Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of stem cells on periodontal regeneration: Systematic review of pre‐clinical studies

This systematic review aims to evaluate mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) periodontal regenerative potential in animal models. MEDLINE, EMBASE and LILACS databases were searched for quantitative pre-clinical controlled animal model studies that evaluated the effect of local administration of MSC on periodontal regeneration. The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement guidelines. Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Periodontal defects were surgically created in all studies. In seven studies, periodontal inflammation was experimentally induced following surgical defect creation. Differences in defect morphology were identified among the studies. Autogenous, alogenous and xenogenous MSC were used to promote periodontal regeneration. These included bone marrow-derived MSC, periodontal ligament (PDL)-derived MSC, dental pulp-derived MSC, gingival margin-derived MSC, foreskin-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, adipose tissue-derived MSC, cementum-derived MSC, periapical follicular MSC and alveolar periosteal cells. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneities in study designs. In most of the studies, local MSC implantation was not associated with adverse effects. The use of bone marrow-derived MSC for periodontal regeneration yielded conflicting results. In contrast, PDL-MSC consistently promoted increased PDL and cementum regeneration. Finally, the adjunct use of MSC improved the regenerative outcomes of periodontal defects treated with membranes or bone substitutes. Despite the quality level of the existing evidence, the current data indicate that the use of MSC may provide beneficial effects on periodontal regeneration. The various degrees of success of MSC in periodontal regeneration are likely to be related to the use of heterogeneous cells. Thus, future studies need to identify phenotypic profiles of highly regenerative MSC populations.
Trust as a mediator of the relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes: test of a social exchange model

Data obtained from full-time employees of a public sector organization in India were used to test a social exchange model of employee work attitudes and behaviors. LISREL results revealed that whereas the three organizational justice dimensions (distributive, procedural and interactional) were related to trust in organization only interactional justice was related to trust in supervisor. The results further revealed that relative to the hypothesized fully mediated model a partially mediated model better fitted the data. Trust in organization partially mediated the relationship between distributive and procedural justice and the work attitudes of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment but fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and these work attitudes. In contrast, trust in supervisor fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and the work behaviors of task performance and the individually- and organizationally-oriented dimensions of citizenship behavior.
Quantitative Improvements in Hop Test Scores After a 6-Week Neuromuscular Training Program

Background: In patients who have undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), the effect of neuromuscular re-education (NMR) programs on standard hop tests outcomes, including limb symmetry indices (LSIs), is unknown. Hypothesis: Both legs will show improvement in hop test–measured units after neuromuscular training, but the involved leg will show relatively greater improvement leading to improved limb symmetry. Patients younger than 18 years will show more improvement than patients who are older. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: Patients self-selected their participation in this NMR program, which was completed after traditional outpatient physical therapy. Pre– and post–hop test scores were recorded as the primary outcome measure. Results: Seventy-one patients met the inclusion criteria and completed hop testing. Overall, the involved leg showed significant improvements (pretest/posttest) for single-leg hop (138.30 cm/156.89 cm), triple crossover hop (370.05 cm/423.11 cm), and timed hop (2.21 s/1.99 s). Similarly, on the uninvolved leg, improvements were seen for the single-leg hop (159.30 cm/171.87 cm) and triple crossover hop (427.50 cm/471.27 cm). Overall mean limb symmetry improved across all 4 hop tests, but there was significant improvement only on the single-leg hop (87% pretest to 92% posttest). Patients younger than 18 years showed mean significant LSI improvement on the triple crossover hop. Conclusion: Utilizing an intensive 6-week NMR program after ACLR prior to return to sport can improve quantitative hop test measurements. Patients younger than 18 years had greater improvement than those 18 years and older. Clinical Relevance: Advanced NMR programs can be successfully utilized in the postoperative ACLR setting to improve quantitative limb symmetry.
Microscopic Nuclear Structure and Reaction Calculations in the FMD Approach

We present here a first application of the Fermionic Molecular Dynamics (FMD) approach to low-energy nuclear reactions, namely the $^3$He($\alpha$,$\gamma$)$^7$Be radiative capture reaction. We divide the Hilbert space into an external region where the system is described as $^3$He and $^4$He clusters interacting only via the Coulomb interaction and an internal region where the nuclear interaction will polarize the clusters. Polarized configurations are obtained by a variation after parity and angular momentum projection procedure with respect to the parameters of all single particle states. A constraint on the radius of the intrinsic many-body state is employed to obtain polarized clusters at desired distances. The boundary conditions for bound and scattering states are implemented using the Bloch operator. The FMD calculations reproduce the correct energy for the centroid of the $3/2^-$ and $1/2^-$ bound states in $^7$Be. The charge radius of the ground state is in good agreement with recent experimental results. The FMD calculations also describe well the experimental phase shift data in the $1/2^+$, $3/2^+$ and $5/2^+$ channels that are important for the capture reaction at low energies. Using the bound and scattering many-body wave functions we calculate the radiative capture cross section. The calculated $S$ factor agrees very well, both in absolute normalization and energy dependence, with the recent experimental data from the Weizmann, LUNA, Seattle and ERNA experiments.
Potentiation of Sympathetic Nerve Responses to Hypoxia in Borderline Hypertensive Subjects

We tested the hypothesis that sympathetic nerve responses to stimulation of chemoreceptors by hypoxia are exaggerated in borderline hypertensive humans. We compared responses to isocapnic hypoxia in eight borderline hypertensive subjects and eight normotensive control subjects matched for age, sex, weight, and height without a family history of hypertension. Measurements of heart rate, mean blood pressure, minute ventilation, and sympathetic nerve activity to muscle were made before and during hypoxia. We also measured responses to a period of voluntary apnea during hypoxia. There were no significant differences between the increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and ventilation in response to hypoxia in the two groups. However, during hypoxia sympathetic activity in the hypertensive subjects increased by 40.6 ± 13.6% (mean ± SE), greater than the increase of 20.4 ± 5.0% in the control subjects (p < 0.05). In six hypertensive and six control subjects, when apnea was performed during hypoxia, sympathetic activity increased by 605.0 ± 294.3% in the hypertensive subjects and by only 52.8 ± 17.3% in the control subjects (p < 0.001). We conclude that the chemoreceptor reflex is enhanced in borderline hypertensive subjects and results in exaggerated increases in sympathetic nerve activity during hypoxia. This enhanced chemoreceptor reflex is especially obvious when the inhibitory influence of breathing and thoracic afferent activity is eliminated by apnea. This exaggerated response may contribute to excess sympathetic activity in borderline hypertensive subjects and to adverse consequences of sleep apnea in hypertensive subjects.
Noninvasive evaluation of skeletal muscle oxidative metabolism after heart transplant.

PURPOSE The main aim of the present study was to investigate skeletal muscle oxidative metabolism in heart transplant recipients (HTR) by noninvasive tools. METHODS Twenty male HTR (age 50.4 +/- 2.6 yr; mean +/- SE) and 17 healthy untrained age-matched controls (CTRL) performed an incremental exercise (IE) and a series of constant-load (CLE) moderate-intensity exercise tests on a cycloergometer. The following variables were determined: heart rate (HR); breath-by-breath pulmonary O2 uptake (VO2); and skeletal muscle (vastus lateralis) oxygenation indices by continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy. Changes in concentration of deoxygenated hemoglobin (Hb) and myoglobin (Mb) (Delta[deoxy(Hb + Mb)]), expressed as a fraction of values obtained during a transient limb ischemia, were taken as an index of skeletal muscle O2 extraction. "Peak" values were determined at exhaustion during IE. Kinetics of adjustment of variables were determined during CLE. RESULTS VO2peak, HRpeak, and Delta[deoxy(Hb + Mb)] peak were significantly lower in HTR than in CTRL (17.1 +/- 0.7 vs 34.0 +/- 1.9 mL.kg(-1). min(-1), 133.8 +/- 3.8 vs 173.0 +/- 4.8 bpm, and 0.42 +/- 0.03 vs 0.58 +/- 0.04, respectively). In HTR, Delta[deoxy(Hb + Mb)] increase at submaximal workloads was steeper than in CTRL, suggesting an impaired O2 delivery to skeletal muscles, whereas the lower Delta[deoxy(Hb + Mb)] peak values suggest an impaired capacity of O2 extraction at peak exercise. VO2 and HR kinetics during CLE were significantly slower in HTR than in CTRL, whereas, unexpectedly, no significant differences were found for Delta[deoxy(Hb+Mb)] kinetics (mean response time: 21.3 +/- 1.1 vs 20.2 +/- 1.2 s). CONCLUSION The findings confirm the presence of both "central" (cardiovascular) and "peripheral" (at the skeletal muscle level) impairments to oxidative metabolism in HTR. The noninvasiveness of the measurements will allow for serial evaluation of the patients, in the presence and/or absence of rehabilitation programs.
Abnormal error-related antisaccade activation in premanifest and early manifest Huntington disease.

OBJECTIVE Individuals with the trinucleotide CAG expansion (CAG+) that causes Huntington's disease (HD) have impaired performance on antisaccade (AS) tasks that require directing gaze in the mirror opposite direction of visual targets. This study aimed to identify the neural substrates underlying altered antisaccadic performance. METHOD Three groups of participants were recruited: (1) Imminent and early manifest HD (early HD, n = 8); (2) premanifest (presymptomatic) CAG+ (preHD, n = 10); and (3) CAG unexpanded (CAG-) controls (n = 12). All participants completed a uniform study visit that included a neurological evaluation, neuropsychological battery, molecular testing, and functional MRI during an AS task. The blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response was obtained during saccade preparation and saccade execution for both correct and incorrect responses using regression analysis. RESULTS Significant group differences in BOLD response were observed when comparing incorrect AS to correct AS execution. Specifically, as the percentage of incorrect AS increased, BOLD responses in the CAG- group decreased progressively in a well-documented reward detection network that includes the presupplementary motor area and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. In contrast, AS errors in the preHD and early HD groups lacked this relationship with BOLD signal in the error detection network, and BOLD responses to AS errors were smaller in the two CAG+ groups as compared with the CAG- group. CONCLUSIONS These results are the first to suggest that abnormalities in an error-related response network may underlie early changes in AS eye movements in premanifest and early manifest HD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).
Municipal Solid Waste Management in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: Systems Analysis

Research was conducted in Ulaanbaatar (UB), Mongolia with a view of finding ways of making its municipal solid waste management (MSWM) more efficient by minimizing the negative impact of waste on the environment and public health whilst increasing its resource efficiency in a manner that is economically and financially viable. In this study, “Wasteaware” benchmark indicators were applied to assess the current system for MSWM in UB according to its physical and governance features. Data were obtained from site visits, interviews with the key stakeholders, and consulting of official documents and reports. The results of benchmark indicators showed that, in terms of Public Health, Environmental Control and Institutional Aspects, UB had surpassed the levels of low- and lower-middle-income countries and sufficed the prerequisites for modernizing its waste management system. However, there are still some major steps ahead to fully transition to a modern system. Our study brought significant contributions by filling the existing literature gaps for UB and identified its key strengths and areas for improvement. We conclude that an improvement in data collection and reporting, and widespread consultation with all stakeholders would impact positively on the improvement of the efficiency of the MSWM in UB and other developing countries.
Bivariate Positive Operators in Polynomial Weighted Spaces

This paper aims to two-dimensional extension of some univariate positive approximation processes expressed by series. To be easier to use, we also modify this extension into finite sums. With respect to these two new classes designed, we investigate their approximation properties in polynomial weighted spaces. The rate of convergence is established, and special cases of our construction are highlighted.
Therapeutic approaches to epileptogenesis—Hope on the horizon

Prevention of epileptogenesis is an unmet need in medicine. During the last 3 years, however, several preclinical studies have demonstrated remarkable favorable effects of novel treatments on genetic and acquired epileptogenesis. These include the use of immunosuppressants and treatments that modify cellular adhesion, proliferation, and/or plasticity. In addition, the use of antiepileptic drugs in rats with genetic epilepsy or proconvulsants in acquired epilepsy models has provided somewhat unexpected favorable effects. This review summarizes these studies, and introduces some caveats when interpreting the data. In particular, the effect of genetic background, the severity of epileptogenic insult, the method and duration of seizure monitoring, and size of animal population are discussed. Furthermore, a novel scheme for defining epileptogenesis‐related terms is presented.
Impaired Phosphate Tolerance Revealed With an Acute Oral Challenge

Elevated serum phosphate is consistently linked with cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and mortality in the setting of normal and impaired kidney function. However, serum phosphate does not often exceed the upper limit of normal until glomerular filtration rate (GFR) falls below 30 mL/min/m2. It was hypothesized that the response to an oral, bioavailable phosphate load will unmask impaired phosphate tolerance, a maladaptation not revealed by baseline serum phosphate concentrations. In this study, rats with varying kidney function as well as normo‐phosphatemic human subjects, with inulin‐measured GFR (13.2 to 128.3mL/min), received an oral phosphate load. Hormonal and urinary responses were evaluated over 2 hours. Results revealed that the more rapid elevation of serum phosphate was associated with subjects and rats with higher levels of kidney function, greater responsiveness to acute changes in parathyroid hormone (PTH), and significantly more urinary phosphate at 2 hours. In humans, increases in urinary phosphate to creatinine ratio did not correlate with baseline serum phosphate concentrations but did correlate strongly to early increase of serum phosphate. The blunted rise in serum phosphate in rats with CKD was not the result of altered absorption. This result suggests acute tissue deposition may be altered in the setting of kidney function impairment. Early recognition of impaired phosphate tolerance could translate to important interventions, such as dietary phosphate restriction or phosphate binders, being initiated at much higher levels of kidney function than is current practice. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Erzurum Ekolojik Koşullarına Uygun Erkenci ve Yüksek Verimli Kuru Fasulye (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Genotiplerinin Belirlenmesi / Determination of Early Maturing and High Yielding Dry Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Genotypes Suitable for Erzurum Ecological Co

OZET: Serin iklim sartlari, dusuk sicakliklara butun gelisme donemlerinde hassas olan fasulyede uretimi sinirlayan en onemli faktordur. Erzurum ve benzer ekolojilerde, fasulyenin soguk ve don zararina maruz kalmadan gelisebilecegi donem kisa olup, bu tip bolgelerde garantili bir fasulye uretimi icin olgunlasma suresi kisa olan cesitlere ihtiyac duyulmaktadir. Bu calisma; Erzurum ekolojisine uygun, olgunlasma suresi kisa ve yuksek verimli yeni tescilli kuru fasulye cesitlerinin gelistirilmesi amaciyla yurutulmustur. Bu amacla, onceki calismalarda umitvar oldugu belirlenen 4 fasulye hatti (kayit no 114, 218, 473 ve 510), bolge icin tescil ettirilmis olan Aras-98 ve Yakutiye-98 cesitleri ile kiyaslamali olarak, Erzurum Merkez ve Pasinler olmak uzere iki farkli lokasyonda 2001 ve 2002 yillarinda olgunlasma suresi, verim ve verim unsurlari yonunden test edilmistir. Arastirma yillarinin ve lokasyonlarin ortalamasi olarak, 114 nolu hat tescilli cesitlerden 26 gun, diger hatlar ise 13-14 gun once oluma ulasmislardir. Diger taraftan, erkenci olan bu hatlarin tane verimi her iki lokasyonda da tescilli cesitlerden onemli seviyede yuksek olmustur. Arastirma sonuclari, erkenci ve yuksek verimli olan bu hatlarin, Erzurum ve benzer ekolojilere mevcut tescilli cesitlerden cok daha iyi adapte oldugunu ve sonbahar ilk donlarindan once olgunlasarak uretimi garanti altina alabilecegini ortaya koymustur. Anahtar kelimeler: Kuru fasulye, erkencilik, verim, verim unsurlari Determination of Early Maturing and High Yielding Dry Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Genotypes Suitable for Erzurum Ecological Conditions ABSTARCT: Cool climatic conditions is one of the most important limiting factors in bean production. In cold conditions such as Erzurum, vegetation period is short and beans are exposed to frost. Thus, it is necessary to have early maturing bean cultivars for production in such ecologies. This study was conducted in order to develop new early maturing and high yielding dry bean cultivars suitable for Erzurum ecological conditions. In the study, 4 bean lines (record nu. 114, 218, 473 and 510) being hopeful in previous studies were tested for early maturity, yield and yield parameters compared with Aras-98 and Yakutiye-98 in Erzurum and Pasinler locations in 2001 and 2002. As an average of years and locations, 114 and other lines matured 26 and 13-14 days earlier respectively compared with the registered cultivars. On the other hand, these lines gave seed yields significantly higher than the registered cultivars in both locations. It was concluded that these early maturing and high yielding bean lines adapt better than the registered cultivars avoiding first autumn frosts in Erzurum and similar ecologies. Key words: Dry beans, earliness, yield, yield parameters
Short segment Barrett's oesophagus: prevalence, diagnosis and associations.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of short segment Barrett's (SSB) oesophagus, defined as the absence of macroscopic Barrett's but histologically identifiable intestinal metaplasia, has been reported to be 18% based on haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. AIMS: To define the prevalence of SSB oesophagus using H&E and alcian blue staining and to determine whether SSB oesophagus is associated with inflammation at the gastro-oesophageal junction (GOJ). SUBJECTS: Consecutive patients (n = 158) presenting for endoscopy completed a structured interview. METHODS: Two biopsy specimens taken from the GOJ were stained with H&E, alcian blue and Giemsa. A third specimen was obtained from the distal oesophagus. Intestinal metaplasia was diagnosed if goblet cells were definitely identified by two independent observers. RESULTS: SSB oesophagus was present in 46 (prevalence 36%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 28.5-43.5) using alcian blue staining. If H&E had been the sole staining method used, 50% cases of intestinal metaplasia would have been overlooked. There were no cases of intestinal metaplasia identified by H&E but missed by alcian blue staining. Logistic regression analysis identified age (odds ratio (OR) per decade 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.06), histological oesophagitis (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.4-7.2) and inflammation at the gastrooesophageal junction (OR 5.9, 95% CI 2.2-15.6) as independent risk factors for SSB oesophagus. CONCLUSION: Unrecognised SSB oesophagus is highly prevalent in patients presenting for diagnostic upper endoscopy if alcian blue staining is applied.
Oxidative Modification of Albumin in Predialysis, Hemodialysis, and Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Background/Aims: Oxidative damage has been reported to be involved in the pathophysiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD) as well as in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications of CKD patients. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the levels of plasma carbonyl formation, a sensitive marker of enhanced oxidative stress in predialysis, hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Methods: Plasma samples from 20 apparently healthy control individuals and 127 CKD (stages 2, 3, 4, HD and PD) patients were evaluated by Western blot analysis for the estimation of the levels of protein carbonyl formation. Results: Albumin represented the main plasma carbonylated protein. Increasing carbonylation of albumin was detected along with the severity of CKD, reaching significance at stages 3 and 4 (p < 0.01, compared to healthy controls). The carbonylation of albumin was even higher in the plasma of HD patients (p < 0.001), while in PD patients it was not statistically significant compared to controls (p = 0.224). Conclusions: The data presented in this work indicate that oxidative stress in CKD patients gradually increased during the development of the disease. This stress is probably intensified during HD, but not in PD subjects.
Active Learning for Human Pose Estimation

Annotating human poses in realistic scenes is very time consuming, yet necessary for training human pose estimators. We propose to address this problem in an active learning framework, which alternates between requesting the most useful annotations among a large set of unlabelled images, and re-training the pose estimator. To this end, (1) we propose an uncertainty estimator specific for body joint predictions, which takes into account the spatial distribution of the responses of the current pose estimator on the unlabelled images; (2) we propose a dynamic combination of influence and uncertainty cues, where their weights vary during the active learning process according to the reliability of the current pose estimator; (3) we introduce a computer assisted annotation interface, which reduces the time necessary for a human annotator to click on a joint by discretizing the image into regions generated by the current pose estimator. Experiments using the MPII and LSP datasets with both simulated and real annotators show that (1) the proposed active selection scheme outperforms several baselines; (2) our computer-assisted interface can further reduce annotation effort; and (3) our technique can further improve the performance of a pose estimator even when starting from an already strong one.