Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Enamel Matrix Derivatives on MC3T3 Osteoblasts

During tooth development, cells of Hertwig's epithelial root sheath secrete enamel matrix proteins. A purified enamel matrix product (Enamel Matrix Derivative, EMD) from developing porcine teeth became commercially available and has been successfully employed to restore fully functional periodontal ligament, cementum and alveolar bone. The regenerative capacity of EMD has been demonstrated in clinical and animal studies. However the biological mechanisms are not known. We hypothesize that EMD stimulates growth and differentiation, and regulates certain gene expression of osteoblasts. In this project we will determine the effect of EMD on cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of preosteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1 cells. A DNA array will also be used to identify the cell cycle gene changes regulated by EMD and compare these genes to those regulated by TGF-~1. This study will identify the role of EMD on osteoblasts to understand the mechanisms of EMD induced bone regeneration. By comparing EMD regulated genes to that regulated by TGF-~1, it could be determined whether EMD has a similar function to TGF-~1, which has been shown to induce bone regeneration.
RABIES IN THE SERENGETI: THE ROLE OF DOMESTIC DOGS AND WILDLIFE IN MAINTENANCE OF DISEASE

Although dogs account for over 90 percent of human rabies cases (WHO 1992), relatively little is known about the epidemiology of canine rabies. Much of our understanding of rabies epidemiology comes from empirical and theoretical studies, not of dogs, but of wildlife populations in Europe and North America. Here, in any given geographic area, antigenically and genetically distinct strains of rabies (virus "biotypes") are maintained by a single principal host species (Carey 1985; Blancou 1988; Smith 1989; Rupprecht et al 1991; Wandeler 1991; Blancou et al. 1991).
Award Number: W81XWH-06-1-0765 TITLE: Automation and Preclinical Evaluation of a Dedicated Emission Mammotomography System for Fully 3-D Molecular Breast Imaging

Abstract : The overall objective of this proposal is to automate the acquisition sequences and optimize the performance of a 3-D dedicated SPECT breast imaging system. A retrospective study of 103 clinical MRI uncompressed breast scans was conducted to create surface renderings of the uncompressed breasts and analyze how to adapt existing acquisition orbits for varying breast shapes. Automated laser-guided SPECT contouring hardware and software were implemented. An observer-based study directly comparing 3D dedicated SPECT and 2D planar scintimammography was completed, concluding that statistically significantly (p<0.05) more lesions, smaller lesion sizes, and lesion locations were detected with dedicated breast SPECT than with compressed breast scintimammography. As a result of this work, the now fully automated SPECTCT breast imaging system, with the ability to dynamically contour any sized breast, can potentially improve detection and characterization of small (<1cm) early stage breast cancer and provides a patient-flexible imaging modality ready for clinical testing.
Elderly Pedestrians’ Visual Timing Strategies in a Simulated Street-Crossing Situation

The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate the effect of age and of the approaching vehicle’s speed on crossing behavior in an interactive street crossing simulation. Seventy-eight subjects aged from 20-30, 60-70 and 70- 80, took part in the experiment. Half of them were female and half were male. The participants were asked to cross between two approaching cars if they judged crossing possible. Vehicle speed (40 and 60 km/h) and time gap between cars (from 1 to 7s) were varied. The results show that the accepted time gap increased with age, but that the adopted safety margins, as well as the rates of unsafe crossings and missed opportunities were globally comparable for all groups of participants. However, the speed of the approaching vehicles was identified as an important risk factor for elderly pedestrians. Unlike younger pedestrians, seniors exhibited more risky behaviors at higher speeds. Results are discussed in relation to the visual information used, and with respect to the validity of judgment and crossing tasks in the study of pedestrian behavior.
Varieties of small codimension in projective space

Introduction. I would like to begin by stating a conjecture. While I am not convinced of the truth of this statement, I think it is useful to crystallize one's ideas, and to have a particular problem in mind. Then for the remainder of the talk, I propose to examine this question in a rather general way from a number of different perspectives. This will give me an opportunity to report on recent work in several areas of algebraic geometry, and at the same time to mention a number of open problems. Let k be an algebraically closed field. Let P be the «-dimensional projective space over k. Let 7 g P n b e a nonsingular subvariety of dimension r. We say that F is a complete intersection in P if one can find n—r hypersurfaces Hl9 • • • , Hn_r, such that Y=H1ri• -C\Hn_r, and such that this intersection is transversal, i.e. the hypersurfaces Hi are nonsingular at all points of F, and their tangent hyperplanes intersect properly at each point of F In algebraic terms, F is a complete intersection if and only if its homogeneous prime ideal I(Y)^k[x0, • • • , xn] can be generated by exactly n—r homogeneous polynomials. Conjecture. If Y is a nonsingular subvariety of dimension r of P n , and if r>§« , then F is a complete intersection. The paper is divided into six sections : §1. Representing cohomology classes by subvarieties. §2. Cohomological properties of the subvariety. §3. Examples. Subvarieties of small degree. §4. Embedding varieties in projective space. §5. Connections with local algebra. §6. Existence of vector bundles on P.
CELLULAR MOBILE SYSTEM

With the proliferation of mobile and wireless computing devices, the demand for continuous network connectivity exits for various wired-and-wireless integrated networks. Since Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is the standard network protocol for communication on the Interne, any wireless network with Internet service need to be compatible with TCP. TCP is tuned to perform well in traditional wired networks, where packet losses occur mostly because of congestion. However cellular wireless network suffers from significant losses due to high bit errors and mobile handoff. TCP responds to all losses by invoking congestion control and avoidance algorithms, resulting in degraded end-to-end performance. This paper presents an improved Explicit Loss Notification algorithm to distinguish between packet loss due to congestion and packet loss due to wireless errors and handoffs. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol significantly improves the performance of TCP over cellular wireless network in terms of throughput and congestion window dynamics.
Two opposing theories. On H.E. Wiegand's recent discovery of lexicographic functions

In the history of lexicography, a lot has been said about dictionary users and their needs. This paper will focus on two theories that both share the postulate that dictionaries are tools made by human beings in order to solve specific problems. The first theory is developed by the German scholar H.E. Wiegand and it will be argued that his theory about dictionary use should be considered a linguistic reconstruction of information items in existing dictionaries. The other theory is the modern theory of lexicographic functions that takes all the theoretical and practical consequences of the basic postulate that dictionaries are utility products.
Ten-Year Experience with Percutaneous Cholecystostomy for Acute Cholecystitis in Men

Objective: To retrospectively analyze the treatment outcomes of male patients who underwent emergent percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) for biliary decompression in acute cholecystitis. Methods: A single-institution retrospective analysis of 132 patients from 2003 to 2013. Outcome measures were survival, cholecystostomy drain outcomes, and definitive treatment with surgical cholecystectomy. Results: The patient population was all male, with a mean age of 70.6 years. 79 patients (59.9%) were admitted for biliary disease and 34 patients (25.8%) were in an intensive care unit (ICU) when diagnosed. 18 patients (13.6%) died within 30 days of PC, an additional 12 (9%) died within 6 months of PC, and the median survival was 4.9 years. Multivariate logistic regression showed a direct relationship between 1 month and 6-month mortality with total bilirubin and an inverse relationship with hematocrit. Cox regression analysis for long-term survival revealed increased mortality associated with respiratory failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.40, P = 0.023) and total bilirubin (HR: 1.11, P < 0.001); lower mortality was associated with a primary diagnosis of cholecystitis (HR: 0.29, P = 0.010), higher hematocrit (HR: 0.89, P < 0.001), and ICU (HR: 0.17, P = 0.003) and floor (HR: 0.34, P = 0.029) diagnosis location. Only 55 patients (41.7%) proceeded to surgical cholecystectomy. Outcomes at 1 year (n = 110) were 40% alive after surgery, 25.5% alive without surgery or a drain, 2.7% alive without surgery but with a drain, and 31.8% dead. Conclusions: Although PC is associated with a high early mortality, 25.5 % of our patients were definitively treated with cholecystostomy alone. Certain biomarkers and patient characteristics may help model survival after PC.
Growth and Convergence in a Multicountry Empirical Stochastic Solow Model

The paper considers international per capita output and its growth using a panel of data for 102 countries between 1960-1989. It sets out an explicitly stochastic Solow growth model and shows that this has quite different properties from the standard approach where the output equation is obtained by adding an error term to the linearized solution of a deterministic Solow model. It examines the econometric properties of estimates of beta convergence as traditionally defined in the literature and shows that all these estimates are subject to substantial biases. Empirical estimates clearly reflect the nature and the magnitude of these biases as predicted by econometric theory. Steady state growth rates differ significantly across countries and once this heterogeneity is allowed for, the estimates of beta are substantially higher than the consensus in the literature. But they are very imprecisely estimated and difficult to interpret. The paper also discusses the economic implications of these results for sigma convergence.
Measuring masses in low mass X-ray binaries via X-ray spectroscopy: the case of MXB 1659-298

The determination of fundamental parameters in low-mass X-ray binaries typically relies on measuring the radial velocity curve of the companion star through optical or near-infrared spectroscopy. It was recently suggested that high resolution X-ray spectroscopy might enable a measurement of the radial velocity curve of the compact object by monitoring the Doppler shifts induced by the orbital motion of the disc wind or the disc atmosphere. We analysed a Chandra-HETG+NuSTAR soft state observation of MXB 1659-298, an eclipsing neutron star low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB). We measured a radial velocity curve whose phase offset and semi-amplitude are consistent with the primary star. We derived the value for the semi-amplitude of the radial velocity for the compact object $K_1=89\pm19$ km s$^{-1}$, constrained the mass of the secondary ($0.3\leq M_2\leq0.8$ M$_\odot$) and the orbital inclination of the binary system ($73\leq i\leq77^\circ$). These values are consistent with previous estimates from independent methods. Via the same technique, the next generation of X-ray observatories equipped with high spectral resolution instruments (e.g., Athena) will have the potential to measure the radial velocity curve of the primary in high inclination X-ray binaries to an accuracy of a few per cent.
Physiological and pathology demographics of veteran rugby athletes: Golden Oldies Rugby Festival

Recently, the health of retired National Football League players, particularly lineman has been investigated. A number of studies have reported increased cardiometabolic risk, premature cardiovascular disease and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Rugby union players have somatotypes very similar to National Football league players which suggest that rugby players may have similar health risks. The International Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival (GORF) provided a unique opportunity to investigate the demographics of veteran rugby players. METHODOLOGIES: A cross-sectional, observational study was completed using an online web-based questionnaire that consisted of medical history and physiological measures. Data analysis was completed using a one sample t-test ( 50yrs) and Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 216 veteran rugby competitors (response rate = 6.8%) representing 10 countries, aged 35-72 yrs (mean 51.2, S.D. ±8.0), participated in the online survey. As a group, the incidence of current smokers was low at 8.8% (avg 72.4 cigs/wk) whilst the percentage consuming alcohol was high (93.1% (avg 11.2 drinks/wk). Competitors reported the following top six chronic diseases/disorders; hypertension (18.6%), arthritis (OA/RA, 11.5%), asthma (9.3%), hyperlipidemia (8.2%), diabetes (all types, 7.5%) and gout (6%), there were significant differences between groups with regard to cancer (all types) and migraines. When compared to the Australian general population (Australian Bureau of Statistics data, n=18,000), GORF competitors had a significantly lower incidence of anxiety (p 50yrs) with regard to height (180 vs 177cm), weight (97.6 vs 93.1Kg's), BMI (30 vs 29.7kg/m
Understanding and Simplifying One-Shot Architecture Search

There is growing interest in automating neural network architecture design. Existing architecture search methods can be computationally expensive, requiring thousands of different architectures to be trained from scratch. Recent work has explored weight sharing across models to amortize the cost of training. Although previous methods reduced the cost of architecture search by orders of magnitude, they remain complex, requiring hypernetworks or reinforcement learning controllers. We aim to understand weight sharing for one-shot architecture search. With careful experimental analysis, we show that it is possible to efficiently identify promising architectures from a complex search space without either hypernetworks or RL.
RELATIONAL MODEL FOR NON-DETERMINISTIC PROGRAMS AND PREDICATE TRANSFOP~IERS*

A relational model for non-deterministic programs is presented. Several predicate transformers are introduced and it is shown that one of them satisfies all the healthiness criteria indicated by Dijkstra for a useful total correctness predicate transformer. An axiomatic relational definition of the language of guarded commands is proposed. From it the predicate transformers associated to each command in the language are derived. The fact that Dijkstra's axioms are rediscovered proves their consistency in the model. (|~IMAG, Grenoble (France) and the New University of Lisbon, (Portugal). Address : IMAG, B.P. 53 X, 38041 GRENOBLE C~dex, FRANCE * Research reported herein was supported in part by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, under grant number 14/78/B.
fhx, in the silk gland of the silkworm, Bombyx mori

1 LIM-homeodomain transcription factor Awh is a key component activating 1 all three fibroin genes, fibH, fibL and fhx, in the silk gland of the silkworm, 2 Bombyx mori 3 4 21 The authors declare no conflict of interest. 22 2 Abstract 23 24 In the silkworm Bombyx mori, three fibroin genes, fibroin-heavy-chain (fibH), 25 fibroin-light-chain (fibL) and fibrohexamerin (fhx), are coexpressed only in 26 the posterior silk gland (PSG) cells, while the sericin genes encoding silk 27 glue proteins are expressed in the middle silk gland (MSG) cells. Silk gland 28 factor-2 (SGF-2) is a PSG-specific activator complex of fibH, composed of a 29 LIM-homeodomain protein, Awh, and its cofactors, Ldb and Lcaf. We 30 investigated whether SGF-2 can activate other fibroin genes using 31 transgenic silkworms. The genes for Ldb and Lcaf were expressed 32 ubiquitously in various tissues, while the gene for Awh was expressed 33 strictly specific in PSG of the wild type silkworms. Misexpression of Awh in 34 transgenic silkworms induced ectopic expression of fibL and fhx as well as 35 fibH in MSG. Coincidently with the induction of fibL and fhx by Awh, 36 binding of SGF-2 to the promoter of fibL and fhx was detected in vitro, and 37 SGF-2 binds directly to the fhx core promoter. Ectopic expression of the 38 fibroin genes was observed at high levels in the middle part of MSG. 39 Moreover, fibL and fhx were induced in the anterior silk gland (ASG) of the 40 transgenic silkworms, but fibH was not. These results indicate that Awh is a 41 key activator of all three fibroin genes, and the activity is probably regulated 42 in conjunction with additional factors.
Modular Latent Spaces for Shape Correspondences

We consider the problem of transporting shape descriptors across shapes in a collection in a modular fashion, in order to establish correspondences between them. A common goal when mapping between multiple shapes is consistency, namely that compositions of maps along a cycle of shapes should be approximately an identity map. Existing attempts to enforce consistency typically require recomputing correspondences whenever a new shape is added to the collection, which can quickly become intractable. Instead, we propose an approach that is fully modular, where the bulk of the computation is done on each shape independently. To achieve this, we use intermediate nonlinear embedding spaces, computed individually on every shape; the embedding functions use ideas from diffusion geometry and capture how different descriptors on the same shape inter‐relate. We then establish linear mappings between the different embedding spaces, via a shared latent space. The introduction of nonlinear embeddings allows for more nuanced correspondences, while the modularity of the construction allows for parallelizable calculation and efficient addition of new shapes. We compare the performance of our framework to standard functional correspondence techniques and showcase the use of this framework to simple interpolation and extrapolation tasks.
Isoprene oxidation by nitrate radical: alkyl nitrate and secondary organic aerosol yields

Abstract. Alkyl nitrates and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced during the oxidation of isoprene by nitrate radicals has been observed in the SAPHIR (Simulation of Atmospheric PHotochemistry In a large Reaction Chamber) chamber. A 16 h dark experiment was conducted with temperatures at 289–301 K, and maximum concentrations of 11 ppb isoprene, 62.4 ppb O3 and 31.1 ppb NOx. We find the yield of nitrates is 70±8% from the isoprene + NO3 reaction, and the yield for secondary dinitrates produced in the reaction of primary isoprene nitrates with NO3 is 40±20%. We find an effective rate constant for reaction of NO3 with the group of first generation oxidation products to be 7×10−14 molecule−1 cm3 s−1. At the low total organic aerosol concentration in the chamber (max=0.52 μg m−3) we observed a mass yield (ΔSOA mass/Δisoprene mass) of 2% for the entire 16 h experiment. However a comparison of the timing of the observed SOA production to a box model simulation of first and second generation oxidation products shows that the yield from the first generation products was
A NON-RADIAL ERUPTION IN A QUADRUPOLAR MAGNETIC CONFIGURATION WITH A CORONAL NULL

We report one of the several homologous non-radial eruptions from NOAA active region (AR) 11158 that are strongly modulated by the local magnetic field as observed with the Solar Dynamic Observatory. A small bipole emerged in the sunspot complex and subsequently created a quadrupolar flux system. Nonlinear force-free field extrapolation from vector magnetograms reveals its energetic nature: the fast-shearing bipole accumulated ∼2 × 1031 erg free energy (10% of AR total) over just one day despite its relatively small magnetic flux (5% of AR total). During the eruption, the ejected plasma followed a highly inclined trajectory, over 60° with respect to the radial direction, forming a jet-like, inverted-Y-shaped structure in its wake. Field extrapolation suggests complicated magnetic connectivity with a coronal null point, which is favorable of reconnection between different flux components in the quadrupolar system. Indeed, multiple pairs of flare ribbons brightened simultaneously, and coronal reconnection signatures appeared near the inferred null. Part of the magnetic setting resembles that of a blowout-type jet; the observed inverted-Y structure likely outlines the open field lines along the separatrix surface. Owing to the asymmetrical photospheric flux distribution, the confining magnetic pressure decreases much faster horizontally than upward. This special field geometry likely guided the non-radial eruption during its initial stage.
Trends in the Prevalence of Extreme Obesity Among US Preschool-Aged Children Living in Low-Income Families, 1998-2010

rently 4 states (Minnesota, Oregon, Idaho, and North Carolina) allow MOC to count in lieu of continuing medical education for relicensing (and a number of others are moving in that direction), and participation in MOC can result in increased reimbursement through the Physician Quality and Reporting System program. The fees charged for certification and MOC go to support the complex assessment tools, for testing of the information technology platform, and for the rigorous quality standards needed for 19 different subspecialties as well as general medicine. The ABIM works hard to keep fee increases to a minimum and is proud that it charges the second lowest fees of all 24 boards.
Trade, investment and the global economy: Are we entering a new era for health?

Although officially dead due to US withdrawal from agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) is now in a ‘zombie’ state being resurrected in different ways by most of its remaining 11 member countries. This renders the analysis of its health implications both current and timely. This article, drawing on our own health impact assessment of the TPP and other analyses and commentaries, critically reviews some of the major ways in which the TPP, as a representative of so-called 21st-century regional trade agreements, poses a threat to global health equity. Four specific ways are identified and reviewed: (1) It increases restrictions on public health regulations (despite the tobacco partial carve-out) specifically through changes in the Technical barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) chapters, and its new Regulatory Chapter. (2) Its flawed Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system (with several cases affecting health services/insurance and indirectly health through cases challenging environmental protection) continues to benefit investor over public health and sustainability. (3) Its labour and environmental chapters are largely hortatory and concerned with ensuring increased trade by TPP rules, and not stronger labour rights or environmental protection per se. (4) There is little aggregate economic benefit, but disequalizing income distributions, and no accounting for public costs (e.g. trade adjustment compensation for negatively affected economic sectors, increased patent drug costs). The article concludes by locating the content and implementation of agreements as the TPP as a form of international law that entrenches a discredited neoliberal economic model of enormous benefit to capital and limited benefit to most of the world’s peoples.