Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mandibular cervical headgear vs rapid maxillary expander and facemask for orthopedic treatment of Class III malocclusion.

OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of the rapid maxillary expander and facemask (RME/ FM) and mandibular cervical headgear (MCH) protocols when followed by fixed appliances and evaluated at a postpubertal observation in patients with dentoskeletal Class III malocclusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample treated with the RME/FM followed by fixed appliances included 32 patients (12 boys and 20 girls). The sample treated with the MCH followed by fixed appliances included 26 patients (eight boys and 18 girls). Cephalometric analysis was performed at T(1) (before treatment) and T(2) (after the first phase of orthopedic therapy and the second phase of fixed appliances). T(1)-T(2) changes were evaluated by means of t-tests. RESULTS Midfacial length, mandibular length, and the sagittal position of the chin all showed significantly smaller increases in the MCH group than in the RME/FM group. The amount of increase in the overjet was also significantly smaller in the MCH group, whereas the amount of molar correction was greater. The upper incisors were significantly less proclined and the lower incisors were significantly less retroclined in the MCH group when compared with the RME/FM group. CONCLUSIONS RME/FM therapy appears to be indicated in Class III patients with a component of maxillary retrusion, whereas MCH therapy is preferable in patients with mandibular prognathism.
Bone loss prevention in ovariectomized rats using stable amorphous calcium carbonate

In assessing the relationship between calcium supplementation and maintaining bone mass or reducing the risk of fracture, the effectiveness of calcium supplementation has never been decisive. Freshwater crayfish rely on amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), an instable polymorph of calcium carbonate, as the main mineral in the exoskeleton and in the temporary storage organ, the gastrolith. Inspired by the crayfish model, we have previously shown an increase in calcium bioavailability in rats administered with synthetic stable ACC vs. crystalline calcium carbonate (CCC). The current study compared the effects of amorphous calcium derived from either gastrolith or synthetic ACC with those of crystalline calcium, found in commercial CCC or calciumcitrate supplements, in a bone loss prevention model. Rats were subjected to either sham or ovariectomy (OVX) operation (n~20/ group) followed by administration of food pellets supplemented with 0.5% calcium from either source over 12 weeks. Micro-computed tomography (μCT) and histomorphometric analyses revealed bone loss prevention by both gastrolith and ACC treatments, manifested by an increase in morphometric bone parameters, compared to both CCC- and calcium citrate-treated groups. Both gastrolith and ACC treatments resulted in bone formation in the tibia cancellous bone, indicated by dynamic histomorphometry parameters, compared to either the CCC or calcium citrate treatments. Levels of urine deoxypyridinoline (DPD), suggested an anti-resorptive effect of ACC, which was also the only treatment that led to a significant increase in vertebral mechanical strength, as supported by μCT analysis of topology and orientation parameters of the vertebral trabeculae. To our knowledge, such levels of bone loss prevention by calcium supplements have never been reported. These findings thus suggest the potential of both natural (crayfish gastrolith) and, to a greater extent, synthetic ACC sources for the prevention of metabolic bone disorders and possibly of osteoporotic processes.
Menkes Kinky Hair Syndrome: Is it a treatable disorder?

A male infant with Menkes Kinky Hair Syndrome was treated with a 3‐week course of cupric acetate infusions, which was terminated when he developed aminoaciduria. The lack of improvement seen in this infant is representative of the reported experience with parenteral copper therapy in this condition, and may be attributable to the presence of a clinically significant abnormality in copper metabolism in utero.
The Effects of Perceptions of Organizational Structure on Job Involvement, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment Among Indian Police Officers

Successful police organizations rely on involved, satisfied, and committed workers. The concepts of job involvement (i.e., connection with the job), job satisfaction (i.e., affective feeling toward the job), and organizational commitment (i.e., bond with the employing organization) have been shown to significantly affect intentions and behaviors of employees. The current study used multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis on survey results from a sample of 827 Indian police officers to explore how perceptions of work environment factors affect officers’ job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Organizational support, formalization (i.e., level of codified written rules and guidelines), promotional opportunities, institutional communication (i.e., salient work information is transmitted), and input into decision-making (i.e., having a voice in the process) significantly influenced the job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of Indian police officers. Specifically, in the multivariate analysis, perceptions of formalization and instrumental communication had a positive relationship with job involvement; perceptions of organizational support, promotional opportunities, instrumental communication, and input into decision-making had positive associations with job satisfaction; and perceptions of organizational support, formalization, promotional opportunities, instrumental communication, and input into decision-making had positive relationships with organizational commitment.
Capercaillie in the Alps: genetic evidence of metapopulation structure and population decline

In the Alps, the capercaillie is distributed in a metapopulation pattern with local populations on mountain ranges separated by farmland valleys. Habitat deterioration, primarily related to human land use, resulted in population declines and range contractions became obvious. At the edge of a species’ range, lower connectivity and less gene flow may render populations more susceptible to decline and extinction than in the core of the range. If this were true for the capercaillie in the Alps, edge populations should be subject to limited gene flow and should show genetic signs of a more severe population decline than core populations. To test this hypothesis, we used microsatellite DNA typing techniques. We assessed genetic variation within and among 18 local capercaillie populations across the Alps in relation to geographical distribution within the metapopulation system. All populations showed high levels of genetic variation in terms of average number of alleles, allelic richness and heterozygosity. Excess heterozygosity suggested a recent population decline, that was more pronounced in edge than core populations. We found high gene flow, but also significant differentiation among populations. Differentiation among edge populations was related to geographical distance, and appeared to be a recent process, most probably caused by reduced gene flow after population decline. In the core group, the high mountains of the central Alps seem to limit dispersal, and genetic drift was the most likely explanation for the observed differentiation among populations. We conclude that maintaining connectivity within the metapopulation system is vital for capercaillie conservation in the Alps.
Why do people with suboptimal health avoid health promotion at work?

OBJECTIVES To explore why people who have active work and who experience suboptimal health avoided using a multipurpose in-house health promotion service in the Danish police. METHODS Data were first collected via an electronic survey (N=6060) and subsequently via 25 telephone interviews targeting nonusers who perceived their health to be suboptimal. RESULTS Many nonusers with suboptimal health wished to change health behaviors, but did not use the service. Reasons were both individual (eg, laziness) and organizational (eg, delivery of the service). CONCLUSIONS Although many reported barriers are more individual in nature, increased information and accessibility could serve to increase participation.
Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Score of the Brain Stem: A Predictor of Outcome in Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion Treated with the Solitaire FR Device

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The prognosis for ischemic stroke due to acute basilar artery occlusion is very poor: Early recanalization remains the main factor that can improve outcomes. The baseline extent of brain stem ischemic damage can also influence outcomes. We evaluated the validity of an easy-to-use DWI score to predict clinical outcome in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion treated by mechanical thrombectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the baseline clinical and DWI parameters of 31 patients with acute basilar artery occlusion, treated within 24 hours of symptom onset by using a Solitaire FR device. The DWI score of the brain stem was assessed with a 12-point semiquantitative score that separately considered each side of the medulla, pons, and midbrain. Clinical outcome was assessed at 180 days by using the mRS. According to receiver operating characteristic analyses, the cutoff score determined the optimal positive predictive value for outcome. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient assessed the correlation between the DWI brain stem score and baseline characteristics. RESULTS: Successful recanalization (Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 3–2b) was achieved in 23 patients (74%). A favorable outcome (mRS ≤ 2) was observed in 11 patients (35%). An optimal DWI brain stem score of <3 predicted a favorable outcome. The probability of a very poor outcome (mRS ≥ 5) if the DWI brain stem score was ≥5 reached 80% (positive predictive value) and 100% if this score was ≥6. Interobserver reliability of the DWI brain stem score was excellent, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.97 (95% CI, 0.96–0.99). The DWI brain stem score was significantly associated with baseline tetraplegia (P = .001) and coma (P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with acute basilar artery occlusion treated by mechanical thrombectomy, the baseline DWI brain lesion score seems to predict clinical outcome.
Fishermen Intentions Toward Floating Net Cage based on Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Reasoned Action

In order to support offshore aquaculture in Indonesia, a floating net cage is being developed by Pusat Studi Kelautan ITS and will be placed in Sidoasri Village, Malang, Indonesia. The use of floating net cage will shift the habits of the fishermen. It will be very for the effort of developing the floating net cage if it will be rejected by the fishermen. Therefore, it is important to measure the factors influencing fishermen intention as a potential user to use the cage. In this paper, Technology Acceptance Model is integrated with Theory of Reasoned Action to identify the factors. The findings of this study, obtained that fishermen intentions to use floating net cage is influenced by their attitude and subjective norm, while perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a role to affect the intentions indirectly. Keywords―Fishermen, Floating Net Cage, Technology Acceptance Model, Theory of Reasoned Action, Survey.
Factors , Treatments , and Outcomes Recurrent Disease in Juvenile Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma : Prognostic

Published online: April 10, 2014. 2014;55:710-717. J Nucl Med. Jasna Mihailovic, Katarina Nikoletic and Dolores Srbovan Factors, Treatments, and Outcomes Recurrent Disease in Juvenile Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma: Prognostic http://jnm.snmjournals. org/content/55/5/710 This article and updated information are available at: http://jnm.snmjournals. org/site/subscriptions/online.xhtml Information about subscriptions to JNM can be found at: http://jnm.snmjournals. org/site/misc/permission.xhtml Information about reproducing figures, tables, or other portions of this article can be found online at:
Predicting sense of community and participation by applying machine learning to open government data

htmlabstractCommunity capacity is used to monitor socio-economic development. It is composed of a number of dimensions, which can be measured to understand the possible issues in the implementation of a policy or the outcome of a project targeting a community. Measuring community capacity dimensions is usually expensive and time consuming, requiring locally organised surveys. Therefore, we investigate a technique to estimate them by applying the Random Forests algorithm on secondary open government data. Our research focuses on the prediction of measures for two dimensions: sense of community and participation. The most important variables for this prediction were determined. The variables included in the datasets used to train the predictive models complied with two criteria: nationwide availability; sufficiently fine-grained geographic breakdown, i.e. neighbourhood level. The models explained 77% of the sense of community measures and 63% of participation. Due to the low geographic detail of the outcome measures available, further research is required to apply the predictive models to a neighbourhood level. The variables that were found to be more determinant for prediction were only partially in agreement with the factors that, according to the social science literature consulted, are the most influential for sense of community and participation. This finding should be further investigated from a social science perspective, in order to be understood in depth.
Including Weight Decay in the Rescorla-Wagner Model Avoids an Unlikely Prediction

Weight decay is a common technique for improving generalization in the field of neural networks. If weight decay is added to the Rescorla-Wagner model, a desirable result emerges in that the effects of prior learning are not expected to be permanent. This revised model accommodates an experimental finding called unblocking that was claimed to refute the Rescorla-Wagner model.
A Constrained Coalition Formation Game for Multihop D2D Content Uploading

This paper investigates relay-based schemes in cellular systems, where multihop device-to-device (D2D) communications are exploited for content uploading toward the eNodeB. All user equipments (UEs) are sources of their own content and form a multihop D2D chain, with the head of the chain being in charge of uploading all the generated content to the eNodeB. By pooling the cellular radio resources assigned to the D2D chain and by using high-quality short-range radio links, the proposed cooperative content uploading scheme guarantees lower upload delays than in the traditional cellular mode operation. To model the D2D chain formation in a cell and to best characterize self-interested users concerned about their own payoff, a constrained coalition formation game is defined, where each UE is a player whose cost is identified as the content upload time. The solution of the game determines the stable feasible partition for the UEs in the cell. We demonstrate through simulations that with this solution the content uploading time is reduced by 52% with respect to the traditional cellular mode.
Reputation-based coalitional games for spectrum allocation in distributed Cognitive Radio networks

Cognitive Radio (CR) technique is proved to be an efficient approach for mitigating the spectrum scarcity problem in wireless communications and spectrum allocation methods construct the foundation of such a technique. However, it will degrade the performance of CR when paying no attention to the behavior of second users (SUs) and their demands for spectrum attribute. In this paper, the spectrum allocation problem is first modeled as a coalition formation game, taking SUs reputation and requirements of spectrums into consideration. The rule named Assigning spectrum by probability among coalitions and by demand within coalitions is used to optimize the spectrum utilization and fairness when allocating spectrum among SUs. For each SU is equipped with an agent, a central authority is not needed and therefore the scheme can be more applicable in dynamic cognitive radio networks. Simulation results show that the proposed approach can efficiently improve the fairness and efficiency of spectrum allocation in CR context.
A novel method of adaptive GOP structure based on the positions of video cuts

In this paper we propose a novel method of improving the video coding efficiency. Our method combines the shot cut detection and adaptive GOP structure. We have analyzed different approaches for shot cut detection with aim to choose the most appropriate one. The next step is to situate I frames to the positions of detected cuts during the process of video encoding. Finally the efficiency of the proposed method is confirmed by simulations and the obtained results are compared with fixed GOP structures of sizes 4, 8, 12, 16, 32, 64, 128 and GOP structure with length of entire video. Proposed method achieved the gain in bit rate from 0,37% to 50,59%, while providing PSNR gain from 1,33% to 0,26% in comparison to simulated fixed GOP structures.
One-Year Lifestyle Intervention, Muscle Lipids, and Cardiometabolic Risk.

PURPOSE Low-attenuation muscle (LAM) area at mid-thigh, a computed tomography (CT)-derived index of intramuscular lipids, is associated with insulin resistance, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. The present study aimed at testing the hypothesis that changes in LAM area in trunk muscles from a single abdominal scan could provide relevant information to evaluate the effects of a lifestyle intervention without the use of a mid-thigh CT scan. METHODS Cardiometabolic risk variables, including waist circumference, lipoprotein-lipid profile, glucose tolerance, and cardiorespiratory fitness, were assessed in a sample of 102 dyslipidemic viscerally obese men at baseline and after a 1-yr lifestyle intervention. Abdominal (L4-L5) and mid-thigh CT scans were performed and abdominal muscles classified as psoas and core muscles. Scans were segmented to calculate muscle areas, LAM areas, and mean attenuation values. RESULTS All muscle groups showed a decrease in LAM areas (P < 0.0001) in response to the lifestyle intervention. Changes in LAM areas were significantly associated with changes in triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio and log triglycerides/HDL cholesterol ratio (mid-thigh, 0.20 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.29; psoas, 0.28 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.38; core, 0.29 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.34, P < 0.05). Changes in core LAM area were significantly associated with changes in 2-h glucose levels, glucose area measured during the oral glucose tolerance test and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (0.21 ≤ r ≤ 0.34, P < 0.05). Stepwise regression analyses showed that changes in LAM psoas area were associated with changes in HDL cholesterol and the cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio independently from changes in visceral adiposity. CONCLUSIONS Changes in trunk LAM areas are useful indices of changes in mid-thigh LAM area observed with a 1-yr lifestyle intervention. Thus, an additional mid-thigh scan is not necessary to evaluate muscle lipid content by CT when an abdominal CT scan is available.
POISON PILLS E GERENCIAMENTO DE RESULTADOS: ESTUDO EM COMPANHIAS DO NOVO MERCADO DA BM&FBOVESPA

Acionistas controladores podem utilizar poison pills como instrumentos de disposicao estatutaria para evitar a tomada hostil de controle da companhia. Nao obstante ao fato de que gestores podem fazer escolhas contabeis com o proposito de influenciar a percepcao do mercado sobre o desempenho financeiro da empresa. Estudos estadunidenses apontam relacao negativa entre gerenciamento de resultados e a utilizacao poison pills, mas nao foram encontrados estudos com empresas brasileiras que investigaram esse fenomeno. Assim, a pesquisa tem como objetivo verificar se niveis de gerenciamento de resultados em companhias listadas na BM&FBovespa possuem associacao com clausulas estatutarias de poison pills . A amostra e composta por 99 companhias listadas no segmento Novo Mercado da BM&FBovespa que negociaram acoes no periodo entre 2009 e 2014. As clausulas poison pills foram identificadas nos Formularios de Referencia e Estatutos Sociais e o gerenciamento de resultados foi operacionalizado utilizando o modelo de Jones (1991), controladas pelas variaveis Tamanho do Ativo, q de Tobin, endividamento, retorno sobre o ativo e crescimento da receita liquida. Regressoes por meio de Dados em Painel e do teste t indicaram que as companhias brasileiras que possuem clausulas poison pills nao apresentam niveis de gerenciamento de resultados significantemente diferentes daquelas que nao possuem tal mecanismo, estando de encontro a achados de pesquisas realizadas nos Estados Unidos. Estes resultados contribuem para o aprofundamento do debate sobre os efeitos causados pelas poison pills no mercado acionario brasileiro, bem como motiva a expansao de pesquisas na area de Contabilidade Financeira que envolvam este mecanismo de disposicao estatutaria.
Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling of a mixture of toluene and xylene in humans.

A physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for a mixture of toluene (TOL) and xylene (XYL), developed and validated in the rat, was used to predict the uptake and disposition kinetics of TOL/XYL mixture in humans. This was accomplished by substituting the rat physiological parameters and the blood:air partition coefficient with those of humans, scaling the maximal velocity for hepatic metabolism on the basis of body weight0.75, and keeping all other model parameters species-invariant. The human TOL/XYL mixture PBPK model, developed based on the quantitative biochemical mechanism of interaction elucidated in the rat (i.e., competitive metabolic inhibition), simulated adequately the kinetics of TOL and XYL during combined exposures in humans. The simulations with this PBPK model indicate that an eight hour co-exposure to concentrations that remain within the current threshold limit values of TOL (50 ppm) and XYL (100 ppm) would not result in significant pharmacokinetic interferences, thus implying that data on biological monitoring of worker exposure to these solvents would be unaffected during co-exposures.
Proteome-Wide Characterization of Seed Aging in Arabidopsis: A Comparison between Artificial and Natural Aging Protocols[W][OA]

A variety of mechanisms have been proposed to account for the extension of life span in seeds (seed longevity). In this work, we used Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seeds as a model and carried out differential proteomics to investigate this trait, which is of both ecological and agricultural importance. In our system based on a controlled deterioration treatment (CDT), we compared seed samples treated for different periods of time up to 7 d. Germination tests showed a progressive decrease of germination vigor depending on the duration of CDT. Proteomic analyses revealed that this loss in seed vigor can be accounted for by protein changes in the dry seeds and by an inability of the low-vigor seeds to display a normal proteome during germination. Furthermore, CDT strongly increased the extent of protein oxidation (carbonylation), which might induce a loss of functional properties of seed proteins and enzymes and/or enhance their susceptibility toward proteolysis. These results revealed essential mechanisms for seed vigor, such as translational capacity, mobilization of seed storage reserves, and detoxification efficiency. Finally, this work shows that similar molecular events accompany artificial and natural seed aging.