Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating determinants of dentist productivity: new evidence.

OBJECTIVE Productivity (output per unit of input) is a major driver of dental service capacity. This study uses 2006-2007 data to update available knowledge on dentist productivity. METHODS In 2006-2007, the authors surveyed 1,604 Oregon general dentists regarding-hours worked, practice size, payment and patient mix, prices, dentist visits, and dentist characteristics. Effects of practice inputs and other independent variables on productivity were estimated by multiple regression and path analysis. RESULTS The survey response rate was 55.2 percent. Dentists responding to the productivity-related questions were similar to dentists in the overall sampling frame and nationwide. Visits per week are significantly positively related to dentist hours worked, number of assistants, hygienists, and number of operatories. Dentist ownership status, years of experience, and percentage of Medicaid patients are significantly positively related to practice output. The contributions of dentist chairside time and assistants to additional output are smaller for owners, but the number of additional dentist visits enabled by more hygienists is larger for owners. CONCLUSION As in earlier studies of dental productivity, the key determinant of dentist output is the dentist's own chairside time. The incremental contributions of dentist time, auxiliaries, and operatories to production of dentist visits have not changed substantially over the past three decades. Future studies should focus on ultimate measures of output--oral health--and should develop more precise measures of the practice's actual utilization of auxiliaries and their skill and use of technology.
Inflammatory remodeling of the HDL proteome impairs cholesterol efflux capacity[S]

Recent studies demonstrate that HDL’s ability to promote cholesterol efflux from macrophages associates strongly with cardioprotection in humans independently of HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and apoA-I, HDL’s major protein. However, the mechanisms that impair cholesterol efflux capacity during vascular disease are unclear. Inflammation, a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease, has been shown to impair HDL’s cholesterol efflux capacity. We therefore tested the hypothesis that HDL’s impaired efflux capacity is mediated by specific changes of its protein cargo. Humans with acute inflammation induced by low-level endotoxin had unchanged HDL-C levels, but their HDL-C efflux capacity was significantly impaired. Proteomic analyses demonstrated that HDL’s cholesterol efflux capacity correlated inversely with HDL content of serum amyloid A (SAA)1 and SAA2. In mice, acute inflammation caused a marked impairment of HDL-C efflux capacity that correlated with a large increase in HDL SAA. In striking contrast, the efflux capacity of mouse inflammatory HDL was preserved with genetic ablation of SAA1 and SAA2. Our observations indicate that the inflammatory impairment of HDL-C efflux capacity is due in part to SAA-mediated remodeling of HDL’s protein cargo.
Energy spectrum of hydrogen atoms in dense plasmas.

From the Bethe-Salpeter equation for the two-particle (proton-electron) Green function, an effective Schr\"odinger wave equation can be derived for a hydrogen atom in a hydrogen plasma, which describes the perturbation of atomic energy levels and eigenstates by many-particle plasma effects (Pauli blocking, exchange and dynamic self-energy, and interaction-potential correction due to dynamic screening). Taking full account of dynamic screening by the random-phase approximation dielectric function, we solved the effective wave equation for nondegenerate plasmas. For bound atomic states, the plasma effects nearly compensate one another and the energy levels depend only weakly on density. In contrast, the lowering of the continuum edge is not diminished by such compensation, so that the bound states successively merge into the continuum with increasing plasma density. As our results show, reliable calculations have to incorporate dynamic screening, since the use of static screening (which greatly facilitates calculations) may lead to substantial errors, even at low densities.
Medical students' use of caffeine for ‘academic purposes’ and their knowledge of its benefits, side-effects and withdrawal symptoms

Abstract Background: Caffeine is often used for its benefits, which include increased vigilance. It does have side-effects, however, such as palpitations and withdrawal symptoms that include headaches and drowsiness. Tertiary education often requires students to study for extended hours, especially during periods of increased workload prior to tests and examinations. Medical students, who have to master a very large volume of academic work in a limited period of time, are no exception. This cross-sectional study investigated caffeine use for ‘academic purposes’ by first- to third-year medical students at the University of the Free State in 2006, and their knowledge of its benefits, side-effects and withdrawal symptoms. Methods: Data were collected by means of an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire that was completed by students during formal class time, arranged in advance with the relevant lecturers. Questionnaires were available in Afrikaans and English. A pilot study was conducted on 20 physiotherapy students to test the questionnaire. Chi-squared and Kruskall-Wallis tests were used to compare categorical and numerical variables, respectively. Ethical approval to perform the investigation was granted by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State. Results: A 90.5% (360/389) response rate was obtained. Ninety-four per cent of participants used caffeine, with academic purposes (62.6%) among the three most frequent reasons given for its consumption. Other reasons included social consumption (70%) and preference for the taste (72.4%). Coffee (88.2%) was the most commonly consumed caffeinated product among these students, followed by energy mixtures and tablets (37.9%), and soft drinks (36%). Third-year students were the heaviest consumers of coffee for academic purposes. An increase in caffeine consumption for academic purpose was directly related to progression from first- to third- year of the medical course. The average scores for questions on the benefits, side-effects and withdrawal symptoms were all below 1.5 out of 5. Misconceptions about caffeine were also identified. With regard to the benefits of caffeine, the most commonly cited misconception was that it could be used as a substitute for sleep (26.7% of respondents). The most common misconception regarding its side-effects was that it caused hot flushes (21.9%), while aggression (27.2%) was cited as the most common misconception regarding caffeine withdrawal. Conclusions: The high percentage of caffeine usage and low scores in the caffeine knowledge test indicated that most participants were using caffeine without having sufficient knowledge of its benefits, side-effects and withdrawal symptoms. It is recommended that awareness programmes on the side-effects and symptoms of caffeine dissemination of information on this extensively consumed substance.
Pouch function and gastrointestinal complications during pregnancy after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis

Objective. To estimate the risk of gastrointestinal and pouch complications and alterations in pouch function related to pregnancy in women treated with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA). Methods. Pregnancies following IPAA were identified in our center, and in the literature through MEDLINE and PUBMED searches. The incidence of each complication was calculated. Pouch function was compared before and after pregnancy, by mode of delivery, and between women who became pregnant versus those that did not. Results. The incidence of complications in 283 pregnancies after IPAA was 12.7% including antepartum (2.8%) or postpartum (6.7%) small bowel obstruction, pouchitis (1.8%), and perianal abscess (0.4%). Stool frequency and incontinence were not significantly affected by pregnancy or mode of delivery. Conclusion. Pregnancy after IPAA is overall safe, associated with limited complications and no significant alteration in pouch function. Vaginal delivery appears as safe as cesarean section for most women.
An unusual mesospheric bore event observed at high latitudes over Antarctica

All‐sky CCD observations of short‐period mesospheric gravity waves have been made from Halley Station, Antarctica (76°S, 27°W). On 27 May, 2001, an unusual wave event exhibiting several features characteristic of a “bore” was observed in the OH, Na, and O2 nightglow emissions. Mesospheric bores are rare wave events that have previously been observed at mid‐ and low‐latitudes. This event was particular interesting as: (1) it initially appeared as a single, high contrast, linear front, accompanied by a sharp enhancement in intensity in all three emissions, (2) a number of trailing wave crests were observed to form with a measured growth rate of 6.6 waves/hr, and (3) the wave pattern exhibited unusual dynamics with significant variability in the observed phase speed and a reduction in the horizontal wavelength by ∼50% over a 1‐hr period. The location of Halley and the observed propagation suggests a ducted wave consistent with current bore models.
Wideband MIMO Mobile-to-Mobile Channels: Geometry-Based Statistical Modeling With Experimental Verification

A 3-D reference model for wideband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) mobile-to-mobile (M-to-M) channels is reviewed along with its corresponding first- and second-order channel statistics. To validate the reference model, an experimental MIMO M-to-M channel-sounding campaign was conducted for M-to-M vehicular communication with vehicles that travel along surface streets and expressways in a metropolitan area. To compare the first- and second-order channel statistics that were obtained from the reference model with those obtained from the empirical measurements, a new maximum-likelihood-based stochastic estimator is derived to extract the relevant model parameters from the measured data. The measured data is processed and compared with the analytical results. The close agreement between the analytically and empirically obtained channel statistics confirms the utility of the proposed reference model and the method for estimating the model parameters.
Analysis of deoxynivalenol and De-Epoxy-Deoxynivalenol in horse blood through liquid chromatography after clean-up with immunoaffinifty column.

The Fusarium toxin, deoxynivalenol (DON) has a great significance in human and animal nutrition. Five Haflinger mares were selected to study the concentration of Deoxynivalenol (DON) and De-Epoxy-Deoxynivalenol (deepoxy-DON) in plasma samples of horse fed a diet contaminated with DON. The experimental animals were feed contaminated oat (12mg /kg oat), total being 36 mg DON/day. A series of blood samples were carried out on the day of feeding (day 1) and day 10. The concentration of DON and deepoxy-DON were determined using liquid chromatographic (HPLC-UV) method coupled with the immunoaffinity columns. The method was validated with the range of 10-100 ng/mL DON and deepoxy-DON. The Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) intra-day and inter-day for DON were less than 9% and 7% and for deepoxy-DON were less than 11% and 9%, respectively. The average recoveries of both analytes were found to be approximately 81.9 ± 5.3 % and 80.5 ± 6.4%, respectively. Generally, free form of DON (without treatment with s-glucuronidase) in the plasma samples collected 24 hour post-feeding on day ten were under the limit of detection in all animals except in two animals (11.7 and 7.6 ng/mL). The higher concentration of DON was found in the plasma one hour post-feeding. In plasma, it seems that majority of DON is present in the glucuronide-conjugated form. The levels detected are not very high, but even long-term exposure to low doses of these mycotoxins may represent a threat to horse health.
Cellular analysis of renal neoplasia: light microscope study of the development of interstitial lesions induced in the rat kidney by a single carcinogenic dose of dimethylnitrosamine.

Summary Rats conditioned by a protein-depleted diet were treated with a single i.p. dose of 50 or 60 mg/kg dimethylnitrosamine. Rats fed a casein-supplemented diet were given injections of 30 mg/kg. The sequential changes induced in the kidney were followed by light microscopy, first at daily intervals and then at weekly, biweekly, and monthly intervals from 1 day to 25 weeks, by which time mesenchymal tumor development was obvious. The incidence of early lesions in rats at the three dose levels correlated with the anticipated tumor incidence assessed from simultaneous studies. The characteristic lesion was a hypercellular aggregation within the interstitium in the vicinity of glomeruli. This lesion was first seen at 2 to 4 days and reached its height of development by 7 to 14 days, when there was a tendency to a diffuse increase in cells of the cortical interstitium. There was a progressive decline in these lesions in ensuing weeks, but in rats destined to develop mesenchymal tumor they never altogether disappeared. Up to and including 8 weeks, the interstitial lesions were characterized by inflammatory mononuclear cells, with cells of the immunological series becoming more dominant with time. Coincident with a sudden reduction in numbers of immunological cells, the first aggregates of tumor cells could be recognized at 12 weeks. By 16 weeks, these had assumed unequivocal tumor morphology, although they were still of microscopic proportions. By 20 weeks, the growths were macroscopic, and at 25 weeks they could deform normal kidney shape. The range of alteration of sequestered epithelial components within these tumors is described. There was no evidence of formation of primitive nephrons, although epithelial tumors could occur independently within the mass of a mesenchymal tumor. It is concluded that the dimethylnitrosamine-induced renal mesenchymal tumor originates from cells of the cortical interstitium near the glomerular hilus. It is further concluded that such cells are not capable of bipotential differentiation.
A Double-Blind Comparison of Intravenous Ondansetron and Placebo for Preventing Postoperative Emesis in 1- to 24-Month-Old Pediatric Patients After Surgery Under General Anesthesia

We assessed the efficacy and safety of ondansetron (0.1 mg/kg IV) prophylactically administered before surgery for prevention of postoperative vomiting (POV) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 670 pediatric patients, 1- to 24-mo-old, undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia. The study enrolled 335 children in each treatment group (ondansetron versus placebo). Significantly fewer children treated with ondansetron exhibited emesis or discontinued the study prematurely after surgery (ondansetron, 11%; placebo, 28%; odds ratio = 0.33; P < 0.0001). The number required to treat prophylactically with ondansetron to prevent POV was approximately six. Ondansetron treatment also resulted in fewer patients requiring rescue medication or assumed to have had rescue upon early discontinuation from the study during the postoperative period (ondansetron, 5%; placebo, 10%) and less emesis (0 of 6) after rescue medication when compared with placebo (7 of 21). The incidence of POV and other antiemetic effects of ondansetron were similar in children aged 1–12 mo and 13–24 mo and in children prospectively expected or not expected to require opioids as part of their anesthetic or analgesic management. Ondansetron was well tolerated; the incidence of adverse events considered possibly related to study drug was similar between treatment groups (ondansetron, 1.8%; placebo, 1.5%).
The renal arterial resistance index: a marker of renal function with an independent and incremental role in predicting heart failure progression

The renal arterial resistance index (RRI) is a measure of renal blood flow obtained by Doppler ultrasonography, which has been demonstrated to reflect both vascular and parenchymal renal abnormalities. The aim of the study was to evaluate clinical correlates and the prognostic relevance of RRI in a group of patients affected by chronic heart failure (CHF).
Gated Recurrent Networks applied to Acoustic Scene Classification

We present two resource efficient frameworks for acoustic scene classification and acoustic event detection. In particular, we combine gated recurrent neural networks (GRNNs) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for efficiently classifying environmental sound scenes of the IEEE Detection and Classification of Acoustic Scenes and Events challenge (DCASE2016). Our system reaches an overall accuracy of 79.1% on DCASE 2016 task 1 development data, resulting in a relative improvement of 8.34% compared to the baseline GMM system. By applying GRNNs on DCASE2016 real event detection data using a MSE objective, we obtain a segment-based error rate (ER) score of 0.73 – which is a relative improvement of 19.8% compared to the baseline GMM system. We further investigate semi-supervised learning applied to acoustic scene analysis. In particular, we evaluate the effects of a hybrid, i.e. generativediscriminative, objective function.
Differential requirements for IKKalpha and IKKbeta in the differentiation of primary human osteoarthritic chondrocytes.

OBJECTIVE Osteoarthritic (OA) chondrocytes behave in an intrinsically deregulated manner, characterized by chronic loss of healthy cartilage and inappropriate differentiation to a hypertrophic-like state. IKKalpha and IKKbeta are essential kinases that activate NF-kappaB transcription factors, which in turn regulate cell differentiation and inflammation. This study was undertaken to investigate the differential roles of each IKK in chondrocyte differentiation and hypertrophy. METHODS Expression of IKKalpha or IKKbeta was ablated in primary human chondrocytes by retro-transduction of specific short-hairpin RNAs. Micromass cultures designed to reproduce chondrogenesis with progression to the terminal hypertrophic stage were established, and anabolism and remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) were investigated in the micromasses using biochemical, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural techniques. Cellular parameters of hypertrophy (i.e., proliferation, viability, and size) were also analyzed. RESULTS The processes of ECM remodeling and mineralization, both characteristic of terminally differentiated hypertrophic cells, were defective following the loss of IKKalpha or IKKbeta. Silencing of IKKbeta markedly enhanced accumulation of glycosaminoglycan in conjunction with increased SOX9 expression. Ablation of IKKalpha dramatically enhanced type II collagen deposition independent of SOX9 protein levels but in association with suppressed levels of runt-related transcription factor 2. Moreover, IKKalpha-deficient cells retained the phenotype of cells in a pre-hypertrophic-like state, as evidenced by the smaller size and faster proliferation of these cells prior to micromass seeding, along with the enhanced viability of their differentiated micromasses. CONCLUSION IKKalpha and IKKbeta exert differential roles in ECM remodeling and endochondral ossification, which are events characteristic of hypertrophic chondrocytes and also complicating factors often found in OA. Because the effects of IKKalpha were more profound and pleotrophic in nature, our observations suggest that exacerbated IKKalpha activity may be responsible, at least in part, for the characteristic abnormal phenotypes of OA chondrocytes.
Immunosuppressive Drugs: Azathioprine in the Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis

Azathioprine may be tried for treatment of severe myasthenia gravis, in a dose of 2 mg/kg BW. With careful monitoring the side reactions may be controlled. The therapeutic response will occur after a time delay of 4-8 months. About one-third of patients with type II MG (severe, late onset, HLA B8-) will proceed to a complete but azathioprine-dependent remission, and the remaining two-thirds to a marked improvement. In type I MG (early onset, HLA B8+) azathioprine is less effective but will help keep down the need for corticosteroids or plasmapheresis.
Gene expression patterns underlying changes in xylem structure and function in response to increased nitrogen availability in hybrid poplarpce

Nitrogen availability has a strong influence on plant growth and development. In this study, we examined the effect of nitrogen availability on xylogenesis in hybrid poplar (Populus trichocarpa ¥ deltoides H11-11). Saplings of hybrid poplar were fertilized for 33 d with either high or adequate levels of ammonium nitrate. We observed enhanced radial growth, wider vessels and fibres and thinner fibre walls in the secondary xylem of high N relative to adequate N plants. These anatomical differences translated into altered hydraulic properties with xylem being more transport efficient but also more vulnerable to drought-induced cavitation in high N plants. The changes in xylem structure and function were associated with differences in gene expression as revealed by the transcriptome analysis of the developing xylem region. We found 388 genes differentially expressed (fold change 1.5, P-value 0.05), including a number of genes putatively involved in nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism and various aspects of xylem cell differentiation. Several genes encoding known transcriptional regulators of secondary cell wall deposition were down-regulated in high N plants, corresponding with thinner secondary cell walls in these plants. The results of this study provide us with gene candidates potentially affecting xylem hydraulic and structural traits. Key-words: phenotypic plasticity; transcriptome analysis; wood; xylogenesis.
Targeting iCre expression to murine progesterone receptor cell‐lineages using bacterial artificial chromosome transgenesis

Gene‐targeting in embryonic stem cells has been the dominant genetic approach when engineering mouse models to query the physiologic importance of the progesterone receptor (PR). Although these models have been instrumental in disclosing the in vivo significance of the progesterone signaling pathway, generation of such mice exacts considerable expenditure of time, effort, and expense. Considering the growing list of new PR mouse models that are urgently required to address the next questions in progestin biology, bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) recombineering in conjunction with transgenesis was evaluated as an alternative method to accelerate the creation of these models in the future. Using this approach, we describe the generation of three PR‐BACiCre transgenic lines in which improved Cre recombinase (iCre) was targeted in‐frame, downstream, and under the control of the PR promoter contained within a BAC transgene. Crossing with the ROSA26R revealed that the PR‐BACiCre transgenic expresses active iCre only in cell‐lineages that express the PR. The specificity of the PR‐BACiCre transgene not only underscores the importance of BAC‐mediated transgenesis as a quick, easy, and affordable method by which to engineer the next generation of PR mouse models, but also provides a unique opportunity to investigate transcriptional control of PR expression as well as PR structure‐function relationships in vivo. genesis 44:601–610, (2006). Published 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.