Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microtensile bond strength of two single-step adhesive systems to bur-prepared dentin.

PURPOSE To compare the microtensile bond strength (MTBS) of two single-step adhesive systems to two types of bur-prepared dentin. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using either of two adhesives, the experimental MZ-2000 (MZ) and the commercial One-Up Bond F (OUB), resin composite was bonded to flat buccal and root dentin surfaces of eight extracted human premolars. These surfaces were produced by grinding with either regular-grit or superfine-grit diamond burs in a high-speed handpiece. After storage overnight in 37 degrees C water, the bonded specimens were sectioned into ten slices approximately 0.7 mm thick, perpendicular to the bonded surface. They were then subjected to microtensile testing. The surfaces of the fractured specimens were observed both visually and microscopically to determine the failure mode. In addition, to observe the effect of conditioning, the two types of bur-ground dentin surfaces were conditioned with the adhesives, rinsed with acetone, and observed under SEM. RESULTS When MZ was bonded to dentin prepared with a regular-grit diamond bur, MTBS was the lowest and failures occurred adhesively at the interface, whereas other groups revealed primarily mixed failures. MZ-conditioned dentin surfaces ground with a regular-grit diamond bur were covered with a residual smear layer. However, the smear layers on the surface of MZ-conditioned dentin ground with a superfine-grit diamond bur and on OUB-conditioned dentin prepared either with a regular-grit or superfine-grit diamond bur were mostly or partially dissolved. CONCLUSION Some of the single-step adhesive systems may produce low bond strengths to smear layers created by regular-grit diamond burs.
Attenuated morning salivary cortisol concentrations in a population-based study of persons with chronic fatigue syndrome and well controls.

CONTEXT A substantial body of research on the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has focused on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation. The cortisol awakening response has received particular attention as a marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation. OBJECTIVE The objective of the current study was to evaluate morning salivary cortisol profiles in persons with CFS and well controls identified from the general population. DESIGN AND SETTING We conducted a case-control study at an outpatient research clinic. CASES AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: We screened a sample of 19,381 residents of Georgia and identified those with CFS and a matched sample of well controls. Seventy-five medication-free CFS cases and 110 medication-free well controls provided complete sets of saliva samples. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES We assessed free cortisol concentrations in saliva collected on a regular workday immediately upon awakening and 30 and 60 min after awakening. RESULTS There was a significant interaction effect, indicating different profiles of cortisol concentrations over time between groups, with the CFS group showing an attenuated morning cortisol profile. Notably, we observed a sex difference in this effect. Women with CFS exhibited significantly attenuated morning cortisol profiles compared with well women. In contrast, cortisol profiles were similar in men with CFS and male controls. CONCLUSIONS CFS was associated with an attenuated morning cortisol response, but the effect was limited to women. Our results suggest that a sex difference in hypocortisolism may contribute to increased risk of CFS in women.
Shareholder Protection and Stock Market Development: An Empirical Test of the Legal Origins Hypothesis

Using a panel dataset covering a range of developed and developing countries, we show that common law systems were more protective of shareholder interests than civil law ones in the period 1995-2005. However, civilian systems were catching up, suggesting that civil law origin was not much of an obstacle to convergence. We find no evidence of a long-run impact of legal change on stock market development. Possible explanations are that laws have been overly protective of shareholders; transplanted laws have not worked as expected; and, more generally, the exogenous legal origin effect is not as strong as widely supposed.
A cohort study of cancer among benzene-exposed workers in China: overall results.

A large cohort study of 74,828 benzene-exposed and 35,805 unexposed workers employed between 1972 and 1987 in 12 cities in China were followed to determine mortality from all causes and the incidence of lymphohematopoietic malignancies and other hematologic disorders. Benzene-exposed study subjects were employed in a variety of occupations, including painting, printing, and the manufacture of footwear, paint, and other chemicals. All-cause mortality was similar in the benzene-exposed and unexposed comparison group. Statistically significant excess deaths were noted among benzene-exposed subjects for leukemia (RR = 2.3, 95% CP 1.1-5.0), malignant lymphoma (RR = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.3-28.4), and nonneoplastic diseases of the blood (RR = 95% CP 2.5-infinity), and a marginally significant excess was noted for lung cancer (RR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0-2.0). Risk was significantly elevated for the incidence of all lymphohematopoietic malignancies (RR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.5-5.0), malignant lymphoma (RR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.2-14.9), and leukemia (RR = 2.6, 95% CI. 1.3-5.7). Among the leukemia subtypes, only acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) incidence was significantly elevated (RR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.2-10.7), although nonsignificant excesses were also noted for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) (RR = 2.6, 95% CI: 0.7-16.9) and lymphocytic leukemias (RR = 2.8, 95% CI. 0.5-54.5). Significant excesses were found for aplastic anemia (RR = infinity, 95% CI: 2.2-co) and myelodysplastic syndrome (RR = infinity, 95% CI: 1.7-infinity). Employment in benzene-associated occupations in China is associated with a wide spectrum of myelogenous and lymphocytic malignant diseases and related disorders. Investigations continue to assess the nature of these associations.
Ethical Decision Making in Nurses: Relationships Among Moral Reasoning, Coping Style, and Ethics Stress

ABSTRACT Stress related to ethical decision‐making is a serious consequence of frequent encounters with ethical dilemmas for oncology nurses. A descriptive, correlational design using survey techniques was used as a study design with a nationwide sample of 229 oncology nurses. The results indicated nurses experienced an average of 32 different types of ethical dilemmas within the past year on a daily basis. Pain management is the most frequently cited ethical dilemma, followed by cost containment issues and making quality of life and other decisions in the patient's best interest. Approximately 80% of respondents rated their ethics stress level as a 6 or above on a scale of 0 to 10. Forty‐three percent of the sample indicated they use an independent or “sovereign” style of moral reasoning, 23% rely on or accommodate to the judgment of others, and 34% use characteristics of both moral reasoning styles. Understanding the relationships among style of moral reasoning, coping style, and ethics stress can assist nurses and administrators to deal more effectively with the increased moral distress found in many oncology practice settings today. Findings suggest specific interventions for reducing ethics stress in this population of nurses.
The Roles of Phosducin-Like Protein 1 and Programmed Cell Death Protein 5 as Molecular Co-Chaperones of the Cytosolic Chaperonin Complex

The Roles of Phosducin-Like Protein 1 and Programmed Cell Death Protein 5 as Molecular Co-Chaperones of the Cytosolic Chaperonin Complex Christopher M. Tracy Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, BYU Doctor of Philosophy A fundamental question in biology is how proteins, which are synthesized by the ribosome as a linear sequence of amino acids, fold into their native functional state. Many proteins require the assistance of molecular chaperones to maneuver through the folding process to protect them from aggregation and to help them reach their native state in the very concentrated protein environment of the cell. This study focuses on the roles of Phosducin-like Protein 1 (PhLP1) and Programmed Cell Death Protein 5 (PDCD5) as molecular co-chaperones of the Cytosolic Chaperonin Complex (CCT). Signaling in retinal photoreceptors is mediated by canonical G protein pathways. Previous in vitro studies have demonstrated that Gβ subunits rely on CCT and its co-chaperone PhLP1 to fold and assemble into Gβγ and RGS-Gβ5 heterodimers. The importance of PhLP1 in the assembly process was first demonstrated in vivo in a retinal rod photoreceptor-specific deletion of PhLP1. To test whether this mechanism applied to other cell types, we prepared a second mouse line that specifically disrupts the PhLP1 gene in cone photoreceptor cells and measured the effects on G-protein expression and cone visual signal transduction. In PhLP1 depleted cones, Gt2 and RGS9-Gβ5 levels were dramatically reduced, resulting a 60-fold decrease in cone sensitivity and a 50-fold increase in cone photoresponse recovery time. These results demonstrate a common mechanism of Gβγ and RGS9-Gβ5 assembly in rods and cones, underlining the significance of PhLP1/CCT-mediated folding in G protein signaling. PDCD5 has been proposed to act as a pro-apoptotic factor and tumor suppressor. However, the mechanisms underlying its apoptotic function are largely unknown. A proteomics search for PhLP1 binding partners revealed a robust interaction between PDCD5 and CCT. PDCD5 formed a complex with CCT and β-tubulin, a key CCT folding substrate, and specifically inhibited β-tubulin folding. Cryo-electron microscopy studies of the PDCD5-CCT complex suggested a possible mechanism of inhibition of β-tubulin folding. PDCD5 binds the apical domain of the CCTβ subunit, projecting above the folding cavity without entering it. Like PDCD5, β-tubulin also interacts with the CCTβ apical domain, but a second site is found at the sensor loop deep within the folding cavity. These orientations of PDCD5 and β-tubulin suggest that PDCD5 sterically interferes with β-tubulin binding to the CCTβ apical domain and inhibits β-tubulin folding. Given the importance of tubulins in cell division and proliferation, PDCD5 might exert its apoptotic function at least in part through inhibition of β-tubulin folding.
Lexical and Sublexical Feedback in Auditory Word Recognition

Currently, there are two qualitatively different model classes in the field of spoken language understanding. Autonomous models allow only bottom-up information flow, whereas interactive models allow higher level representations (e.g., lexical) to affect processing at lower levels (e.g., phonemic). Part 1 of the present study included a test of a prediction that differentiates the two model classes: Is phoneme monitoring faster for targets in real words than in pseudowords, even before the word could in principle be recognized? The results indicate that this lexical advantage does occur, in accord with the predictions of interactive models. In Part 2, speech compression and expansion were used to assess the sufficiency or necessity of bottom-up evidence and of processing time in accomplishing lexical access. The results of Parts 1 and 2 suggested that in addition to the lexical effects posited by current models, sublexical activation may also play an important role. Data are presented in Part 3 that support this interpretation. Collectively, the results in the current study support interactive models of lexical processing, but require additional sublexical processes as well.
Operating or Financial Distress ? How much Costly these are ?

Current study intended to explore the cost of financial distress for Pakistani manufacturing ongoing firms listed at KSE. In doing so, financial distress is divided into operating distress and financial but not operating distress. Sample consists of ongoing firms that were at least once in distressed counter for the period of analysis. Independent t-test, parametric and non-parametric correlation analysis and GLM regression analyses are used to conclude proposed models. It is found that firms borne opportunity losses before and after entering to both operating and financial distress. Moreover, results also show that operating distress affects more severely to firms’ value as compared to financial but not operating distress category. However, result for pre financial but not operating distress is found insignificant. On the other hand organizational efficiencies are also evidenced in post year to distress. In short current study provides opportunity to all stakeholders to assess firms’ performances before and after entering to both operating and financial distress.
Sexual and General Offending Trajectories of Men Referred for Civil Commitment

Policies aimed at managing high-risk offenders, which include sex offenders, often assume they are a homogeneous population. These policies also tend to assume the pattern of offending is the same for all sex offenders, and is stable. This study challenges these assumptions by examining the life course offending trajectories of 780 convicted adult male sexual offenders. The men were referred to the Massachusetts Treatment Center for civil commitment between 1959 and 1984. The changing number of both sexual and any offenses were examined by age using Group-Based Trajectory Modeling. We identified a four-trajectory model for all offending and a four-trajectory model for sexual offending. The identified groups varied in several offending patterns including criminal onset, length of criminal careers, age of peak offending, and time of entry into the treatment center. Late adult onset of sex offending was found to be associated with child molestation, whereas early-onset trajectories were associated with rape. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.
Immunomodulatory effects of antileishmanial drugs.

OBJECTIVES The commonly used antileishmanial drugs are sodium antimony gluconate (SAG), amphotericin B, miltefosine and paromomycin. There are a number of reports that antileishmanial drugs show immunomodulatory properties. Here, we attempt to understand how the innate arm of the immune system is modulated in response to these antileishmanial drugs. METHODS BALB/c peritoneal macrophages were treated with miltefosine, SAG, amphotericin B or paromomycin. The membrane fluidity of macrophages following drug treatment was studied in terms of fluorescence anisotropy. The T cell-stimulating ability, production of cytokines and nitrogen and oxygen metabolite production in drug-treated macrophages were also studied. The study was also carried out using peritoneal macrophages from drug-treated BALB/c mice. RESULTS The antileishmanial drugs altered macrophage membrane fluidity, except amphotericin B. The drug-treated macrophages showed enhanced T cell-stimulating ability and generation of reactive oxygen species, nitrite, interleukin-12 and tumour necrosis factor-α. CONCLUSIONS Antileishmanial drugs can stimulate the innate arm of the immune system, which may have a significant bearing on the cellular arm of the immune system.
Packing Density of the PEG-Shell in PEG-Albumins: PEGylation Induced Viscosity and COP are Inverse Correlate of Packing Density

Abstract: PEG-Alb represents a new class of low viscogenic plasma expanders that achieve super perfusion in vivo by mimicking the vasodilatory influence of high viscogenic plasma expanders. PEGylation-engineered structure of PEG albumin can be envisaged as a deformable molecular domain around the rigid central protein core. The correlation between the structure of PEG-shell in terms of packing of the PEG inside the PEG shell and PEGylation induced plasma expander (PE)-like properties of albumin has been investigated as a function of the number and length of the PEG-chain. The increase in molecular radius of albumin on PEGylation is non-linear as a function of the number of PEG chains conjugated. The packing density of PEG within the PEG-shell is an inverse correlate of PEG-chain size; i.e. the shorter chains pack more compactly than the longer ones. The PEGylation induced increase in the viscosity and COP of albumin is an exponential correlation of the number of ethylene oxide units (-CH2-CH2-O-) conjugated and is also a function of the PEG-chain length. At equivalence of PEG mass conjugated, the viscosity and COP of PEG-albumin adducts correlate inversely with packing density of PEG. All PEGylated albumins are not equivalent on the basis of total PEG mass conjugated. Accordingly, the structure of PEG albumin and its solution properties can be engineered to optimize a given total PEG mass for the application of PEG albumin as a resuscitation fluid. The extension arms minimize the influence of PEG shell on the structure of the protein core. We speculate that EAF-PEGylation is a preferable platform for PEGylation of protein therapeutics and is expected to generate products with better therapeutic efficacy.
Craft research: joining emotion and knowledge

This paper considers how craft and research can join in the enterprise of craft research, reflected in the new journal of Craft Research. The rationale is that craft research – i.e. research into, for and through craft practice – is still relatively new, and that craft is traditionally associated with the creation of artefacts as a source of experience and emotion while research is devoted to the production of knowledge. The paper sets out the context of craft as a discipline and activity, which is bound to the sensibilities of material and material understanding, making and haptic perception as well as to the production of emotional values. It introduces the need for creative research in the crafts, which contrasts with the current strictures of research, and proposes experiential knowledge as the unifying conceptual underpinning of both. The outcome and contribution of the paper is a better understanding of the relationship between craft and research, which will help makers overcome the opposing perceptions of craft and research. It explains the potential and value of research for the development of craft, both as practice and as discipline, and thus for advancing craft as a discipline that is viable and relevant for the future.
A comparison of the latent class structure of cannabis problems among adult men and women who have used cannabis repeatedly.

BACKGROUND Little empirical evidence exists to determine if there are alternative classification schemes for cannabis abuse and dependence beyond the definitions provided by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) criteria. Current evidence is not conclusive regarding gender differences for cannabis use, abuse and dependence. It is not known if symptom profiles differ by gender. METHODS Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to assess whether cannabis abuse and dependence symptom patterns suggest a severity spectrum or distinct subtypes and to test whether symptom patterns differ by gender. Data from 3312 men and 2509 women in the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (NLAES) who had used cannabis 12 + times life-time were included in the present analyses. The comparability of the solutions for men and women was examined through likelihood ratio chi(2) tests. RESULTS Based on the Bayesian information criterion and interpretability, a four-class solution was selected, and the classes were labeled as 'unaffected/mild hazardous use', 'hazardous use/abuse', 'abuse/moderate dependence' and 'severe abuse/dependence'. The solutions were generally suggestive of a severity spectrum. Compared to men, women were more likely to be in the 'unaffected/mild hazardous use' class and less likely to be in the 'abuse/moderate dependence' or 'severe abuse/dependence' classes. The results were generally similar for men and women. However, men had consistently and substantially higher endorsements of hazardous use than women, women in the 'abuse/moderate dependence' class had moderately higher rates for four dependence symptoms, and women in two of the classes were more likely to endorse withdrawal. CONCLUSION Our findings generally support the severity dimension for DSM-IV cannabis abuse and dependence symptomatology for both men and women. While our results indicate that public health messages may have generic and not gender-specific content, treatment providers should focus more effort on reducing hazardous use in men and alleviating withdrawal in women.
GLC determination of theophylline in biological fluids.

A specific GLC procedure for the determination of theophylline in plasma and saliva is described. The method selectively measures theophylline in the presence of its metabolites and other xanthines. The GLC method is sufficiently sensitive to detect 1 μg theophylline/ml plasma or saliva. Analysis for theophylline in plasma and saliva samples obtained from patients showed a saliva-plasma ratio of approximately 0.5.
Studies on kinetics of [3H]beta-funaltrexamine binding to mu opioid receptor.

beta-Funaltrexamine (beta-FNA) was shown to be a reversible kappa agonist and an irreversible mu antagonist. [3H]beta-FNA at low concentrations (less than 10 nM) covalently binds to mu but not delta or kappa opioid receptors in brain membranes. The interaction between beta-FNA and mu opioid receptors was thought to involve two steps; a reversible ligand-receptor complex is formed before the formation of an irreversible complex, based on observations in bioassays in vitro. In this study, we investigated whether such a two-step process occurred in binding using bovine striatal membranes and determined the kinetic parameters by examining the time courses of both reversible and irreversible binding of [3H]beta-FNA to mu opioid receptors. Specific binding was defined as the difference between binding in the presence of levorphanol and dextrorphan (1 microM). Reversible binding was determined as the difference between membrane (reversible and irreversible) binding and irreversible binding. At 25 degrees, the rate of formation of irreversible [3H]beta-FNA-receptor complex increased as the concentration increased and reached a plateau at 2 nM; further increase in [3H]beta-FNA concentration did not enhance the rate of formation, indicating that the rate saturation effect exists for irreversible binding of [3H]beta-FNA to mu opioid receptors. At 10 degrees and low concentrations (less than 1 nM) of [3H]beta-FNA, appreciable reversible binding to opioid receptors occurred before any irreversible [3H]beta-FNA-receptor complex could be detected. These observations support the notion that reversible binding occurs before alkylation of the receptor. The binding of [3H]beta-FNA to mu opioid receptors was thus modeled to allow for such a two-step process: (formula; see text) A mathematical analysis method was derived to allow determination of all kinetic parameters (k+1, k-1, k2, and Kd) of such a two-step reaction. Values of k2, k+1, k-1, and Kd were determined at 10 degrees for 0.5, 0.25, and 0.125 nM [3H]beta-FNA and were found to be very similar among these three concentrations. Raising the incubation temperature from 10 degrees to 37 degrees greatly enhanced the values of k+1, k-1, and k2 without affecting Kd. At 37 degrees incubation without 200 mM NaCl significantly decreased the values of k+1, k-1, and k2 without affecting Kd. NaCl increased the irreversible binding, probably by shifting the equilibrium towards a conformation that binds more easily with beta-FNA. Under all conditions examined, the value of k-1 was found to be at least 5-fold greater than k2, indicating that the majority of the reversible complex dissociates and only a small portion proceeds to form irreversible complex. This finding is consistent with published observations that only a portion of beta-FNA binding to mu opioid receptors is irreversible. In conclusion, [3H]beta-FNA binds reversibly to mu opioid receptors before forming covalent bonding.