Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retention, marginal leakage, and cement solubility of provisional crowns cemented with temporary cement containing stannous fluoride.

PURPOSE This in vitro study investigated the (1) retention and microleakage of provisional crowns cemented with temporary cements to which stannous fluoride (SnF2) was added, and (2) solubility of these cements. MATERIALS AND METHODS Provisional crowns were constructed of acrylic resin with shoulder preparations for 12 molars. The crowns were luted with Tempbond, Tempbond NE, and Freegenol temporary cements, and also with SnF2 added to these cements. Specimens were thermocycled 100 times, stored for 6 days, and immersed in 0.5% basic fuschin. Seven days after cementation, crown removal (retention) tests were conducted. Marginal leakage was assessed using a five-level scale to score dye penetration. Solubility in water of the cements with and without SnF2 was assessed using cement disks. RESULTS Freegenol was more retentive than the other cements. The incorporation of SnF2 significantly increased the retention capacity of Freegenol and Tempbond NE but had no effect on Tempbond. Tempbond showed significantly higher dye penetration than Freegenol. The addition of SnF2 did not alter the dye penetration of the cements. There were no significant differences in the solubility of the cements. However, the incorporation of SnF2 increased the solubility of Freegenol and Tempbond NE (P < .001) and Tempbond (P < .01). CONCLUSION The addition of SnF2 increased the retention of temporary crowns cemented with Tempbond NE and Freegenol but did not affect the retention of those cemented with Tempbond. The marginal leakage of crowns cemented with the tested temporary cements with and without the incorporation of SnF2 was similar. However, the addition of SnF2 increased the solubility of the cements.
Regional differences in prescribing quality among elder veterans and the impact of rural residence.

PURPOSE Medication safety is a critical concern for older adults. Regional variation in potentially inappropriate prescribing practices may reflect important differences in health care quality. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to characterize prescribing quality variation among older adults across geographic region, and to compare prescribing quality across rural versus urban residence. METHODS Cross-sectional study of 1,549,824 older adult veterans with regular Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care and medication use during fiscal year 2007. Prescribing quality was measured by 4 indicators of potentially inappropriate prescribing: Zhan criteria drugs to avoid, Fick criteria drugs to avoid, therapeutic duplication, and drug-drug interactions. Frequency differences across region and rural-urban residence were compared using adjusted odds-ratios. FINDINGS Significant regional variation was observed for all indicators. Zhan criteria frequencies ranged from 13.2% in the Northeast to 21.2% in the South. Nationally, rural veterans had a significantly increased risk for inappropriate prescribing according to all quality indicators. However, regional analyses revealed this effect was limited to the South and Northeast, whereas rural residence was neutral in the Midwest and protective in the West. CONCLUSIONS Significant regional variation in prescribing quality was observed among older adult veterans, mirroring recent findings among Medicare beneficiaries. The association between rurality and prescribing quality is heterogeneous, and relying solely on national estimates may yield misleading conclusions. Although we documented important variations in prescribing quality, the underlying factors driving these trends remain unknown, and they are a vital area for future research affecting older adults in both VA and non-VA health systems.
Reduced ocular dominance plasticity and long‐term potentiation in the developing visual cortex of protein kinase A RIIα mutant mice

The cAMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKA) signalling pathway has been shown to play an important role in long‐term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD), and ocular dominance plasticity in the visual cortex. In order to investigate further the involvement of individual PKA subunits in visual cortical plasticity, LTP and LTD in vitro and ocular dominance plasticity in vivo in the developing visual cortex were examined in mice lacking the RIIα subunit of PKA. Here we show that LTP in layers II/III was decreased in RIIα knockout mice, but LTD was almost unaffected, and the ocular dominance shift induced by monocular deprivation was also partially blocked. These data provide evidence that RIIα is involved in LTP and ocular dominance plasticity, and further suggest that different afferent inputs could selectively activate particular subunits of PKA and thereby direct specific aspects of visual cortical plasticity.
The kinetics of water transperitoneal transport during long-term peritoneal dialysis performed using icodextrin dialysis fluid.

INTRODUCTION Dialysis fluid containing icodextrin is used in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) because of its significant ultrafiltration properties. The use of the fluid in treating patients with congestive heart failure resistant to diuretics has also been reported. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to evaluate water peritoneal transport during a 16-hour dialysis exchange performed using icodextrin-containing dialysis fluid. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eleven clinically stable patients were enrolled in the study (5 women and 6 men; mean age, 50.4 +/- 18.3 years), treated with PD for 26.9 +/- 22.4 months. Water transperitoneal transport was evaluated using a modified version of Babb-Randerson-Farrell thermodynamic model of membrane transport with human albumin marked with iodine as the marker of intraperitoneal volume. Based on blood and dialysate samples collected during the 16-hour dialysis exchange, the intraperitoneal volume of dialysate and dialysate reverse absorption were calculated. RESULTS There were no clinical complications associated with the use of icodextrin fluid during the study. A significant increase in intraperitoneal volume of dialysate (950 ml on average) compared to the initial value was observed in the whole group at the 16th hour of the exchange. CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrated that dialysis fluid with icodextrin ensured effective ultrafiltration during a 16-hour dialysis exchange. This indicates its potential usefulness in the treatment of patients with severe congestive heart failure with or without coexisting end-stage renal disease.
Vaccination for hepatitis A virus is not required for patients with chronic liver disease in India.

BACKGROUND Hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccination is recommended worldwide for patients with chronic liver disease to prevent decompensation due to superinfection with HAV. India being endemic for HAV, the prevalence of pre-existing antibodies against HAV due to subclinical exposure to the virus in childhood among patients with chronic liver disease may be high and, therefore, vaccination may not be needed. However, data are lacking on the prevalence of HAV antibody among patients with chronic liver disease in India. METHODS Two hundred fifty-four patients attending the Liver Clinic at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi during the past 5 years and diagnosed to have either chronic hepatitis due to the hepatitis B virus (n = 76), hepatitis C virus (n = 84) or cirrhosis of the liver due to the hepatitis B (n = 47) or C (n = 47) virus were tested for the presence of IgG anti-HAV antibody in their sera (using a commercial ELISA kit). RESULTS Two hundred forty-eight (97.6%) patients tested positive for IgG anti-HAV. The prevalence of anti-HAV positivity was similar among patients with chronic hepatitis B (74, 97.4%), chronic hepatitis C (82, 97.6%), cirrhosis of the liver due to the hepatitis B (46, 97.8%) and hepatitis C (46, 97.8%) virus. CONCLUSION Vaccination against HAV is not required among patients with chronic liver disease in India as there is a very high prevalence of pre-existing antibodies in these patients.
ADP-Ribosylation Controls the Outcome of Tolerance or Enhanced Priming Following Mucosal Immunization

Accumulating evidence suggests that the dichotomy between tolerance and active IgA immunity in mucosal immune responses is regulated at the APC level. Therefore, immunomodulation of the APC could be an effective mechanism to control the two response patterns. In this study, we demonstrate that ADP-ribosylation controls the outcome of tolerance or active effector T cell immunity to an internal peptide p323–339 from OVA inserted into the cholera toxin (CT)-derived CTA1-OVA-DD adjuvant. We found that a single point mutation, CTA1R7K-OVA-DD, resulting in lack of enzymatic activity, promoted peptide-specific tolerance in TCR transgenic CD4+ T cells following a single intranasal (i.n.) treatment. The CTA1R7K-OVA-DD–induced tolerance was strong, long-lasting, and impaired the ability of adoptively transferred naive peptide-specific CD4+ T cells to respond to Ag-challenge, irrespective if this was given i.p or i.n. The tolerance correlated with induction of regulatory T cells of the regulatory T type 1 characterized by CD25−Foxp3−CD4+ T cells producing IL-10. In contrast, in IL-10–deficient mice, no peptide-specific tolerance was observed, and these mice exhibited unimpaired CD4+ T cell responsiveness to recall Ag irrespective of if they were untreated (PBS) or treated i.n. with CTA1R7K-OVA-DD. Thus, for the first time, we can provide unequivocal proof that ADP-ribosylation can control the outcome of mucosal Ag exposure from tolerance to an enhanced effector CD4+ T cell response. The exploitation of this system for clinical treatment of autoimmune diseases is discussed.
Emprendimiento en la administración local: un estudio empírico de la información contenida en los portales electrónicos de los municipios del Alentejo, región de Portugal

El espíritu emprendedor es uno de los motores principales de la innovación, la competitividad y el crecimiento de la economía; por ello, es necesario animar a emprender e impulsar a las personas para iniciar un negocio. La administración pública juega un importante papel de apoyo y fomento en la creación de empresas, y las nuevas tecnologías —especialmente Internet— posibilitan la transmisión de información, convirtiéndose en un aliado de gran utilidad para impulsar el emprendimiento. El objetivo de este trabajo es examinar, a través de un análisis de contenido, el nivel de información sobre emprendimiento que los municipios del Alentejo, región de Portugal, muestran en sus webs. La investigación ha puesto de manifiesto que los datos ofrecidos son escasos, siendo la información general, la información sobre recursos y apoyo al emprendedor, y la comunicación con el emprendedor las más divulgadas.
Interaction of tributyltin with hepatic cytochrome P450 and uridine diphosphate‐glucuronosyl transferase systems of fish: In vitro studies

Hepatic microsomes of red mullet (Mullus barbatus) and flounder (Platichthys flesus) were preincubated in the presence of a concentration range of the antifouling agent tributyltin (TBT) chloride, and the interactions of TBT with cytochrome P450 and uridine diphosphate—glucuronyl transferase systems were investigated. The enzyme systems were examined in terms of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A)‐catalyzed 7‐ethoxyresorufin O‐deethylase (EROD) activity and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) metabolism and in terms of glucuronidation of testosterone and 17β‐estradiol, respectively. Ethoxyresorufin O‐deethylase and BaP hydroxylase (BPH) activities of both fish species were progressively inhibited by increasing concentrations of TBT, and the effects were more pronounced for EROD than for BPH (maximal inhibition at 100 μM TBT for EROD and 250–500 μM TBT for BPH). Hydroxylated metabolites of BaP (3‐hydroxy‐, 7,8‐dihydrodiol, and 9,10‐dihydrodiol), representing 95% of the total metabolites formed, were reduced up to 75 % in the presence of 100 to 500 μM TBT, whereas the formation of other metabolites was less affected. This may alter BaP toxicity and carcinogenicity. Overall, the results were consistent with a specific inhibitory effect of TBT on CYP1A in the two fish species. Additionally, the conjugation of testosterone was significantly inhibited (20%) at low TBT doses (5 μM), with no effect on the glucuronidation of estradiol.
The use of video self-modelling and feedback to teach cooking skills to individuals with traumatic brain injury: A pilot study

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of video self-modelling plus prompting and feedback to teach a cooking skill to people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to examine skill generalization to a novel food item. Research design: Multiple probe across participants. Methods and procedures: Four individuals with TBI received instruction in cooking. They watched videotapes of themselves cooking and practiced that skill while receiving prompts and feedback. Treatment effects were evaluated by comparing performance before, during and after training and at a 2 and 4 week follow-up. Additionally, cooking performance on a novel food item was examined. Main outcomes and results: Three of the four individuals achieved criterion performance within four training sessions. Those individuals also substantially maintained their skills 2 and 4 weeks following training and generalized their skills to a novel food item. Conclusions: Video self-modelling plus prompting and feedback appears to be an effective treatment for teaching simple cooking skills to individuals with TBI. Further research should examine whether the video alone is sufficient for skill acquisition and evaluate the effectiveness of video self-modelling to teach other skills.
Electromagnetic Semi‐Implantable Hearing Device: Phase I. Clinical Trials

Conventional hearing aids have improved significantly in recent years; however, amplification of sound within the external auditory canal creates a number of intrinsic problems, including acoustic feedback and the need for a tight ear mold to increase usable gain. Nonacoustic alternatives which could obviate these encumbrances have not become practical due to inefficient coupling (piezoelectric techniques) or unfeasible power requirements (electromagnetic techniques). Recent technical advances, however, prompted a major clinical investigation of a new electromagnetic, semi‐implantable hearing device.
Measuring apathy after traumatic brain injury: Psychometric properties of the Apathy Evaluation Scale and the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale

Objectives: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) and Apathy sub-scale of the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe-A) for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). To identify an optimal cut-off score indicating presence of apathy according to the AES. Methods and procedures: A sample of 34 participants with severe TBI currently residing in the community underwent neuropsychological and psychosocial assessment to evaluate reliability, discriminant, convergent and divergent validity. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was undertaken to identify an optimal cut-off score on the AES. Results: AES and FrSBe-A correlated moderately with each other (r = 0.71). Both AES and FrSBe-A have good internal consistency and discriminant validity with measures of depression and fatigue. Support for hypothesized correlations with similar and dissimilar constructs was not shown. ROC analysis identified a cut-off score of 37 or higher on AES indicated presence of apathy. Conclusions: AES and FrSBe-A are reliable and valid measures of apathy following TBI. It is suggested that the two scales measure slightly differing aspects of the apathy construct, with AES addressing emotional-affective aspects of apathy more than FrSBe-A, which focuses more heavily on cognitive and behavioral elements of goal-directed behavior.
Slim-type speaker for flat-panel televisions

We have developed a thin, slim speaker unit with little magnetic leakage by employing a new kind of sandwich-type magnetic circuit. The main features are the high rigidity of the diaphragm due to the use of a multi-rib construction and a planar voice coil with the coil placed flat on the diaphragm. By controlling the mode of resonances in the directions along the long and short axes, a slim shape is maintained while achieving wideband characteristics. We demonstrate examples of applying this speaker to flat, thin TV sets.
Effects of elevated CO2 concentration on growth, annual ring structure and photosynthesis in Larix kaempferi seedlings.

We evaluated the effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) and two nutrient regimes on stem growth rate, annual ring structure and temporal variations in photosynthetic characteristics of seedlings of Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr. ). Seedlings were grown in phytotron chambers in an ambient (360 ppm) or an elevated (720 ppm) [CO2] in two nutrient regimes for one growing season. Elevated [CO2] reduced stem height and increased stem basal diameter compared with ambient [CO2]. The effect of elevated [CO2] on growth tended to be greater at high-nutrient supply than at low-nutrient supply. Elevated [CO2] had no significant effect on ring width or the number of tracheids per radial file. There was no obvious difference in cell wall thickness or the relative area of the cell wall between seedlings grown in ambient or elevated [CO2]. Although growth in elevated [CO2] resulted in a slight increase in cell diameter, the increase had a relatively minor effect on the relative area of the cell wall. Net assimilation rate increased in response to elevated [CO2]; however, the increase in whole-crown photosynthetic rate (Total Agrowth) in seedlings in the elevated [CO2] treatment was minimal because of the smaller specific needle area and acclimation of the photosynthetic characteristics of the needles to the growth [CO2]. In conclusion, we observed no obvious enhancement in the capacity for carbon fixation in Japanese larch seedlings grown in the presence of elevated [CO2] that might be attributable to changes in stem growth. However, elevated [CO2] caused changes in the temporal pattern of stem growth and in some anatomical features of the tracheids.
Investigating household energy poverty in South Africa by using unidimensional and multidimensional measures

The growing trend in tracking and monitoring energy poverty using multidimensional indicators has been applied limitedly in the context of South Africa. Part of this has been associated with the lack of detailed and reliable survey data. With access to detailed survey data, this study evaluated household energy poverty in South Africa by using both unidimensional and multidimensional measures. This study constructed the energy budget share, also known as Tenth-Percentile Rule (TPR) (unidimensional) and the multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI) using data from wave 1 (2008) and wave 4 (2014-2015) of the National Income Dynamic Study (NIDS) of South Africa. A 10 percent threshold was used for the energy-budget share while a 0.3 energy poverty cut-off point (k) was used for the MEPI. Based on the TPR measure, results show that 21 and 13 percent of South African households lived in energy poverty in 2008 and 2014-2015, respectively. The MEPI measure indicates that 37 and 19 percent of the households lived in energy poverty in 2008 and 2014-2015, respectively. Limpopo province had the highest rates of energy poverty in 2014-2015 with values of 25 percent (using TPR) and 52 percent (using MEPI). This study also found that by 2014-2015, only 23 percent (using the TPR) and 46 percent (using the MEPI) of energy poor households lived below the food poverty line of R430. Further, this study found that household energy poverty has reduced in rural areas between 2008 and 2014-2015, from 24 to 18 percent (using TPR) and from 70 to 49 percent (using MEPI). The lowest observed value of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient was 0.90. It is concluded that the overall household energy poverty has reduced in South Africa between 2008 and 2014-2015. The TPR gives lower estimates of energy poverty than the corresponding values obtained from the MEPI measure. There is negligible effect of varying the threshold values (within the studied range) of the TPR and k. JEL Classification: C81, I32, O13
Neurotrophic Effects of Testosterone on the Medial Nucleus of the Amygdala in Adult Male Rats

Our previous reports of major sex differences in the substance P‐immunoreactive (SPir) innervation of the medial posterior divisions of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) and medial nucleus of the amygdala in rats raised the question of the hormonal regulation of this innervation. We now report the results of two experiments which examined the effects of castration of adult males on the SPir innervation of these regions. In experiment 2 we asked whether castration might also alter the cytoarchitecture of these regions.
Wilms' tumor 1 (Wt1) regulates pleural mesothelial cell plasticity and transition into myofibroblasts in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Pleural mesothelial cells (PMCs), which are derived from the mesoderm, exhibit an extraordinary capacity to undergo phenotypic changes during development and disease. PMC transformation and trafficking has a newly defined role in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); however, the contribution of Wilms' tumor 1 (Wt1)‐positive PMCs to the generation of pathognomonic myofibroblasts remains unclear. PMCs were obtained from IPF lung explants and healthy donor lungs that were not used for transplantation. Short hairpin Wt1‐knockdown PMCs (sh Wt1) were generated with Wt1 shRNA, and morphologic and functional assays were performed in vitro. Loss of Wt1 abrogated the PMC phenotype and showed evidence of mesothelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (MMT), with a reduced expression of E‐cadherin and an increase in the profibrotic markers α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) and fibronectin, along with increased migration and contractility, compared with that of the control. Migration of PMCs in response to active transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1 was assessed by live‐cell imaging with 2‐photon microscopy and 3D imaging, of Wt1‐EGFP transgenic mice. Lineage‐tracing experiments to map the fate of Wt1+ PMCs in mouse lung in response to TGF‐β1 were also performed by using a Cre‐loxP system. Our results, for the first time, demonstrate that Wt1 is necessary for the morphologic integrity of pleural membrane and that loss of Wt1 contributes to IPF via MMT of PMCs into a myofibroblast phenotype. —Karki, S. , Surolia, R. , Hock, T. D. , Guroji, P., Zolak, J. S. , Duggal, R. , Ye, T. , Thannickal, V. J., Antony, V. B. Wilms' tumor 1 (Wt1) regulates pleural mesothelial cell plasticity and transition into myofibroblasts in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. FASEB J. 28, 1122–1131 (2014). www.fasebj. org
Humic Substances: Fulvic Acid-Dialkyl Phthalate Complexes and Their Role in Pollution

Fulvic acid is a water-soluble humic material with relatively low molecular weight that occurs widely in soils and waters. It can combine with lyophobic organic compounds such as alkanes, fatty acids, and dialkyl phthalates to form stable "complexes" that are soluble in water. Fulvic acid in an aquatic environment may act as a vehicle for the mobilization, transport, and immobilization of organic compounds, some of which may be toxic pollutants.