions compared with CD wearers.
The Properties of Fuzzy Number Valued Power Function

In this paper, we discuss the properties of the fuzzy number functions that are the Zadeh extension of usual real-valued power functions on fuzzy number space. The continuity, monotonicity, convexity (or concavity), G-differentiability and the integral over directed line segment of the fuzzy number functions are characterized with the corresponding analytical properties of usual real-valued power functions
Innate Anti-Breast Cancer Activity of -T cells: A Novel Biological and Clinical Approach to the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Breast Cancer

Abstract : We initially identified a specific signaling pathway which inhibits apoptosis in human -T cells. We have exploited this pathway to develop the methodologies allowing the large-scale ex vivo expansion of viable apoptosis-resistant -T cells. Importantly, we have shown that apoptosis-resistant human -T cells retain significant innate (MHC-unrestricted) cytotoxicity against a wide variety of tumor cell lines, including human breast cancer cell lines. In this project, we have focused upon testing the hypothesis that -T cells - by virtue of their innate ability to recognize and kill epithelial-derived malignancies - play an important role in regulating the initial growth or spread of breast cancer in vivo and may also be of therapeutic utility. In this report, we summarize the findings we have made during the course of this project. In both the human pre-clinical work and in the mouse models, we have made the important discovery that -T cells are severely impaired in tumor-bearing hosts (human and mouse) compared to healthy controls - this possibly limiting our ability to use patient-derived (autologous) -T cells for therapy. However, data derived from animal studies clearly show that using -T cells derived from healthy donors (syngeneic or allogeneic) offers a feasible and rationale alternative approach when patient-derived (autologous) -T cells cannot be expanded for use clinically. This represents a significant conceptual advance and is the basis for new studies.
Lead and lead toxicity in domestic and free living birds

At present, domestic and wild fauna are being exposed to aspects and factors which are foreign to the habitat in which they live. One that stands out is the enormous amount and variety of chemical compounds which, in many cases, are highly complex and which are constantly being released into the atmosphere, mainly from agricultural and industrial activity. All these substances affect some species more than others, whether they be plants or animals, from the most insignificant micro-organism to the most evolved species, among them birds. Finally, another cause of mortality in many birds is plumbism, namely death caused by the ingestion of lead. Lead has been one of the main causes of poisoning in man since ancient times due to its use in many activities although it is only recently that this toxicity has been recognized. Moreover, the use of lead pellets for shooting has resulted in the release into the environment of millions of these over many years, with serious repercussions for many bird species populations, which have ingested them either directly or indirectly. Added to this use of lead in cynegetic activities is the fate of the lead weights (sinkers or ballast) used by rod fishers, which sink to the bottom or accumulate on the banks of rivers, lakes, lagoons or reservoirs. The problem arises when these pellets or weights are ingested by birds, mainly Anatidae, which mistake them for the small stones or grit they use to triturate food in their gizzards. Small particles of lead enter the digestive tract, start dissolving in the form of lead salts, are incorporated into the bloodstream and the rest of the body, accumulate in organs like the liver or kidneys, and cause physiological or behavioural changes. When certain concentrations of lead are reached, the birds then die. If lead-poisoned birds are consumed by carrions or predators, the latter also ingest the lead so that they may also be affected or die from plumbism since, being a heavy metal, its degradation and/or elimination is very difficult. There is, therefore, no doubt that millions of birds die annually worldwide from lead poisoning (in the U.S.A., around 3 000 000), this problem being most acute in marshland. The solutions could include the introduction of legislation regulating or banning shooting, in the use of non-toxic ammunition in marshes and protected areas, the substitution of lead pellets for other non-toxic ones, such as steel, bismuth, tungsten or other suitable metals, and to go on studying other possible alternatives to end such a dramatic situation for birds all over the world.
In Vitro Bioaccessibility and Bioavailability of Iron from Potatoes with Varying Vitamin C, Carotenoid, and Phenolic Concentrations.

The bioaccessibility and bioavailability of iron from 12 Andean potato clones were estimated using an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion procedure and the Caco-2 cell line as a model of human intestine, with ferritin formation as a marker of iron absorption. We first showed that 63.7% (for the genotype CIP_311422.016) to 79.0% (for the genotype CIP_311575.003) of the iron is released from the potato tuber matrix during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and is therefore available at the intestinal level. On average, 32 and 24.5% of the hydrophilic bioactive components, vitamin C and chlorogenic acid, respectively, were also bioaccessible from boiled tubers. Intestinal absorption of intrinsic iron from potato tubers could not be detected using our in vitro Caco-2 cell model. When an extrinsic source of iron (20 μM FeCl3 and 1 mM ascorbic acid) was added to the digestion mixture, iron absorption varied from 1.8 to 8% for the genotypes CIP_311422. 016 and CIP_311624. 021, respectively, as compared to the reference control. Principal component analysis revealed negative relationships between bioavailable iron values and phenolic concentrations, whereas vitamin C concentrations were positively associated with the ferritin values. Further controlled intervention trials would be needed to conclusively assess the bioavailability of intrinsic iron from potato tubers.
Aqueous humor glycation marker and plasma homocysteine in macular degeneration

Abstract Background: We investigated concentrations of total homocysteine (tHcy) in elderly people without and those with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In addition, we tested the association between plasma tHcy and one glycation marker in aqueous humor. Methods: People with cataract only (n=48), patients with dry AMD (n=38) and those with wet AMD (n=31) were studied. Blood concentrations of tHcy, and methylation and vitamin markers were measured in 116 blood samples. The concentrations of the extracellular soluble receptor for advanced glycated end products (esRAGE) were measured in 77 aqueous humor samples. Results: Mean aqueous humor concentration of esRAGE and that of plasma tHcy did not differ significantly between the groups. Arterial hypertension but not eye disease explained the tHcy elevation in plasma in this study. In the cataract group, a significant negative correlation was found between plasma tHcy and that of esRAGE in aqueous humor (r=–0.483, p=0.006). In patients with dry AMD, the concentration of esRAGE in aqueous humor correlated negatively to tHcy and positively to serum folate. Conclusions: Plasma tHcy levels were positively associated with hypertension, but not with AMD in this study. Higher esRAGE in aqueous humor was related to higher folate and lower tHcy in blood. Following studies may assess whether B-vitamins can protect against age-related ocular diseases by reducing glycation.
On the significance of marginally low von Willebrand factor

Thromb Haemost 2008; 100: 1213–1214 Dear Sir, Five years ago Sadler postulated that mild type 1 von Willebrand disease (VWD) might be vastly overdiagnosed (1). He argued that due to the high frequency of self-reported mild bleeding symptoms, marginally low von Willebrand factor (VWF, usually defined as about 30–50 U/dl) would frequently associate coincidentally with clinically irrelevant symptoms and lead to a misdiagnosis of VWD. He, however, acknowledged that some individuals with marginally low VWF might be at increased risk of bleeding but suggested that they should not be diagnosed with true VWD. It has since been shown that linkage to the VWF gene can usually be found when the ristocetin cofactor activity is <30 U/dl. The proportion of linkage to the VWF gene is 0.51 in individuals with marginally low activity levels (2). In other words, genetically based VWD is present in 50% of individuals with marginally low VWF and 50% have other reasons for their low VWF activity. The severity of bleeding in type 1 VWD has – not surprisingly – been shown to be inversely related to the VWF activity (3). Until recently, however, there were no published definitive studies on the association of marginally low VWF with excessive bleeding. In a recent isssue of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Lethagen et al. (4) reported results from an important population-based case-control study on the association of marginally low VWF activity with bleeding. In this study, using ristocetin cofactor, Lethagen et al. confirm the results of our prior population-based case-control study which demonstrated that marginally low VWF by three measures (VWF ristocetin cofactor, VWF antigen, VWF collagen binding) was significantly and not coincidentally associated with excessive bleeding in randomly selected teenagers of both sexes (5). The study by Lethagen et al. adds that no VWF gene promoter-associated polymorphisms were found despite the bleeding tendency. Lethagen et al. also confirmed our prior report demonstrating no variation of VWF during normal menstrual cycle (6), a finding that substantially simplifies the workup for suspected VWD. In the Lethagen et al. paper, however, a citation of the two prior reports would have been scientifically warranted, and attention should be paid to this principle in future. It is important that two population-based studies have now shown that marginally low VWF causes increased bleeding (4, 5). Taken together, the studies would seem to suggest that the ristocetin cofactor activity and not the presence of a mutation should be used to identify potential bleeders. No study to date has demonstrated that marginally low VWF is safe. Therefore, it remains possible that individuals with marginally low VWF may occasionally develop significant bleeding and that prophylaxis is needed for such individuals.
Middle School Start Times: The Importance of a Good Night's Sleep for Young Adolescents

With the onset of adolescence, teenagers require 9.2 hr of sleep and experience a delay in the timing of sleep. In the “real world” with early school start times, however, they report less sleep, striking differences between their school-weekend sleep schedules, and significant daytime sleepiness. Prior studies demonstrated that high schoolers with later school starts do not further delay bedtimes but obtain more sleep due to later wake times. This study examined sleep–wake patterns of young adolescents attending urban, public middle schools with early (7:15 a.m.) versus late (8:37 a.m.) start times. Students (N = 205) were assessed at 2 time periods. Students at the late-starting school reported waking up over 1 hr later on school mornings and obtaining 50 min more sleep each night, less sleepiness, and fewer tardies than students at the early school. All students reported similar school-night bedtimes, sleep hygiene practices, and weekend sleep schedules.
Primary drug-resistant tuberculosis in children.

SETTING The Western Cape Province of South Africa, an area with a high tuberculosis (TB) incidence where initial isoniazid (INH) resistance and multidrug resistance (MDR) among adults was 3.9% and 1.1%, respectively, during 1992-1993. OBJECTIVE To determine the drug resistance incidence among children as compared to adults, to compare the clinical features of drug-resistant and drug-susceptible TB, and the degree of INH resistance in isoniazid-resistant isolates. METHODS All Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures obtained from children (0-13 years) at a regional hospital were prospectively collected from August 1994 to April 1998 and susceptibility testing done on each child's specimens. Degree of INH resistance was determined in available resistant isolates. The children's clinical records were reviewed. RESULTS Susceptibility results were available in 306/338 children with cultures of M. tuberculosis; 21 isolates (6.9%) were INH-resistant, and seven were MDR. Taking into account study limitations, the incidence of INH resistance was 5.6% and MDR 1% in children aged <5 years. Clinical features were similar in children with drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB. CONCLUSION The incidence of drug resistance in childhood tuberculosis in Western Cape is low, and probably reflects the level of primary drug resistance amongst organisms currently circulating in the community.
Evaluation of the gene expression changes induced by 17-alpha-ethynyl estradiol in the immature uterus/ovaries of the rat using high density oligonucleotide arrays.

BACKGROUND In a previous study, we determined the effects of 17-alpha-ethynyl estradiol (EE) on gene expression using microarrays that represented approximately 9,000 genes, which was the state of-the-art. Higher content arrays with almost double the number of genes have since become available. In order to better determine whether common sets of gene expression changes can be predictive of estrogenic activity, we have replicated the previous experiment using the more comprehensive microarray. METHODS Immature 20-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 0.1, 1, and 10 microg EE/kg/day ( subcutaneously [s.c.]), for four days, dosing from postnatal day (PND) 20-23). Changes in a more comprehensive expression level of 15,923 rat annotated genes and expressed sequence tags were evaluated on PND 24. RESULTS By comparing the response of the treatment groups versus controls using various statistical parameters, we determined that the expression of 1,394 genes showed a significant change with respect to control (p< or =0.0001), to at least one of the EE dosages. The tissues from animals exposed to 0.1 microg EE/kg/day showed changes in the expression of only 33 genes, whereas when they were exposed to 1 or 10 microg EE/kg/day, the expression of 409 and 548 genes was modified, respectively. A dose-dependent analysis indicated that 592 genes showed a robust and significant response to EE exposure (increased or decreased). Our analysis confirmed the regulation of previously identified estrogen-sensitive genes, and clearly identified novel mediators of estrogen actions, both in the uterus as well as in the ovary. CONCLUSIONS This compendium of genes represents the largest compilation of estrogen-responsive genes that has ever been identified for the immature uterus and ovary of any species, and can be used to generate testable hypothesis to improve the understanding of the molecular pathways associated with physiological and pathophysiological responses to exposure to chemicals with estrogenic properties.
Morphology and virulence of Trypanosoma cruzi-like hemoflagellates isolated from wild mammals in Georgia and Florida.

During epizootiological investigations of leptospirosis in wild animals in southwestern Georgia and northwestern Florida, hemoflagellates resembling Trypanosoma cruzi were recovered from 103 of 1584 animals collected (Brooke et al, 1957; McKeever et al, 1958). The organisms were found in cultures of kidney tissue from 17 percent of 552 opossums, 1.7 percent of 118 grey foxes, 1.5 percent of 608 raccoons and 1.1 percent of 306 striped skunks. Triatomid bugs were found only rarely in the areas where the animals were collected, and no human cases of Chagas' disease have been reported to date. T. cruzi and T. cruzi-like organisms have, however, been isolated from several species of Triatoma in the United States (Wood and Wood, 1941; Sullivan et al, 1949; and Usinger, 1944). Species of wood rat, wood mouse, deer mouse, opossum, bat, armadillo (Usinger, 1944; Wood, 1952) and raccoon (Walton et al, 1958) have been reported as reservoir hosts. Identifications of the organisms were usually based on the morphology and cyclical development in insect and mammalian hosts. Studies of virulence and infectivity rates of these organisms have been hampered by the great variations in susceptibility of laboratory animals toward infection with T. cruzi (Mazzotti, 1940; Hauschka, 1949; Pizzi et al, 1949). Although there is some experimental evidence that wild animal hemoflagellate isolates can infect domestic animals, man and other primates (Diamond and Rubin, 1958; Packchanian, 1943; Davis, 1943), it is still not known whether any or all are capable of producing Chagas' disease. Nor is it known whether the virulence of animal strains can be increased by passage through new hosts under natural conditions. Serological tests for the identification of species and/or strains of hemoflagellates have had limited use (Hauschka, et al, 1950; Packchanian and Turck, 1949; Senekjie, 1943; Walton, et al, 1958). The present report concerns the comparative study of 7 strains of hemoflagellates isolated during a leptospirosis field study. In order to identify the wild animal isolates, their characteristics were compared with those of 3 established species of Trypanosoma; namely, T. cruzi, T. rangeli, and T. duttoni.
The p53 codon 72 polymorphism in black South African women and the risk of cervical cancer

The p53 codon 72 genotype was examined in blood samples taken from 121 Zulu‐speaking black South African women with histologically proven squamous carcinoma of the cervix. Freshly biopsied tumour tissue was also available for human papillomavirus subtyping from 100 of these women. A control group consisted of 251 healthy race‐matched women attending a contraceptive service facility. The results show that there were no statistically significant differences in the frequency of the homozygous arginine genotype between patients with cancer of cervix, irrespective of human papillomavirus status, and healthy controls. This finding suggests that the arginine allele does not predispose towards viral tumour genesis in this population, and supports the findings of research done in other ethnic groups.
Noncoherent diversity reception over Nakagami-fading channels

A method for computing the average bit-error probability of binary differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) and frequency shift-keying (FSK) signals transmitted over Nakagami asymptotically slow fading channels with postdetection diversity reception is presented to extend previously published results. The previously published results apply only for maximum ratio combining, i.e., with predetection combining, where phase coherency is necessary. The results for postdetection combining are derived with the explicit expressions for the most practical cases of independent channels and particular cases of correlated channels.
A geo-pathological study on malignant melanoma in Japan.

Two hundred and twelve autopsied cases of malignant melanoma observed in Japan were studied as to incidence, primary sites, and mode of metastases, mainly from the point of view of geographic pathology. The overall incidence among all autopsy cases was 0.16%. Malignant melanoma in Japan seems to have some specific features such as: (1) a relatively low incidence of cutaneous and a relatively high incidence of non-cutaneous melanoma; (2) lower extremities, especially the sole of the foot, being the primary site of predilection of cutaneous melanoma; and (3) high incidence of mucosal melanomas including those of nasal, paranasal, and oral cavities, the latter being more common in females than in males. These findings are similar to those observed among other colored populations and differ from those noted in Caucasians. The higher incidence of the tumor in the less sunny part of Japan suggests that the role of sunlight in the causation of melanoma is still a moot question.
Electronic structure and valence-band spectra of Bi4Ti3O12.

The x-ray photoelectron valence band spectrum and x-ray emission valence-band spectra (Ti K _beta_5, Ti L_alpha, O K_alpha) of Bi4Ti3O12 are presented (analyzed in the common energy scale) and interpreted on the basis of a band-structure calculation for an idealized I4/mmm structure of this material.
Psychiatric comorbidity among referred juveniles with major depression: fact or artifact?

OBJECTIVE The high levels of psychiatric comorbidity reported in juveniles meeting operational definitions of depressive disorders raise both substantive and methodological concerns about whether depression with comorbid disorders should be classified as two disorders or as different manifestations of the same condition. Our purpose was to clarify issues of diagnostic heterogeneity and diagnostic overlap in juvenile depression. METHOD The sample consisted of consecutively referred children and adolescents (N = 424) comprehensively evaluated with structured diagnostic interviews and psychosocial assessments. RESULTS A clinical picture compatible with the diagnosis of major depression was identified in 40% of these referred youths. Children meeting criteria for major depression had prototypical symptoms of the disorder, a chronic course, and severe psychosocial dysfunction. In addition, they frequently met criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and anxiety disorders. These comorbidity findings were not due to symptom overlap among major depression and the co-occurring disorders. For the most part, comorbid disorders preceded the onset of major depression by several years. CONCLUSIONS Juvenile depression has a chronic course, severe dysfunction, and high levels of psychiatric comorbidity. Despite symptom overlap, our work suggests that major depression and other conditions may represent different disorders.