Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complications of harvesting a connective tissue graft from the palate. A retrospective study and description of a new technique

Background Connective tissue graft (CTG) is considered as the gold standard for the treatment of gingival recessions (GR). There are few studies assessing the complications that can arise in the donor site when harvesting a connective tissue graft (CTG) and how the harvesting technique can influence those complications. Material and Methods A retrospective clinical study was carried out in order to compare the complications observed in 40 patients with Miller class I, II and III GR ≥ 3 mm, after using the trap-door technique (TD) in the control group and a newly described technique, the “UPV/EHU technique”, in the test group. Patients were consecutively allocated to each treatment group. Patients were monitored 14 days after surgery in order to evaluate post-operative complications in the donor site: presence of pain (P), bleeding (B), infection (I) and necrosis > 30%. Results Although morbidity was observed in both groups, it was less important in the test group (no pain and minimal pain in 30% and 35% of the cases, respectively, and absence of bleeding or infection and necrosis >30% in only 5% of the cases). Conclusions Within the limits of this study, this newly described “UPV/EHU technique” should be considered as a treatment option when harvesting a CTG, with minimal morbidity for patients. Key words:Connective tissue graft, pain, gingival recessions, wound healing, cosmetic periodontal plastic surgery, trap-door technique, “UPV/EHU technique”.
Chemical Composition and Nutritional Value of Emmer Wheat (Triticum dicoccon Schrank): a Review

Cereals represent the most important group of crops in the structure of plant production from the economic and agronomic point of view. Cereals are widely consumed and are a valuable sources of delivering components with biological activity to humans. They are one of the most abundant sources of protein and energy and are consumed as bread – a major staple food – in most countries throughout the world. The cultivated hulled wheats emmer, einkorn, and spelt, are among the most ancient Triticeae cultivated in the world and have long represented a staple food. However, the move in recent years toward more natural foods and sustainable agriculture and the rediscovery of ancient foods and flavours have brought renewed interest in these neglected species. Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccon Schrank) is rich in resistant starch, minerals, fibre, carotenoids, antioxidant compounds, and poor in fats; it has been recognized as a very healthy cereal and is recommended in the diet for people suffering from allergies, colitis, diabetes and high blood cholesterol. For these reasons, research activities and selection programs are being conducted to assess the genetic, agronomic, nutritional and technological properties of emmer wheat. The main results of studies and the knowledge acquired about the chemical and nutritional composition (protein content, digestible carbohydrates, dietary fibre, lipids, vitamins, and minerals) are reviewed in this paper.
Comparative Analysis of Various Serum Lipid Parameters in Patients with Ischemic Stroke

Background: Role of serum lipids, lipoproteins and lipoprotein related variables in the prediction of stroke is less clear. Abnormalities in plasma lipoproteins are the most firmly established and best understood risk factors for atherosclerosis. They are probable risk factors for ischemic stroke, largely by their link to atherosclerosis. Apo B reflects the concentration of potentially atherogenic particles (LDL), and Apo A1 reflects the corresponding concentration of anti-atherogenic particles (HDL), represent additional lipoprotein related variables that may indicate the vascular risk. Aim: To study and compare serum concentration of Apolipoprotein A1, Apolipoprotein B, Apo B/Apo A1 ratio and Lipid profile in patients of acute ischemic stroke Design: A total number of 128 subjects of Stroke (both clinically as well as computed tomographically proven cases) aged above 18, of both sexes, were taken for the study. Material and Methods: Total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides are estimated by enzymatic method using autoanalyser, LDL cholesterol by Friedewald formula and Apo B and Apo A1 by nephlometry method using autoanalyser, in all the enrolled subjects as per inclusion criteria. Statistical Analysis: Student ‘t’ test and ANOVA were used to compare the data between subgroups. Results: Patients with stroke had low HDL and low Apo AI, high Apo B levels, and high Apo B/Apo AI ratio. Though total cholesterol and high LDL levels are regarded are better predictors of atherosclerosis, this study showed that only a minority of the patients had total cholesterol on the higher side, and about 50% patients had high LDL levels, but more than 80 % patients had a high Apo B to Apo A1 ratio. Conclusion: Low levels of Apo A1 and high Apo B / Apo A1 ratio can be used as predictors of stroke along with traditional lipid profile components.
Eye movement comparison of professional and novice pilots in key actions of takeoff phase

In order to make up the drawback of traditional skill assessment that is too subjective, the eye tracking has already been applied to various fields. Based on research on eye movement of flying skills, it is found that the average fixation time and eye moving trace of professional pilot varies from that of novice. It is still unclear the changes in eye movement data during key actions after improvement of flight control skill. For the purpose of further understanding these changes, the thesis takes the takeoff phase as the simulated flight mission and makes rules for assessing performance level with speed, heading, bank and pitch angle as parameters by referring to the practice test standard so as to grade simulated flight of pilots. Students and professional pilots are recruited as subjects for the test. Then correlation analysis carried on their performances and fixation count, fixation point percentage, total fixation time, fixation time percentage and average fixation time respectively. The results show that pilots' performances are related to the fixation count greatly. In the comparison of subjects in key actions of take-off, it is found the drawbacks of students in attention allocation and information extraction. These founding can provide a detailed guideline in training of flight cadets.
Promoting Social Capital, Empowerment and Counter-Stereotypical Behavior in Male and Female Students in Online CSCL Communuties

© 2012 Mebane et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Promoting Social Capital, Empowerment and Counter-Stereotypical Behavior in Male and Female Students in Online CSCL Communuties
HIGH-CONTRAST NEAR-INFRARED IMAGING POLARIMETRY OF THE PROTOPLANETARY DISK AROUND RY TAU

We present near-infrared coronagraphic imaging polarimetry of RY Tau. The scattered light in the circumstellar environment was imaged at the H band at a high resolution (∼0.″05) for the first time, using Subaru/HiCIAO. The observed polarized intensity (PI) distribution shows a butterfly-like distribution of bright emission with an angular scale similar to the disk observed at millimeter wavelengths. This distribution is offset toward the blueshifted jet, indicating the presence of a geometrically thick disk or a remnant envelope, and therefore the earliest stage of the Class II evolutionary phase. We perform comparisons between the observed PI distribution and disk models with (1) full radiative transfer code, using the spectral energy distribution (SED) to constrain the disk parameters; and (2) monochromatic simulations of scattered light which explore a wide range of parameters space to constrain the disk and dust parameters. We show that these models cannot consistently explain the observed PI distribution, SED, and the viewing angle inferred by millimeter interferometry. We suggest that the scattered light in the near-infrared is associated with an optically thin and geometrically thick layer above the disk surface, with the surface responsible for the infrared SED. Half of the scattered light and thermal radiation in this layer illuminates the disk surface, and this process may significantly affect the thermal structure of the disk.
Comparing Formal Cognitive Emotion Theories

We discuss an approach for evaluating cognitive emotion theories that explicitly relies on the use of formal logics of agency. This approach offers various benefits, which range from the fact that a formal logical approach is able to provide an explicit account of the inferential machinery used by an agent to elicit emotions to the fact that logical specifications provide a precise model of what is and what is not relevant in a computational model of emotions. Several formal emotion models have been proposed that derive emotions from the mental state of an agent using basic logic. The benefit of formal models of emotions is that they allow for a precise comparison. One of the key challenges, however, in comparing these models is that the conceptual basis that provides the starting point for deriving emotions is different. We present two simplified formal models and provide a preliminary comparison for illustrative purposes and identify some problems in comparing them. We also propose an alternative, more empirical approach for comparing and validating these models. To do so, we argue that there is a need for standard and detailed accounts of the evolution of emotions in particular scenarios that can be used as “benchmarks”.
Impact of Corporate Governance on Financial Performance

The purpose of the study is to determine the structural relationship between corporate governance and financial performance. The study develops a model linking corporate governance and financial performance then verifies it through structural equation modeling based on partial least square. The study is based on random sample of all Karachi Stock Exchange listed companies. Data related to corporate governance and financial performance was collected through annual reports of listed companies. The study reveals and determines the existence of critical structural relationship between corporate governance and financial performance through data analysis using PLS Graph software. The study concludes that corporate governance does not improve financial performance consistently. Rather it proposes that corporate governors can enhance it significantly through exploiting intangible resources. The study can be considered as one of the most comprehensive studies in Pakistan measuring the impact of corporate governance on financial performance using structural equation modeling and covering all Karachi Stock Exchange companies.
Negative Reciprocity and its Relation to Anger-Like Emotions in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Groups

Several studies have shown that social identity fosters the provision of public goods and enhances the willingness to reciprocate the cooperative behavior of group members. Nonetheless, the question of how social identity affects negative reciprocity in identity-homogeneous and -heterogeneous groups has only received little attention. Consequently, we seek to fill this gap by examining whether social identity affects individuals’ willingness to sanction deviating group members in a public good context. Moreover, we devote particular attention to the role of anger-like emotions in negative reciprocity. To test our hypotheses, we employ one-shot public good games in a strategy method with punishment opportunity and induced social identity. Our results indicate that members of identity-homogeneous groups are prone to reveal less negative reciprocity than identity-heterogeneous groups when they face contributions smaller than their own. We also find that anger-like emotions much more strongly influence punishment behavior when individuals are matched with members of different identities than in identity-homogenous groups. These findings contribute to an increased understanding of the nature of social identity and its impact on reciprocity, improving economists’ ability to predict behavior while taking emotions into consideration.
Pharmacological management of bipolar disorder : a review

Results and conclusions For treatment of acute mania lithium, valproate and carbamazepine are more effective than placebo but they have no superiority over antipsychotics. There is evidence from RCTs that second generation antipsychotics (SGA) are more effective than placebo. Haloperidol may be more effective than SGA in treatment of acute mania. Combination of antipsychotic and mood stabiliser is more effective than mood stabiliser monotherapy alone.
Asset Prices, Liquidity, and Monetary Policy in an Exchange Economy

I formulate a search-based asset-pricing model where equity shares and fiat money can be used as means of payment. I characterize a family of optimal stochastic monetary policies. Every policy in this family implements Friedman's prescription of zero nominal interest rates. Under an optimal policy, equity prices and returns are independent of monetary considerations. I also study a perturbation of the family of optimal policies that targets a constant but nonzero nominal interest rate. Under such policies, the average real return on equity is negatively correlated with the average inflation rate.
Observation and backward trajectory of an inertio-gravity wave in the lower stratosphere

A Doppler lidar observation of an inertio-gravity wave in the mid-latitude lower stratosphere is presented. The wave packet characteristics (vertical and horizontal wavenumbers, intrinsic and apparent frequencies) are inferred from the analysis of the hodograph of the horizontal wind fluctuations. Those parameters are used as initial conditions for the calculation of the wave packet trajectory backwards in time in the atmosphere. These calculations are realized by ray-tracing techniques, with background fields (wind and stability) provided by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting analyses. Sensitivity tests are performed in order to estimate the robustness of the computed trajectory. It is argued that the generation of the wave has taken place in the upper troposphere, where evidence of large synoptic scale Rossby wave disturbances are found. Our results support the fact that geostrophic adjustment (and possibly shear instabilities) associated with such disturbances could be an effective mechanism for the generation of inertia-gravity waves in the mid-latitude.
Choosing Between Internal and Non-internal R&D Activities: Some Technological and Economic Factors

This paper evaluates some of the technological and economic factors that underlie the choice between in-house R&D, R&D alliances and outsourcing. We recount the reasons for the growth in non-internal activities, and explain why these are not as prevalent for R&D as other value-adding activities, and highlight that outsourcing is most often undertaken where multiple, substitutable sources are available. We then develop two frameworks. First, a static framework is developed, which evaluates the choice of mode based on a firm's distribution of competencies, and their strategic importance. Second, a dynamic framework is developed that demonstrates how the static framework differs depending on whether the firm is engaged in pre-paradigmatic, paradigmatic or post-paradigmatic sectors. We also consider the effect of new technologies being introduced to a firm's portfolio of competencies
The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among foreign workers in Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a high number of foreign workers, especially those coming from endemic areas with intestinal parasites. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of parasitic infection among foreign workers in Madina, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: There was direct microscopic examination of stool samples by wet smears for parasitic stages. This was followed by the formalin-ethyl acetate concentration technique to confirm and detect parasites not recovered by the wet mount. Results: The total number of foreign workers was 120, 47.5% of whom were males and 52.5% females. They were within the age group of 20-60 years. A total of 53 cases (44.2 %) were infected with IPs. Some samples had double or triple infections, with a total of 69 parasitic infections detected (57.5%). These included Entamoeba histolytica (27.5%), Giardia lamblia (18.8%), hookworm (14.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides (11.6%), Entamoeba coli (7.2%), Trichuris trichiura (5.8%), Strongyloides stercoralis (5.8%) and Hymenolepis nana (4.3%). Furthermore, 1.4% each of Enterobius vermicularis, Schistosoma mansoni and Taenia eggs were found. Conclusion: Foreign workers newly arrived from Asia and Africa carry high rates of IPs infection. It is necessary to increase awareness about occupational health, and the risks of parasite transmission to the local population. Moreover, strict adherence to infection prevention policies is recommended.
Issues in Assessing Trade Execution Costs

This study assesses the sensitivity of trading cost estimates to two methodological issues: the time adjustment made before comparing trades to quotes, and the procedure used to designate trades as buyer or seller-initiated. Consistent with recent research for Nasdaq stocks, the results indicate that making no allowance for trade reporting lags is optimal when assessing whether trades are buyer or seller initiated, for both Nasdaq and NYSE stocks. However, the evidence also indicates that trade prices are best compared to earlier quotations when assessing trade execution costs, in order to capture the effect of quotations systematically rising (falling) in the seconds before customer buy (sell) orders are completed. The results also indicate that a technique for inferring trade direction recommended by Ellis, Michaely, and O'Hara (2000) leads to significantly smaller estimates of trading costs than the well-known Lee and Ready (1994) algorithm. Finally, despite the sensitivity of trading cost measures to these methodological issues, inference as to whether the Nasdaq dealer market or the NYSE auction market provides lower trade execution costs is not sensitive.
Foreign aid and long‐run economic growth: empirical evidence for a panel of developing countries

This paper investigates the relationship between foreign aid and growth in per capita GDP using annual data from the 1960 to 1997 period for a sample of 71 aid-receiving developing economies. The results show that the effect of foreign aid on economic growth is positive, permanent, statistically significant, and sizable: raising foreign aid by $20 per person of the receiving country results in a permanent increase in the growth rate of real GDP per capita by approximately 0.16 per cent. Using an alternative foreign-aid measure, a permanent increase in aid by 1 per cent of the receiving economy's GDP permanently raises the per capita growth rate by 0.14 to 0.26 per cent. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design and testing of a unique active compton-suppressed LaBr3(Ce) detector system for improved sensitivity assays of TRU in remote-handled TRU wastes

The US Department of Energy's transuranic (TRU) waste inventory includes about 4,500 m3 of remote-handled TRU (RH-TRU) wastes composed of a variety of containerized waste forms having a contact surface dose rate that exceeds 2 mSv/hr (200 mrem/hr) containing waste materials with a total TRU concentration greater than 3700 Bq/g (100 nCi/g). As part of a research project to investigate the use of active Compton-suppressed room-temperature gamma-ray detectors for direct non-destructive quantification of the TRU content of these RH-TRU wastes, we have designed and purchased a unique detector system using a LaBr3(Ce) primary detector and a Nal(Tl) suppression mantle. The LaBr3(Ce) primary detector is a cylindrical unit ~25 mm in diameter by 76 mm long viewed by a 38 mm diameter photomultiplier. The Nal(Tl) suppression mantle (secondary detector) is 175 mm by 175 mm with a center well that accommodates the primary detector. An important feature of this arrangement is the lack of any "can" between the primary and secondary detectors. These primary and secondary detectors are optically isolated by a thin layer (.003") of aluminized Kapton. This arrangement virtually eliminates the "dead" material between the primary and secondary detectors, a feature that preliminary modeling indicated would substantially improve the Compton suppression capability of this device. This paper presents both the expected performance of this unit determined from modeling with MCNPX, and the performance measured in our laboratory with radioactive sources.
Push Factors and Capital Flows to Emerging Markets: Why Knowing Your Lender Matters More than Fundamentals

This paper analyzes the behavior of gross capital inflows across 34 emerging markets (EMs). We first confirm that aggregate inflows to EMs co-move considerably. We then report three findings: (i) the aggregate co-movement conceals significant heterogeneity across asset types as only bank-related and portfolio bond and equity inflows do co-move; (ii) while global push factors in advanced economies mostly explain the common dynamics, their relative importance varies by type of flow; and (iii) the sensitivity to common dynamics varies significantly across borrower countries, with market structure characteristics (especially the composition of the foreign investor base and the level of liquidity) rather than borrower country’s institutional fundamentals strongly affecting sensitivities. Countries relying more on international funds and global banks are found to be more sensitive to push factors. Our findings suggest that EMs need to closely monitor their lenders and investors to assess their inflow exposures to global push factors.
Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) fibrosis score predicts 6.6‐year overall mortality of Chinese patients with NAFLD

The non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) fibrosis score (NFS) has emerged as a useful predictor of long‐term outcome in NAFLD patients. We evaluated the predictive performance of the NFS for overall mortality in a Chinese population with NAFLD. All NAFLD patients diagnosed ultrasonographically at Xixi Hospital of Hangzhou between 1996 and 2011 were retrospectively recruited to the study. Outcome was determined by interview and causes of death were confirmed by medical records. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCROC) was used to determine the predictive accuracy of the NFS, BARD (body mass index, aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio, diabetes) score, FIB‐4 index and the AST/platelet ratio index (APRI) for mortality. Data from a total of 180 eligible patients (median age 39 years; 96 men) were analysed, with 12 deaths over a median follow‐up period of 6.6 years (range 0.5–14.8 years). Using Cox model analysis, the NFS as a continuous variable was identified as the only predictor for all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio 2.743, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.670–4.504). The NFS yielded the highest AUCROC of 0.828 (95% CI 0.728–0.928, P < 0.05), followed by the FIB‐4 index, APRI and BARD score (AUCROC 0.806 (P < 0.05), 0.732 (P < 0.05) and 0.632, respectively). The data indicated that the NFS is a useful predictor of 6.6‐year all‐cause mortality for Chinese patients with NAFLD.