Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of postsurgical crestal bone levels adjacent to non-submerged dental implants.

In most of the studies on long-term radiographic evaluations of crestal bone levels adjacent to dental implants, no baseline radiographs taken immediately postsurgically had been obtained. The aim of this study was to test the reproducibility of a simple radiographic method for linear measurements of changes in bone levels and to evaluate changes in crestal bone levels adjacent to non-submerged ITI implants 1 year following the surgical procedure. From 128 patients enrolled in a clinical and radiographic longitudinal study 40 patients also had radiographs taken immediately postsurgically. They were, however, not obtained as "identical" images. The radiographs were mounted onto slides and projected on a screen. Mesially and distally from 57 implants triplicate linear measurements of the distance implant shoulder to bone crest were taken, using known dimensions of the implants as internal reference distances. The median difference of 213 (out of 228 possible) duplicate measurements was 0.00 mm (ranging from -1.72 mm to +1.47 mm when comparing the second to the third reading). Some 81% of the double measurements were within +/- 0.5 mm and the precision was 0.30 mm. In the immediate postoperative radiographs the median mesial bone level was located at 2.07 mm (distally 2.19 mm) from the implant shoulder. A statistically significant amount of bone loss in the first year was observed mesially (median = -0.78 mm) and distally (-0.85 mm) (Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test P < or = 0.001). No statistically significant influence of the implant location, the implant length, type of the implant (screw; cylinder) was observed (Kruskal-Wallis P > 0.05). The age of the patients was not correlated significantly to the amount of bone loss observed. In conclusion, methodological limitations existed when evaluating linear bone changes in non-identical radiographs using reference dimensions of the implants. The amount of postsurgical bone loss estimated in other studies was confirmed when using an immediate postoperative radiograph as a baseline.
Topotecan-Vincristine-Doxorubicin in Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma Patients Failing to Achieve a Complete Metastatic Response to Rapid COJEC: A SIOPEN Study

Purpose Metastatic response to induction therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma is a prognostic factor. In the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma (SIOPEN) HR-NBL-1 protocol, only patients with metastatic complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) with ≤ three abnormal skeletal areas on iodine 123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ([123I]mIBG) scintigraphy and no bone marrow disease proceed to high dose therapy (HDT). In this study, topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin (TVD) was evaluated in patients failing to achieve these criteria, with the aim of improving the metastatic response rate. Materials and Methods Patients with metastatic high-risk neuroblastoma who had not achieved the SIOPEN criteria for HDT after induction received two courses of topotecan 1.5 mg/m2/day for 5 days, followed by a 48-hour infusion of vincristine, 2 mg/m2, and doxorubicin, 45 mg/m2. Results Sixty-three patients were eligible and evaluable. Following two courses of TVD, four (6.4%) patients had an overall CR, while 28 (44.4%) had a PR with a combined response rate of 50.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 37.9 to 63.6). Of these, 23 patients achieved a metastatic CR or a PR with ≤ 3 mIBG skeletal areas and no bone marrow disease (36.5%; 95% CI, 24.7 to 49.6) and were eligible to receive HDT. Toxicity was mostly haematological, affecting 106 of the 126 courses (84.1%; 95% CI, 76.5 to 90.0), and dose reduction was necessary in six patients. Stomatitis was the second most common nonhematological toxicity, occurring in 20 patients (31.7%). Conclusion TVD was effective in improving the response rate of high-risk neuroblastoma patients after induction with COJEC enabling them to proceed to HDT. However, the long-term benefits of TVD needs to be determined in randomized clinical trials.
FgCDC14 regulates cytokinesis, morphogenesis, and pathogenesis in Fusarium graminearum

Members of Cdc14 phosphatases are common in animals and fungi, but absent in plants. Although its orthologs are conserved in plant pathogenic fungi, their functions during infection are not clear. In this study, we showed that the CDC14 ortholog is important for pathogenesis and morphogenesis in Fusarium graminearum. FgCDC14 is required for normal cell division and septum formation and FgCdc14 possesses phosphatase activity with specificity for a subset of Cdk‐type phosphorylation sites. The Fgcdc14 mutant was reduced in growth, conidiation, and ascospore formation. It was defective in ascosporogenesis and pathogenesis. Septation in Fgcdc14 was reduced and hyphal compartments contained multiple nuclei, indicating defects in the coordination between nuclear division and cytokinesis. Interestingly, foot cells of mutant conidia often differentiated into conidiogenous cells, resulting in the production of inter‐connected conidia. In the interphase, FgCdc14‐GFP localized to the nucleus and spindle‐pole‐body. Taken together, our results indicate that Cdc14 phosphatase functions in cell division and septum formation in F. graminearum, likely by counteracting Cdk phosphorylation, and is required for plant infection.
[Transplantation of labial salivary glands for severe dry eye treatment].

PURPOSE To study the clinical effects of the secretion of transplanted labial glands used as ocular lubricant to treat severe dry-eye cases, to evaluate the duration of the results and to simplify the surgical technique. METHODS Thirty-seven surgeries were performed in twenty-one patients during the period of July 2000 to January 2004. The graft, consisting of labial mucosa and underlying salivary glands, was transplanted to the previously prepared area in the conjunctival fornix. All procedures were recommended in severe dry-eye cases, that is, eyes with total or nearly total xerophthalmia. The preoperative and postoperative protocols are presented emphasizing the items which were used in the comparative analysis of the results as well as the technical description of the surgical procedure. RESULTS The graft survival and integration into the host tissues were observed in 97.2% of the cases. The clinical improvement, demonstrated by the disappearance of the symptoms, better biomicroscopic aspect of the ocular surface, better vision and disuse of lubricant drops, was observed in 91.9% of the cases. The follow-up showed not only persistence but also stability of the results. Infection represented one case and ptosis represented three cases of the only four observed complications. CONCLUSION The improvement of severe dry-eye cases detected after the transplantation of labial salivary glands is significant. It demonstrates that the lubricant ocular surface produced by the salivary secretion is efficient and well-tolerated. The follow-up shows that the result persists in the long term from which it is concluded that the production of the secretion is permanent. The surgical technique of transplanting the labial salivary gland to the conjunctival fornix is very simple and easily accessible to any ophthalmic surgeon.
A field survey of the partially edentate elderly: Investigation of factors related to the usage rate of removable partial dentures.

Although the shortened dental arch (SDA) concept has been known to all over the world, acceptance of the SDA concept as an oral health standard can be questionable from the patients' point of view, even if it is biologically reasonable. Furthermore, because the health insurance system covers removable partial dentures (RPDs) for all citizens in Japan, SDA patients seem to prefer to receive prosthetic treatment to replace the missing teeth. However, there were few field surveys to investigate the usage rate of RPDs in Japan. The purpose of this study was to determine the usage rate of RPDs in older Japanese subjects and to investigate the factors related to the usage of RPDs. Partially edentate participants (n = 390) were included in this study. Oral examinations were conducted to record several indices. The Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to evaluate the relationship between the number of missing teeth and the usage rate of RPDs. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression analysis were conducted to evaluate the factors related to the usage rate of RPDs. Usage of RPDs had a significantly positive association with the number of missing distal extension teeth and bilaterally missing teeth. The usage rate of RPDs increased as the number of missing distal extension teeth increased (P for trend < 0·001). The conclusion of this study was that participants with missing distal extension teeth had higher usage rates of RPDs than other participants, and the usage rate increased as the number of missing distal extension teeth increased.
On the Feasibility of Quantifying Fibrous Cap Thickness With Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) Ultrasound

Acute cerebrovascular accidents are associated with the rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries. Fibrous cap (FC) thickness has been shown to be an important predictor of plaque rupture but has been challenging to measure accurately with clinical noninvasive imaging modalities. The goals of this investigation were first, to evaluate the feasibility of using transcutaneous acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasound to quantify FC thickness and second, to optimize both imaging and motion-tracking parameters to support such measurements. FCs with varying thickness (0.1-1.0 mm) were simulated using a simple-layered geometry, and their mechanical response to an impulse of radiation force was solved using finite-element method (FEM) modeling. Ultrasound tracking of FEM displacements was performed in Field II utilizing three center frequencies (6, 9, and 12 MHz) and eight motion-tracking kernel lengths (0.5λ - 4λ). Additionally, FC thickness in two carotid plaques imaged in vivo was measured with ARFI and compared to matched histology. The results of this study demonstrate that 1) tracking pulse frequencies around 12 MHz are necessary to resolve caps around 0.2 mm; 2) large motion-tracking kernel sizes introduce bias into thickness measurements and overestimate the true cap thickness; and 3) color saturation settings on ARFI peak displacement images can impact thickness measurement accuracy substantially.
Tissue CA125 and HE4 Gene Expression Levels Offer Superior Accuracy in Discriminating Benign from Malignant Pelvic Masses.

BACKGROUND Ovarian cancer remains a major worldwide health care issue due to the lack of satisfactory diagnostic methods for early detection of the disease. Prior studies on the role of serum cancer antigen 125 (CA125) and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in detecting ovarian cancer presented conflicting results. New tools to improve the accuracy of identifying malignancy are urgently needed. We here aimed to evaluate the diagnostic utility of tissue CA125 and HE4 gene expression in comparison to serum CA125 and HE4 in discriminating benign from malignant pelvic masses. MATERIALS AND METHODS One-hundred Egyptian women were enrolled in this study, including 60 epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients and 20 benign ovarian tumor patients, as well as 20 apparently healthy women. Preoperative serum levels of CA125 and HE4 were measured by immunoassays. Tissue expression levels of genes encoding CA125 and HE4 were determined by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The diagnostic performance of CA125 and HE4, measured either as mRNA or protein levels, was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS The serum CA125+HE4 combination and serum HE4, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.935 and 0.932, respectively, performed significantly better than serum CA125 (AUC=0.592; P<0.001). Tissue CA125 and HE4 (AUC=1) performed significantly better than serum CA125 (P<0.001), serum HE4 (P=0.016) and the serum CA125+HE4 combination (P=0.018). CONCLUSIONS Measurement of tissue CA125 and HE4 gene expression not only improves discriminatory performance, but also broadens the range of differential diagnostic possibilities in distinguishing EOC from benign ovarian tumors.
Aortic sclerosis—a marker of coronary atherosclerosis

Aortic valve sclerosis is defined as calcification and thickening of a trileaflet aortic valve in the absence of obstruction of ventricular outflow. Its frequency increases with age, making it a major geriatric problem. Of adults aged> 65 years, 21–29% exhibit aortic valve sclerosis. Incidence of aortic sclerosis increases with age, male gender, smoking, hypertension, high lipoprotein (Lp) (a), high low‐density lipoprotein (LDL), and diabetes mellitus. Aortic valves affected by aortic sclerosis contain a higher amount of oxidized LDL cholesterol and show increased expression of metalloproteinases. Clinically, it can be suspected in the presence of soft ejection systolic murmur at the aortic area, normal split of the second heart sound, and normal volume carotid pulse, but it can be best detected by echocardiography. Aortic sclerosis may be accompanied by mitral annulus calcification up to 50% of cases. It is associated with an increase of approximately 50% in the risk of death from cardiovascular causes and the risk of myocardial infarction. The mechanism by which aortic sclerosis contributes to or is associated with increased cardiovascular risk is not known. Aortic sclerosis is associated with systemic endothelial dysfunction, and a small percentage of cases may progress to aortic stenosis. Lowering of LDL cholesterol by 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG‐CoA) reductase inhibitors have been shown to decrease progression of aortic valve calcification. Aortic sclerosis is not a mere benign finding. Once diagnosis of aortic sclerosis has been made, it should be considered a potential marker of coexisting coronary disease. Aggressive management of modifiable risk factors, especially LDL cholesterol lowering, may slow progression of the disease.
Studies on the denaturation of tropomyosin and light meromyosin.

Optical rotatory dispersion has been used to study the heat denaturation of tropomyosin and light meromyosin fraction 1 (LMMFr I) as a function of pH and salt concentration. The unfolding of these highly a-helical molecules takes place in stages indicating regions of varying stability along the molecule. At all pH values NaCl and KCl increase the stability and this is attributed to electrostatic screening of charged groups. There is a decrease in stability to heat at alkaline pH values and the molecules are most stable on the acid side of the iso-electric point. Guanidine hydrochloride is more effective than urea as a denaturant. In the case of tropomyosin almost complete reversibility of the optical rotation changes by these denaturants can be achieved provided the -SH groups are prevented from forming disulphide bonds. For LMMFr I the rotation changes and reversibility are complicated by depolymerization into smaller units. Molecular weight determinations by sedimentation equilibrium indicate a critical urea concentration for depolymerization which is not evident from the optical rotation changes. Although guanidine hydrochloride is more effective than urea in abolishing the helical structure of LMM Fr 1, it is not as effective as a depolymerizing agent.
Characterization of Fe/W spin-polarized tips by means of holographic TEM and spin-polarized STS of optically pumped p-GaAs

Holographic transmission electron microscopy showed that magnetic flux does not diverge from the top of an Fe-coated W tip indicating the in-plane magnetization at the apex of successful spin-polarized tips. A dependence of differential conductivities of GaAs with Fe-coated W tips on the helicity of illuminating laser light was confirmed at negative sample bias where partially spin-polarized electrons in the conduction band of p-GaAs tunnel into spin-dependent Fe empty states while no dependence of those with nonmagnetic W tips.
Variation in adult stress resistance does not explain vulnerability to climate change in copper butterflies

Ongoing climate change is a major threat to biodiversity. However, although many species clearly suffer from ongoing climate change, others benefit from it, for example, by showing range expansions. However, which specific features determine a species’ vulnerability to climate change? Phenotypic plasticity, which has been described as the first line of defence against environmental change, may be of utmost importance here. Against this background, we here compare plasticity in stress tolerance in 3 copper butterfly species, which differ arguably in their vulnerability to climate change. Specifically, we investigated heat, cold and desiccation resistance after acclimatization to different temperatures in the adult stage. We demonstrate that acclimation at a higher temperature increased heat but decreased cold tolerance and desiccation resistance. Contrary to our predictions, species did not show pronounced variation in stress resistance, though plastic capacities in temperature stress resistance did vary across species. Overall, our results seemed to reflect population—rather than species‐specific patterns. We conclude that the geographical origin of the populations used should be considered even in comparative studies. However, our results suggest that, in the 3 species studied here, vulnerability to climate change is not in the first place determined by stress resistance in the adult stage. As entomological studies focus all too often on adults only, we argue that more research effort should be dedicated to other developmental stages when trying to understand insect responses to environmental change.
Unusual Cases of the Transmigrated Mandibular Canines: Report of 4 Cases

The canine impaction is not uncommon in dental literature, but the transmigration of mandibular canine is a rare phenomenon, and some of them are far more extreme than others. In this study, we aimed to present the more extreme cases of the four transmigrated mandibular canine cases with special emphasis on their classification.
Similarity-scaling studies of dot-pattern classification and recognition.

Classification performance in the dot-pattern, prototype-distortion paradigm (e.g., Posner & Keele, 1968) was modeled within a multidimensional scaling (MDS) framework. MDS solutions were derived for sets of dot patterns that were generated from prototypes. These MDS solutions were then used in conjunction with exemplar, prototype, and combined models to predict classification and recognition performance. Across 3 experiments, an MDS-based exemplar model accounted for the effects of several fundamental learning variables, including level of distortion of the patterns, category size, delay of transfer phase, and item frequency. Most important, the model quantitatively predicted classification probabilities for individual dot patterns in the sets, not simply general trends of performance. There was little evidence for the existence of a prototype-abstraction process that operated above and beyond pure exemplar-based generalization.
Adjustment Between Work Demands and Health Needs: Development of the Work–Health Balance Questionnaire

Purpose: This study presented the construct of Work–Health Balance (WHB) and the design and validation of the Work–Health Balance Questionnaire (WHBq). More and more workers have a long-standing health problem or disability (LSHPD). The management of health needs and work demands is crucial for the quality of working life and work retention of these workers. However, no instrument exists measuring this process. The WHBq assesses key factors in the process of adjusting between health needs and work demands. Method: We tested the reliability and validity of 38 items with cross-sectional data from a sample of 321 Italian workers (mean age = 45 ± 11 years) using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Rasch analyses, and the correlations with other relevant variables. Results: The instrument ultimately consisted of 17 items that reliably measured three factors: work–health incompatibility, health climate, and external support. These dimensions were associated with well-being in the workplace, dysfunctional behaviors at work, and general psychological health. A higher level on the WHB index was associated with lower levels of presenteeism, emotional exhaustion, workaholism, and psychological distress and with higher levels of job satisfaction and work engagement, supporting the construct validity of the instrument. Conclusion: The WHBq shows good psychometric characteristics and strong and theoretically consistent relationships with important and well-known variables. These results make the WHBq a promising tool in the study and management of health of employees, especially for the work continuation of employees returning to work with LSHPD.
Clathrin self‐assembly is regulated by three light‐chain residues controlling the formation of critical salt bridges

Clathrin self‐assembly into a polyhedral lattice mediates membrane protein sorting during endocytosis and organelle biogenesis. Lattice formation occurs spontaneously in vitro at low pH and, intracellularly, is triggered by adaptors at physiological pH. To begin to understand the cellular regulation of clathrin polymerization, we analyzed molecular interactions during the spontaneous assembly of recombinant hub fragments of the clathrin heavy chain, which bind clathrin light‐chain subunits and mimic the self‐assembly of intact clathrin. Reconstitution of hubs using deletion and substitution mutants of the light‐chain subunits revealed that the pH dependence of clathrin self‐assembly is controlled by only three acidic residues in the clathrin light‐chain subunits. Salt inhibition of hub assembly identified two classes of salt bridges which are involved and deletion analysis mapped the clathrin heavy‐chain regions participating in their formation. These combined observations indicated that the negatively charged regulatory residues, identified in the light‐chain subunits, inhibit the formation of high‐affinity salt bridges which would otherwise induce clathrin heavy chains to assemble at physiological pH. In the presence of light chains, clathrin self‐assembly depends on salt bridges that form only at low pH, but is exquisitely sensitive to regulation. We propose that cellular clathrin assembly is controlled via the simple biochemical mechanism of reversing the inhibitory effect of the light‐chain regulatory sequence, thereby promoting high‐affinity salt bridge formation.