Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Filmless imaging: the uses of digital radiography in dental practice.

BACKGROUND As use of digital radiography becomes more common, many dentists are wondering if and how they can replace conventional film-based imaging with a digital system. This article briefly describes the different technologies used for digital radiography in dentistry. The article provides general practitioners with a broad overview of the benefits and limitations of digital radiography to help them understand the role the technology can play in their practices. OVERVIEW The two technologies now available are solid-state systems and phosphor plate systems. Each has its strong points, and the choice of which to use depends on the type of dental practice. Image processing improves the diagnostic quality of the radiographic information. Advanced image-processing techniques, such as subtraction radiography, are available for specialized clinics. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Digital radiography no longer is an experimental modality. It is a reliable and versatile technology that expands the diagnostic and image-sharing possibilities of radiography in dentistry. Optimization of brightness and contrast, task-specific image processing and sensor-independent archiving are important advantages that digital radiography has over conventional film-based imaging.
Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification-based proteomic analysis of testis biopsies in rhesus monkeys treated with transient scrotal hyperthermia

This study aimed to examine the cellular and molecular events that occur in rhesus monkey testes after scrotal hyperthermia. Eight male adult rhesus monkeys were subjected to scrotal hyperthermia at 43°C for 30 min daily for 6 consecutive days. Sperm concentration, reproductive hormones, and testis histology were examined before hyperthermia (day 0), and at 8, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 days after the initiation of hyperthermia. iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis was conducted on testicular tissues collected on days 0, 8, and 60 to identify differentially expressed proteins at the early and recovery stages of testicular damage. The sperm concentration was significantly decreased at days 30 and 45 after treatment (p < 0.01) and recovered to baseline at day 60. When compared with day 0, 101 and 24 differentially expressed proteins were identified at days 8 and 60 after heat treatment, respectively. The molecular functions of the differentially expressed proteins at day 8 were mainly nucleic acid binding, unfolded protein binding, nucleotide binding, and nucleoside phosphate binding. Spliceosome was enriched as the most significant pathway at day 8. CIRBP, PSIP1, Sam68, and Decorin were validated and found to be consistent with the proteomic data, indicating the reliability of the proteomic profiles identified in this study. In summary, we suggest that the proteins identified in this study may play important roles in heat-induced spermatogenic impairment. Some of these proteins, such as CIRBP, PSIP1, Sam68, and Decorin, may be early molecular targets responsible for spermatogenesis suppression induced by heat treatment.
True VALUE of reducing new-onset diabetes.

To the Editor—In his insightful commentary on the implications of the VALUE (Valsartan Antihypertensive Long-term Use Evaluation) trial, Cheung emphasised the paramount importance of meticulous blood pressure control and suggested that debating which antihypertensive drug is best is only of commercial interest. In my opinion, making a clear distinction between which is the most appropriate antihypertensive therapy to initiate remains important as far as incidence of new-onset diabetes is concerned.
Influence of orthopaedic clinical specialist certification on clinical outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN Effect of clinical specialization was studied in a retrospective analysis of a commercial outcomes database. OBJECTIVE To assess effectiveness of care as measured by changes in health status and efficiency as measured by visits, duration of treatment episode, and net revenue between patients treated by clinicians with and without orthopaedic clinical specialist certification (OCS). BACKGROUND Clinical specialization is becoming common in physical therapy, but there are no studies to support improved efficiency or effectiveness with advanced practitioner competencies. METHODS AND MEASURES A total of 258 adults treated in practices participating in the Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes process during 1996 comprised the data set. Seven physical therapists with OCS treated 129 patients (clinical specialist group). These patients were matched to 129 patients not treated by physical therapists with OCS (comparison group) randomly chosen from the aggregate data set. All patients completed a standardized health status questionnaire at initial evaluation and discharge. Standardized response means (SRMs) were calculated to measure change during treatment. RESULTS Therapists with OCS were more efficient than therapists without OCS, using fewer visits (9.1 +/- 6.7 vs 11.2 +/- 7.4) for less estimated cost ($949 +/- $736 vs $1238 +/- $1227) during the same treatment duration (35.9 +/- 48.3 vs 35.4 +/- 25.6 days) and performed fewer treatment procedures. Overall, there was no difference in effectiveness as measured by change in health status, that is, unit of functional improvement per episode (0.89 +/- 1.0 SRM for clinical specialists compared with 0.88 +/- 1.0 SRM for comparison group). The OCS group had better value (unit of functional improvement per estimated dollar) and utilization (unit of functional improvement per visit) for the constructs of physical functioning (value: 1.31 +/- 2.7 vs 0.78 +/- 1.8; utilization: 1.25 +/- 2.2 vs 0.76 +/- 1.6) and role physical (value: 1.26 +/- 2.9 vs 0.44 +/- 3.5; utilization: 1.11 +/- 1.9 vs 0.51 +/- 2.3) (SRMs for OCS group vs comparison group, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Our data support the conclusion that physical therapists with OCS are more efficient compared with clinicians without OCS. Study limitations in design, small sample size, and low number of clinicians are discussed.
Two-stage classification using selective attention for fast face detection

A novel system for face detection in images and video sequences is presented. The system incorporates a two-stage linear discriminant and nonlinear support vector machine classifier coupled with a front-end biologically-inspired search scheme. Results based on the CMU test set demonstrate that by using such a classifier arrangement with a non-exhaustive searching scheme, a significant reduction in computational complexity is achieved while maintaining comparable accuracy to other leading face detection systems.
Clinical study on the reasons for and location of failures of metal-ceramic restorations and survival of repairs.

PURPOSE A recently introduced technique, the Cojet system, using SiOx (Al2O3 coated with silisic acid), provides ultrafine mechanical retention by sandblasting, as well as a chemicophysical bond between the metal-ceramic and the composite resin. This study determined the reasons for and locations of failures of metal-ceramic restorations and evaluated the survival of the intraoral silica-coating system used for the repair of failed restorations. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 153 patients possessing 289 fractured crowns were involved in this study; 255 of these fractures were on fixed partial dentures, whereas 34 were on single crowns. The mean observation period was 34.6 months. The materials used for the repair process were ESPE-Sil for silane; Visiogem, Sinfony, and Dentacolor as opaquers; and Pertac II Aplitip, Sinfony, and Charisma as repairing composite resins. RESULTS The majority of the failures (65%) occurred in the anterior region. Sixty percent of the failures were observed at the labial, 27% at the buccal, 5% at the incisal, and 8% at the occlusal regions. The fractures were mainly in the maxilla (75%), predominantly at the labial surface. The overall cumulative survival rates of the repairs (89%) showed that the first failures happened mostly from 1 week to 3 months after the repair, without any difference between the composite resins. CONCLUSION The original failures happened mainly during chewing function or because of accidents, iatrogenic factors, and surgical operations, whereas secondary failures after repair using intraoral silica coating and composite resin were due to trauma, chewing function, or lack of rubber dam application.
Study Area The study area lies between latitudes 6 ° 29 ′ and 5 ° 36 ′

The main goal of this work was to identify the areas that are most susceptible to desertification in a part of the Algerian steppe, and to quantitatively assess the key factors that contribute to this desertification. In total, 139 desertified zones were mapped using field surveys and photo-interpretation. We selected 16 spectral and geomorphic predictive factors, which a priori play a significant role in desertification. They were mainly derived from Landsat 8 imagery and Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission digital elevation model (SRTM DEM). Some factors, such as the topographic position index (TPI) and curvature, were used for the first time in this kind of study. For this purpose, we adapted the logistic regression algorithm for desertification susceptibility mapping, which has been widely used for landslide susceptibility mapping. The logistic model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The model accuracy was 87.8%. We estimated the model uncertainties using a bootstrap method. Our analysis suggests that the predictive model is robust and stable. Our results indicate that land cover factors, including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and rangeland classes, play a major role in determining desertification occurrence, while geomorphological factors have a limited impact. The predictive map shows that 44.57% of the area is classified as highly to very highly susceptible to desertification. The developed approach can be used to assess desertification in areas with similar characteristics and to guide possible actions to combat desertification.
Hemodialysis Patient Preference for Type of Vascular Access: Variation and Predictors across Countries in the DOPPS

Purpose Catheters are associated with worse clinical outcomes than fistulas and grafts in hemodialysis (HD) patients. One potential modifier of patient vascular access (VA) use is patient preference for a particular VA type. The purpose of this study is to identify predictors of patient VA preference that could be used to improve patient care. Methods This study uses a cross-sectional sample of data from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS 3, 2005-09), that includes 3815 HD patients from 224 facilities in 12 countries. Using multivariable models we measured associations between patient demographic and clinical characteristics, previous catheter use and patient preference for a catheter. Results Patient preference for a catheter varied across countries, ranging from 1% of HD patients in Japan and 18% in the United States, to 42% to 44% in Belgium and Canada. Preference for a catheter was positively associated with age (adjusted odds ratio per 10 years=1.14; 95% 0=1.02-1.26), female sex (OR 1.49; 95% 0=1.15-1.93), and former (OR=2.61; 95% 0=1.66-4.12) or current catheter use (OR=60.3; 95% 0=36.5-99.8); catheter preference was inversely associated with time on dialysis (OR per three years=0.90; 95% 0=0.82-0.97). Conclusions Considerable variation in patient VA preference was observed across countries, suggesting that patient VA preference may be influenced by sociocultural factors and thus could be modifiable. Catheter preference was greatest among current and former catheter users, suggesting that one way to influence patient VA preference may be to avoid catheter use whenever possible.
New logic minimization techniques with applications to cryptology

A new technique for combinational logic optimization is described. The technique is a two-step process. In the first step, the non-linearity of a circuit – as measured by the number of non-linear gates it contains – is reduced. The second step reduces the number of gates in the linear components of the already reduced circuit. The technique can be applied to arbitrary combinational logic problems, and often yields improvements even after optimization by standard methods has been performed. In this paper we show the results of our technique when applied to the S-box of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES [13]). We also show that in the second step, one is faced with an NP-hard problem, the Shortest Linear Program (SLP) problem, which is to minimize the number of linear operations necessary to compute a set of linear forms. In addition to showing that SLP is NP-hard, we show that a special case of the corresponding decision problem is Max SNP-Complete, implying limits to its approximability. Previous algorithms for minimizing the number of gates in linear components pro­ duced cancellation-free straight-line programs, i.e., programs in which there is no can­ cellation of variables in GF(2). We show that such algorithms have approximation ratios of at least 3/2 and therefore cannot be expected to yield optimal solutions to non-trivial inputs. The straight-line programs produced by our techniques are not al­ ways cancellation-free. We have experimentally verified that, for randomly chosen linear transformations, they are significantly smaller than the circuits produced by previous algorithms.
High frequency characterisation of single InAs nanowire field-effect transistors

We report on a first RF characterisation of single InAs nanowire channel field-effect-transistors. The nanowires with about 30 nm diameter are transferred to a carrier substrate and contacted with a coplanar waveguide pad configuration with a pitch down to 50 mum. Magnesium oxide as well as SiNx are used as gate dielectric for high performance MISFET type field-effect-transistors. Small signal scattering parameter measurements have been performed on-wafer. The nanowire FET exhibit an ultra-small intrinsic gate-source capacitance Cgs down to a few hundred ato Farad, making a careful de-embedding of the data indispensable. First measurements have shown a maximum stable gain higher than 30 dB at low frequency and a maximum oscillation frequency of 15 GHz.
1955: Kinetin Arrives. The 50th Anniversary of a New Plant Hormone

Fifty years ago, scientists from the Botany and Biochemistry departments at the University of Wisconsin announced the isolation, crystallization, characterization, and synthesis of 6-furfurylaminopurine ([Miller et al., 1955a][1], [1955b][2], [1956][2]), a plant hormone in a class now referred to as
TERATOGENIC AND PHARMACOKINETIC STUDIES OF PRIMIDONE DURING PREGNANCY AND IN THE OFFSPRING OF EPILEPTIC WOMEN

ABSTRACT. Fourteen epileptic women treated with primidone, either alone or in combination with other antiepileptic drugs, were studied prospectively during their pregnancy. Plasma levels of primidone and its metabolites were monitored and correlated to findings in the offspring. Maternal serum concentrations of primidone and metabolites were generally low during pregnancy. The levels of its main metabolites–phenobarbital and PEMA–were found to drop within the first month of pregnancy in two cases. The plasma concentrations remained low until birth and rose sharply thereafter. The phenobarbital/primidone ratio (mean 0.84) and PEMA/primidone ratio (mean 0.56) in pregnant patients were found to be lower than in non‐pregnant patients, except when primidone was given in combination with phenytoin in which case the expected phenobarbital/primidone (mean 2.5) and PEMA/primidone (mean 1.5) ratios were found. A ventricular septal defect was found in one of the offspring of the fourteen mothers and five children had microcephaly. There was a high incidence of poor somatic development with dystrophy (n=3) and short stature (n=2). Head circumferences (n=8), lengths (n=4) and/or weights (n=8) were below the 10th percentile in a number of children. Four children showed marked facial dysmorphy. Our preliminary data suggest that primidone intake during pregnancy may be important in the pathogenesis of minor anomalies and in the induction of poor somatic development.
Efficiency of homocysteine plus copper in inducing apoptosis is inversely proportional to γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase activity

ABSTRACT Hyperhomocysteinemia represents an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, but the mechanisms leading to cellular dysfunctions remain unknown. Using ECV304 cells, we found that homocysteine (Hcy) plus copper (Cu2+) induced cytotoxic effects: loss of cell adhesion, increased permeability to PI, and the occurrence of morphologically apoptotic cells. This form of apoptosis, inhibited by Z‐VAD‐fmk, was associated with a loss of mitochondrial potential, a cytosolic release of cytochrome c, activation of caspase‐3, degradation of poly(ADP‐ribose)polymerase, and inter‐nucleosomal DNA fragmentation. However, the ability of Hcy plus Cu2+ to induce apoptosis decreased when the pretreatment culture time increased. As a positive correlation was found between the length of time of culture before treatment and the enhancement of γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase (γ‐GT) activity, we asked whether γ‐GT was involved in the control of Hcy plus Cu2+‐induced apoptosis. Therefore, ECV304 cells were treated with either acivicin or dexamethasone, inhibiting and stimulating γ‐GT, respectively. In ECV304 cells and human umbilical venous endothelial cells, acivicin favored Hcy plus Cu2+‐induced apoptosis whereas dexa‐methasone counteracted the apoptotic process. As acivi‐cin and dexamethasone were also capable of modulating cell death in ECV304 cells treated with antitumoral drugs, our data emphasize that the involvement of γ‐GT in the control of apoptosis is not restricted to Hcy but also concerns other chemical compounds.
The of Rheumatology Interleukin 8 gene polymorphism is associated with increased risk of nephritis in

Objective. To assess the influence of interleukin-8 (IL-8), epithelial cell-derived neutrophil-acti-vating peptide (ENA-78), and regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) gene polymorphisms in the susceptibility and clinical expression of patients fulfilling classification criteria for Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP). Methods. Fifty patients (25 men) from Northwest Spain with primary cutaneous vasculitis classified as HSP according to proposed criteria were studied. All patients were required to have had at least 2 years’ followup. Patients and ethnically matched controls were genotyped for IL-8, ENA-78, and RANTES gene polymorphisms. Results. No allele or genotype differences between patients fulfilling HSP classification criteria and controls were observed for any of the chemokines. However, a significantly increased frequency of allele A of the IL-8 gene polymorphism was found in patients with HSP who developed renal manifestations compared with patients without renal involvement (p = 0.02; p corr = 0.036). Moreover, the genotype distribution in HSP patients with and without renal involvement showed statistically significant differences (p = 0.02). Conclusion. In unselected patients with cutaneous vasculitis, carriage of IL-8 allele A influences the susceptibility to renal involvement. (J Rheumatol 2002;29:2367–70)
Role of cell adhesion molecule nectin‐3 in spermatid development

Seminiferous epithelia of the testes contain two types of intercellular junctions: Sertoli-Sertoli junctions and Sertoli-spermatid junctions. The former junctions are equipped with tight and adherens junctions while the latter junctions are not. Ca2+ -independent immunoglobulin-like cell-cell adhesion molecules, nectin-2 and nectin-3, asymmetrically localize at the Sertoli cell side and at the spermatid side of Sertoli-spermatid junctions, respectively. They heterophilically trans-interact to make contact between the two cells. Nectin-2(-/-) mice have shown male-specific infertility, disrupted Sertoli-spermatid junctions and morphologically impaired spermatid development. Here we report testicular phenotypes of nectin-3(-/-) mice exhibiting male-specific infertility. Nectin-3(-/-) mice had defects in the later steps of sperm morphogenesis including distorted nuclei and abnormal distribution of mitochondria, as well as in localization of nectin-2 at the Sertoli-spermatid junctions. Transplantation of wild-type spermatogenic stem cells into the nectin-3(-/-) testes partially rescued these defects in sperm morphogenesis. These results indicate that the heterophilic trans-interaction between nectin-2 and nectin-3 is essential for the formation and maintenance of Sertoli-spermatid junctions that plays a critical role in spermatid development.
Prednisolone enhances myogenesis and dystrophin‐related protein in skeletal muscle cell cultures from mdx mouse

The differentiation of skeletal muscle cells from mdx mice which lack dystrophin expression was examined after glucocorticoid treatment, namely α‐methylprednisolone (PDN). Primary skeletal muscle cell cultures were established from newborn mdx, congenic C57BL/10, and allogenic BALB/C mice. We show that PDN promotes the myogenesis of both mdx‐ and control mice‐derived cultures as determined by (1) the number of myotubes, (2) acetylcholine receptors, and (3) dystrophin and dystrophin‐related protein levels. These results support the hypothesis that PDN could enhance the myogenesis of satellite cells and increase dystrophin‐related protein expression in DMD treated patients. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Interconnection of Two Very Weak AC Systems by VSC-HVDC Links Using Power-Synchronization Control

In this paper, voltage-source converter (VSC) based high-voltage dc (HVDC) transmission is investigated for interconnection of two very weak ac systems. By using the recently proposed power-synchronization control, the short-circuit capacities of the ac systems are no longer the limiting factors, but rather the load angles. For the analysis of the stability, the Jacobian transfer matrix concept has been introduced. The right-half plane (RHP) transmission zero of the ac Jacobian transfer matrix moves closer to the origin with larger load angles. The paper shows that, due to the bandwidth limitation imposed by the RHP zero on the direct-voltage control of the VSC, high dc-capacitance values are needed for such applications. In addition, the paper proposes a control structure particularly designed for weak-ac-system interconnections. As an example, it is shown that the proposed control structure enables a power transmission of 0.86 p.u. from a system with the short-circuit ratio (SCR) of 1.2 to a system with an SCR of 1.0. This should be compared to previous results for VSC based HVDC using vector current control. In this case, only 0.4 p.u. power transmission can be achieved for dc link where only one of the ac systems has an SCR of 1.0.