Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Natural History of Periodontal Disease in Adults: Findings from the Tecumseh Periodontal Disease Study, 1959-87

The purpose of this epidemiological study was to estimate the degree of change in periodontal attachment level in a sample of adults examined in 1959 and 1987 in Tecumseh, Michigan. Out of 526 individuals between the ages of five and 60 years in 1959, a sample of 325 resided within an 80-km-radius area in 1987. Of those, 167 were re-examined. Loss of periodontal attachment (LPA) was determined with a Michigan #0 probe on four tooth sites (disto-buccal, mid-buccal, mesio-buccal, mid-lingual) for all teeth present. Of the individuals contacted, 28 had lost all their teeth during the 28 years. Of the 167 adults examined, two refused periodontal probing. Out of the 165 adults with LPA measurements in 1987, only 22 (13.3%) had an average increased loss of 2 mm or more per person between 1959 and 1987; five adults (3.0%) had an average LPA increase of 3 mm or more, and only two adults (1.2%) had an average LPA increase of 4 mm or more. The attachment level in 59.3% of all the tooth sites examined in 1959 in the 165 individuals either did not change or changed within ± 1.0 mm. On the basis of bivariate analyses, the individuals with high LPA increase (≥2 mm) had the following characteristics significantly different from those with low LPA increase: They were older, smoked, had tooth mobility at baseline, higher gingivitis, plaque, calculus, and tooth mobility scores at follow-up, lower education level, and irregular dental attendance. However, in logistic regression analyses, only the following risk markers remained significantly associated with high LPA increase: age, smoking, and presence of tooth mobility.
Malting technology in the development of safe and sustainable complementary composite food from cereals and legumes

Malnutrition is the leading cause of infant under-five deaths in the developing countries. According to recent Nigeria National Demographic and Health Survey, the proportion of underweight children under five years was 36%, including 12% severely underweight, stunting 43%, and wasting 9%. Factors like supplementation of breast milk with cereals porridges that have high phytate acid content which bind essential nutrients were identified as underlying cause of malnutrition. Hence, the principles of malting technology to produce phytase enzyme (orthophosphoric-monoester phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.2) which degrades phytatic acid was employed in this study to develop a complementary composite food from malted maize, sorghum and soy beans. The results from phytate analysis showed a significant reduction in the phytic acid content (from 8.35±0.17- 1.59±0.32grams) for unmalted and malted samples respectively. Also the in vitro iron and zinc absorption increased by 82 and 84% respectively after malting. Zinc, an essential component of metalloenzymes is required to curb stunting and wasting and enhance infant brain development. Therefore, malting an economic agricultural technology was applied in developing sustainable and utilisable food for infants from cereals and legumes, in a bid to curb malnutrition and its devastating effects on the Nigerian child.
Oocyte genome cloning used in biparental bovine embryo reconstruction

Summary Oocyte genome cloning is a method by which haploid maternal embryos are obtained in such a way that parthenogenetic haploid blastomeres from these embryos can be considered as a clone of the original gamete. Our objective was to generate oocyte genome replicates and use them to reconstruct biparental embryos by fusion with haploid male hemizygotes. Furthermore, we generated biparental homogeneous transgene-expressing embryos using parthenogenetic haploid blastomeres that expressed a transgene (EGFP). In the first experiment, parthenogenetic haploid embryos were generated by incubation of oocytes in ionomycin and 6-dimethylaminopurine (DMAP) with a 3 h interval to permit their second polar body extrusion. The cleavage rate was 87.3%. To generate transgene-expressing blastomeres, activated oocytes were injected with pCX–EGFP–liposome complexes 3 h post ionomycin exposure, resulting in a cleavage rate of 84.4%. In the second experiment, haploid parthenogenetic blastomeres that were positive or negative for EGFP expression were used to reconstruct biparental embryos. Cleavage and blastocyst rates for the reconstructed embryos were 78.4% and 61.1% and 10.8% and 8.4%, using EGFP-positive or -negative blastomeres, respectively (P < 0.05). All of the reconstructed embryos showed EGFP expression, with 96.6% of them showing homogenic expression. Oct-4 expression in the reconstructed blastocysts displayed a similar pattern as IVF-blastocyst controls. In conclusion, our results proved that it is possible to use oocyte genome replicates to reconstruct biparental bovine embryos and that this technique is efficient to generate homogeneous transgene-expressing embryos.
Functional Characterization of 17 Protein Serine/Threonine Phosphatases in Toxoplasma gondii Using CRISPR-Cas9 System

Protein serine/threonine phosphatases (PSPs), found in various plants and protozoa, are involved in the regulation of various biological processes. However, very little is known about the role of PSPs in the pathogenicity of the apicomplexan protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Herein, the subcellular localization of 17 PSPs (PP5, PP7, EFPP, SLP, PPM3F, PPM4, PPM5A, PPM5B, PPM6, PPM8, PPM9, PPM12, PPM14, PPM18, CTD1, CTD2, and CTD3) was examined by 6× HA tagging of endogenous genes in C-terminal. The PSPs were detected in the cytoplasm (PP5, EFPP, PPM8, and CTD2), dense granules (SLP), nucleus (PPM4 and PPM9), inner membrane complex (PPM12), basal complex (CTD3), and apical pole (PP7). The remaining PSPs exhibited low or undetectable level of expression. To characterize the contribution of these genes to the infectivity of T. gondii, knock-out (KO) strains of type I RH strain deficient in the 17 psp genes and KO type II Pru strain deficient in pp7 and slp genes were constructed. The pathogenicity of individual RHΔpsp mutants was characterized in vitro using plaque, egress, and intracellular replication assays, and mouse infection, while pathogenicity of PruΔpp7 and PruΔslp mutant strains was evaluated by examining the parasite lytic cycle in vitro and assessment of brain cyst burden in mice. No significant differences were observed between 16 RHΔpsp strains and wild-type (WT) RH strain. However, RHΔpp7 exhibited significantly lower invasion efficiency and parasitophorous vacuole formation in vitro, and less virulence in mice compared with other RHΔpsp and WT strains. In addition, PruΔpp7 exhibited marked attenuation of virulence and significant reduction in the brain cyst burden in mice compared with PruΔslp and WT strains, suggesting the key role of PP7 in the virulence of T. gondii. Comparative transcriptomic profiling of the 17 psp genes showed that they may play different roles in the pathogenesis of different genotypes or life cycle stages of T. gondii. These findings provide new insight into the role of PSPs in the pathogenesis of T. gondii.
Diagnosis and treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a condition in which systemic activation of coagulation without a specific localization occurs, resulting in extensive formation of intravascular fibrin, particularly in small and midsize vessels. Disseminated intravascular coagulation may lead to several altered coagulation parameters, including a low platelet count, abnormal global clotting assays, low levels of physiological anticoagulant proteases, or increased fibrin degradation products. Also, more complex assays for activation of coagulation factors or pathways may indicate involvement of these molecules in DIC. None of these tests alone, however, can accurately ascertain or rebuff a diagnosis of DIC. Nonetheless, a combination of readily available routine assays may be instrumental in establishing a diagnosis of DIC and can also be useful to point to a subset of patients with DIC that may need definite, often costly, interventions in the hemostatic system. Current insights on relevant etiological pathways that may contribute to the occurrence of DIC have led to innovative therapeutic and adjunctive approaches to patient with DIC. Management options directed at the amelioration of hemostatic activation may tentatively be indicated and were found to be advantageous in experimental and clinical investigations. These treatments encompass elimination of tissue factor‐mediated thrombin generation or restitution of normal anticoagulant function.
Fear of Intimacy in Women: Relationship between Attachment Styles and Depressive Symptoms

Background: Preoccupied and fearful attachment have both been associated with depressive symptoms, but it is unclear which attachment style is primarily associated with major depression. While preoccupied attachment denotes a focus on relationships as a source of self-validation, fearful attachment involves an avoidance of relationships for fear of rejection. Present research aims to investigate the relative influence of fearful and preoccupied attachments on self-reported depressive symptoms within both a student and a clinical sample and to examine these associations separately for male and female participants. Sampling and Methods: All participants completed the Relationship Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. Study 1 assessed attachment ratings and self-reported severity of depression for 71 patients diagnosed with major depression. Study 2 similarly assessed 245 university students, and study 3 compared attachment ratings of the two samples. Results: Both Pearson correlations and partial correlations were examined for both samples. Fearful attachment was associated with self-reported depression severity for females with depression, but attachment styles were unrelated to depression severity for males with depression (study 1). For female university students, both fearful and preoccupied attachment styles were significantly related to depression severity, but again there were no associations for male university students when partial correlations were utilised (study 2). Study 3 revealed significantly higher levels of fearful attachment for women with depression compared with female university students and no significant differences for males overall. Conclusions: For females, the avoidance of intimacy for fear of rejection was associated with a broad spectrum of depressive symptoms. Results highlight gender differences in depressive experiences, and have implications for research into the effects of fearful attachment on social support and the therapeutic alliance. Limitations to this study include the reliance on self-report measures of attachment and depression severity, the small number of male participants in the clinical sample, and the use of a cross-sectional rather than longitudinal design.
Pharmacological Targeting of STING-Dependent IL-6 Production in Cancer Cells

Activation of the STING pathway upon genotoxic treatment of cancer cells has been shown to lead to anti-tumoral effects, mediated through the acute production of interferon (IFN)-β. Conversely, the pathway also correlates with the expression of NF-κB-driven pro-tumorigenic genes, but these associations are only poorly defined in the context of genotoxic treatment, and are thought to correlate with a chronic engagement of the pathway. We demonstrate here that half of the STING-expressing cancer cells from the NCI60 panel rapidly increased expression of pro-tumorigenic IL-6 upon genotoxic DNA damage, often independent of type-I IFN responses. While preferentially dependent on canonical STING, we demonstrate that genotoxic DNA damage induced by camptothecin (CPT) also drove IL-6 production through non-canonical STING signaling in selected cancer cells. Consequently, pharmacological inhibition of canonical STING failed to broadly inhibit IL-6 production induced by CPT, although this could be achieved through downstream ERK1/2 inhibition. Finally, prolonged inhibition of canonical STING signaling was associated with increased colony formation of MG-63 cells, highlighting the duality of STING signaling in also restraining the growth of selected cancer cells. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that genotoxic-induced DNA damage frequently leads to the rapid production of pro-tumorigenic IL-6 in cancer cells, independent of an IFN signature, through canonical and non-canonical STING activation; this underlines the complexity of STING engagement in human cancer cells, with frequent acute pro-tumorigenic activities induced by DNA damage. We propose that inhibition of ERK1/2 may help curb such pro-tumorigenic responses to DNA-damage, while preserving the anti-proliferative effects of the STING-interferon axis.
RING-DATA ORDER: A new cache coherence protocol for ring-based multicores

RING-DATA ORDER mechanism is motivated to solve cache coherence ordering for ring-based multicores. For point to point ring interconnects, the existing ORDERING-POINT mechanism is known for poor average performance due to its long response latency. GREEDY-ORDER mechanism is simple but the performance is still unacceptable because the requestor should often retry to complete a coherent operation. RING-ORDER mechanism is the best known algorithm so far but special storage and management overhead are expected due to its token management. This paper proposes a new mechanism called RING-DATA ORDER which is as simple as GREEDY-ORDER but more efficient than RING-ORDER. RING-DATA ORDER determines the order by data transfer sequence. The unbounded retries of GREEDY-ORDER can be eliminated by blocking incoming coherence request which contains data. Blocked request restarts to traverse the ring interconnect when the coherence operation for current node is completed. Blocking is also used in RING-ORDER mechanism. But RING-DATA ORDER also eliminates token and its additional management overhead without sacrificing performance. Using a custom-built multicore simulator with profiled SPEC 2000 integer benchmark suites we demonstrate that RING-DATA ORDER can achieve the same level of performance as RING-ORDER without the overhead of token management.
Time to Adoption of a New IT Service

In this paper, we study the time dimension of individual decision of IT adoption. Based on literature in technology adoption and social influence, four antecedents are theorized to have impacts on time to adoption of a new IT. Specifically, we examine the effects of two widely researched antecedents (perceived usefulness and ease of use) and two social influence factors (informational and normative influence). To identify the informational influence, we conduct a field experiment to make information signal salient from normative impressions. We assess the impacts using survival analysis. Our findings confirm that individuals are more likely to adopt a new IT early due to informational influence. Meanwhile, the number of adopters from individuals’ close social connections can exert a normative influence. The findings contribute to the IT acceptance literature by extending the outcome variable to time to adoption and probing further into the social influence mechanism by a field experiment.
Modelos de dispersão para extremos de precipitação. Estudo de caso: o nordeste do Brasil

Nesta tese foram utilizados tres diferentes modelos de regressao, os Modelos Lineares Generalizados via regressao logistica e de Poisson e os Modelos Vetoriais Lineares Generalizados via distribuicao generalizada de valores extremos (MVLG-GEV) com o objetivo de detectar os extremos de precipitacao no Nordeste do Brasil. Inicialmente aplicaram-se os modelos de regressao logistica e de Poisson para identificar as interacoes entre os extremos de precipitacao e as demais variaveis a partir das razoes de chances e de riscos relativos. Constatou-se que a variavel indicadora da ocorrencia de extremos de precipitacao e a radiacao de onda longa, verificada nas regioes leste, norte e semiarido do NEB, e a umidade relativa foi verificada no sul do NEB, em ambos os modelos. Os resultados apresentados pelos modelos de regressao logistica e de Poisson mostram evidencias de que estes extremos de precipitacao sao impulsionados pela Oscilacao Madden-Julian, que ao interagir com os outros sistemas meteorologicos locais, regionais e grande escala podem ocasionar a ocorrencia destes extremos. O terceiro modelo, MVLG-GEV, avaliou os extremos a partir dos maximos anuais de precipitacao de forma multipla (a partir de um conjunto de variaveis) e constatou-se que as variaveis que subsidiaram a ocorrencia dos extremos de precipitacao foram: as componentes zonal e meridional do vento, evaporacao e TSM (Atlântico e Pacifico). Este artigo mostra evidencias de que a variabilidade da TSM vistas no Atlântico como no Pacifico (El Nino-Oscilacao Sul) interfera na variabilidade interanual da precipitacao, modificando o padrao de circulacao atmosferica na regiao, resultando na intensificacao ou inibicao da ocorrencia dos extremos de precipitacao. Os coeficientes de regressao logistica, de Poisson e de MVLG-GEV demonstraram significância estatistica, inferiores a 5%. Em relacao aos niveis de retorno para os proximos 30 anos pelos MVLG-GEV, o menor nivel foi de 91,62mm no sul da Bahia, enquanto o maior foi de 185,72mm no norte do Ceara.
Noncrystallographic Motion of a Dislocation as a Fine Mixture of Rectilinear Paths

In this work we discuss the convergence of an approximation scheme for the solution, near an attractor, of a discontinuous dynamical system arising in the theory of dislocations in crystalline solids. It is well known that dislocations can move only along a finite number of crystallographic directions: in two dimensions, the resulting trajectories are piecewise rectilinear paths. However, in special situations such as near an attractor, dislocations are forced to move along curved paths: we characterize this class of motions as fine mixtures of crystallographic motions, using the notion of generalized curves due to Young, and we explicitly compute the parametrized measure associated to a sequence of polygonals. The result is then used to motivate a simple numerical scheme and show that it is physically consistent. Numerical simulations based on this scheme are also presented and discussed.
The Epidemiology of Sepsis during Rapid Response Team Reviews in a Teaching Hospital

In a three-month retrospective study, we assessed the proportion of rapid response team (RRT) calls associated with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis. We also documented the site of infection (whether it was community- or hospital-acquired), antibiotic modifications after the call and in-hospital outcomes. Amongst 358 RRT calls, two or more SIRS criteria were present in 277 (77.4%). Amongst the 277 RRT calls with SIRS criteria, 159 (57.4%) fulfilled sepsis criteria in the 24 hours before and 12 hours after the call. There were 118 of 277 (42.6%) calls with SIRS criteria but no evidence of sepsis and 62 of 277 (22.3%) calls associated with both criteria for sepsis as well as an alternative cause for SIRS. Hence, 159 (44.4%) of all 358 RRT calls over the three-month study period fulfilled criteria for sepsis and in 97 (159–62) (27.1%) of the 358 calls, there were criteria for sepsis without other causes for SIRS criteria. The most common sites of infection were respiratory tract (86), abdominal cavity (38), urinary tract (26) and bloodstream (26). Infection was hospital-acquired in 91 (57.2%) and community-acquired in 67 (42.1%) cases, respectively. Patients were on antibiotics in 127 of 159 (79.9%) cases before the RRT call and antibiotics were added or modified in 76 of 159 (47.8%) cases after RRT review. The hospital length-of-stay of patients who received an RRT call associated with sepsis was longer than those who did not (16.0 [8.0 to 28.5] versus 10 [6.0 to 18.0]; P=0.002).
Citation Analysis of Dissertations of Law Submitted to University of Delhi, Delhi

A total of 3,052 citations were analyzed appended from 33 dissertations submitted by LLM students of University of Delhi, Delhi in 2006.It was found that 25.52% citations were from the journal articles and EPW with 7.19% citations was the most used journal.69. 78% citations were from the subject of Law and 79.84% contributions were produced under single author-ship.41% periodicals were cited from USA.Half-life of periodical literature was 11 years.
Inequality Aversion and Preferences for Redistribution: New Tests of Political Economy Theories

To what extent do preferences for redistribution reflect the private self-interest of the voter? Many political economy models assume that once private self-interest is properly accounted for, the residual variation in preferences for redistribution is negligible. Many theories outside of the traditional political economy literature assume that private self-interest is one among several motivations to support or oppose redistribution. The primary goal of this paper is to provide compelling empirical evidence for the latter view. To do so, it simultaneously models preferences for domestic redistribution, progressive taxation, and international redistribution, using a newly-developed quantitative method. If preferences for redistribution were merely private self-interest, then no one in a wealthy country would support international redistribution. In fact, there is considerable within-country variation in preferences for international redistribution, and the new quantitative method demonstrates that preferences for international redistribution covary with preferences for domestic redistribution and progressive taxation, even after controlling for private self-interest. Moreover, the within-country variation in preferences for domestic redistribution that is attributable to private self-interest is small relative to the total amount of systematic, within-country variation in preferences for domestic redistribution across more than twenty advanced industrial and Eastern Europen countries. This empirical finding should encourage political economists to rethink the standard theoretical model(s) for policy preferences. In short, there is more to be gained from a better understanding of the variance in preferences attributable to non-economic motivations, a topic where this paper only scratches the surface. Experiments in neuroscience, economics, psychology are begining to provide a clearer picture of these non-economic motivations, which should help political economists integrate these insights into a theoretical model that makes testable predictions about policy in equilibrium.