Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thickness of the roof of the glenoid fossa and condylar bone change: a CT study.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the thickness of the roof of the glenoid fossa in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and the existence and types of condylar bone change. MATERIALS AND METHODS Helical CT was used to measure the thickness of the roof of the glenoid fossa at its thinnest part in 37 orthodontic patients with temporomandibular disorders. Condylar bone changes were classified into four types: no bone change (24 joints); flattening (19 joints); osteophyte formation (13 joints); and erosion (18 joints). RESULTS The roof of the glenoid fossa was significantly thicker in joints with bone change than in joints with no bone change (Mann-Whitney U-test, P<0.05). There was also a significant difference in relation to the type of condylar bone change: the thickness of the roof of the glenoid fossa in the erosion group was significantly greater than in the no bone change (P<0.01), flattening (P<0.05) and osteophyte formation (P<0.05) groups (Kruskal-Wallis and Games-Howell tests). CONCLUSION Compensative bone formation in the roof of the glenoid fossa might help to withstand the increased stress in the TMJ accompanying condylar bone change, especially erosion.
Three-step traffic cellular automata procedure

Complex traffic system seems to be simulated successfully by cellular automaton (CA) models. Various models are developed to understand single-lane traffic, multilane traffic, lane-changing behavior and network traffic situations. CA-based (or so-called multi-agent based) traffic simulators has been developed to simulate network traffic so as to design traffic signal, predict route choice and evaluate the performance of traffic management strategies. Therefore, a rapid and robust traffic CA procedure is necessary. Generally, traffic CA models are proposed based on the NaSch model, which is a four-step procedure. In this study, a three-step traffic CA procedure is proposed and compared with the NaSch model. According to the analysis of procedure and the numerical results, the computational efficiency of the three-step procedure is faster than the NaSch model. The simulated speed and flow of the three-step procedure are higher than the simulated speed and flow of the NaSch model. The three-step procedure also can be coupled with the high-speed, velocity-dependent randomization and slow-to-start rules. In addition, two-lane and three-lane traffic flow are simulated by the three-step procedure successfully. Therefore, the three-step procedure can be an alternative traffic CA model to predict traffic flow or develop simulator.
The effects of polymorphisms in IL-2, IFN-γ, TGF-β2, IgL, TLR-4, MD-2, and iNOS genes on resistance to Salmonella Enteritidis in indigenous chickens

Salmonella Enteritidis is a major cause of food poisoning worldwide, and poultry products are the main source of S. Enteritidis contamination for humans. Among the numerous strategies for disease control, improving genetic resistance to S. Enteritidis has been the most effective approach. We investigated the association between S. Enteritidis burden in the caecum, spleen, and liver of young indigenous chickens and seven candidate genes, selected on the basis of their critical roles in immunological functions. The genes included those encoding interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), transforming growth factor β2 (TGF-β2), immunoglobulin light chain (IgL), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Two Malaysian indigenous chicken breeds were used as sustainable genetic sources of alleles that are resistant to salmonellosis. The polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment-length polymorphism technique was used to genotype the candidate genes. Three different genotypes were observed in all of the candidate genes, except for MD-2. All of the candidate genes showed the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium for the two populations. The IL-2-MnlI polymorphism was associated with S. Enteritidis burden in the caecum and spleen. The TGF-β2-RsaI, TLR-4-Sau 96I, and iNOS-AluI polymorphisms were associated with the caecum S. Enteritidis load. The other candidate genes were not associated with S. Enteritidis load in any organ. The results indicate that the IL-2, TGF-β2, TLR-4, and iNOS genes are potential candidates for use in selection programmes for increasing genetic resistance against S. Enteritidis in Malaysian indigenous chickens.
The Fraunhofer Line Discriminator MKII-An Airborne Instrument for Precise and Standardized Ecological Luminescence Measurement

The Fraunhofer line discriminator Mark II (FLD-II) is an airborne photometric instrument for the remote measurement, on a precise and quantitative scale, of solar-stimulated luminescence. The luminescence may originate in such diverse sources as oil spills and chemical pollutants, the chlorophyll of normal or stressed vegetation, and fluorescent tracer dyes used to study current flow and dispersion in large bodies of water. Work now in progress by the U. S. Geological Survey expresses the concentrations of various fluorescent substances in terms of equivalent concentrations of the tracer dye, rhodamine WT, in water that the FLD-II can reliably measure down to levels of 0.1 part per billion (1 part in 1010). Detailed calculations show that this is within a factor of about 21/2 to 5 of theoretical, photon-limited performance. The instrument measures luminescence in a scene by quantitative distinction between reflected sunlight, which is "coded" by Fraunhofer absorption bands, and luminescence, which is not. Narrow-band optical filters provide in-band and out-of-band light samples from the scene and from pure sunlight to a photomultiplier tube. Digital conversion and computation render a reading of the fluorescence coefficient.
The association between depression and chronic kidney disease and mortality among patients hospitalized with congestive heart failure.

BACKGROUND The point prevalence of depression and its relationship to poor outcomes among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not been fully characterized. METHODS We performed a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort of 374 patients admitted with congestive heart failure between March 1, 1997 and June 30, 1998, to investigate the point prevalence of depression among patients with CKD and its association with mortality. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to all patients. Those who scored 10 or higher were administered the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between severe CKD, corresponding to a creatinine clearance less than 30 mL/min/72 kg (<0.50 mL/s/72 kg), depression, and mortality at 1 year. RESULTS Point prevalences of depressive symptoms by BDI and major depression by DIS were 54.8% and 21.6% if severe CKD was present and 32.8% and 13.0% if severe CKD was absent, respectively. After controlling for important clinical factors, severe CKD was associated with depressive symptoms by BDI (odds ratio, 2.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.39 to 5.99). Both depression by DIS and severe CKD were significant predictors of mortality. The increased mortality risk associated with depression did not decline with decreasing kidney function. CONCLUSION Depression was more prevalent among patients with than without severe CKD and had at least as strong an association with mortality as compared with depression in patients with no or less severe CKD. The point prevalence of depression decreased when the DIS interview was used, perhaps related to the presence of somatic measures on the BDI reflecting uremia. Studies assessing the efficacy of antidepressants among patients with CKD are needed to determine whether, in addition to treating depression, pharmacotherapy impacts mortality.
Transient Ischemic Attack Patients with Fluctuations Are at Highest Risk for Early Stroke

Background: The management and risk of early stroke are unclear in patients with fluctuating neurological symptoms. We aimed to evaluate the clinical course of these patients presenting within 24 h after onset of acute cerebral ischemia symptoms. Methods: All patients with transient ischemic signs/symptoms consecutively admitted to our Emergency Stroke Unit were recruited. Patients were neurologically examined and underwent prompt CCT plus MRI imaging for visualization of early signs of ischemia. Results: Among 122 patients, 84 (69%) had single symptoms, 33 (27%) showed rapidly relapsing and remitting symptoms – in 5 cases (4%) symptom duration could not reliably be assessed. 11/122 (9%) suffered a stroke during hospitalization. ABCD2 scores did not predict early strokes: 2/11 (18.2%) were in the ‘lower risk’, 7/11 (63.6%) in the ‘moderate risk’ and only 2/11 (18.2%) in the ‘high risk’ group (p = 0.103). 3/11 patients (27.3%) revealed lesions in neuroimaging, but surprisingly 8/11 (72.7%, p = 0.132) did not. However, patients with fluctuations in neurological status were significantly more likely to suffer a stroke: 9/122 versus 2/122 with stable symptoms (p < 0.05). Patients with small vessel disease were common in all (53/ 122; 43.4%) and within those who suffered an early stroke (6/11; 54.5%). Conclusions: Patients with unstable transient ischemic attacks immediately after onset of clinical symptoms are at high risk for subsequent stroke – they may benefit from Stroke Unit management and potential early thrombolysis once they develop strokes.
Genetics of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 DM: candidate gene analysis for the pathogenic role of inflammation

SUMMARY: Hypertension, poor glycemic control and albuminuria are well known risk factors for diabetic nephropathy, but these factors do not explain all of the inter‐individual variabilities in the rate of progression to kidney failure. Recent evidence showed that genetic predisposition affected the hyperglycemia‐induced nephrotoxicity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). We reviewed the present state of knowledge concerning the relationship between genetics and diabetic nephropathy in type 2 DM. However, the results are inconclusive and the genetic determinants of diabetic nephropathy are not fully understood. In addition, genetic background of nephropathy in type 2 DM was thought to be more complex than in type 1 DM. Recent studies suggested that the inflammation would be an essential component of type 2 DM and its complications. We postulated that increased systemic and/or intrarenal inflammation in high glucose milieu is important in the pathogenesis of nephropathy in patients with type 2 DM. To investigate the impact of inflammation on diabetic nephropathy, we studied several polymorphisms in genes encoding inflammatory cytokine and chemokine in patients with type 2 DM. Among them, −511 C/T in interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), tandem repeat in IL‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1Ra), −308 G/A in tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) were significantly associated with an increased risk of kidney failure. In addition, some of them were remarkably different from those previously reported in the NCBI or literature based on the western population.
In vitro fermentation of commercial α-gluco-oligosaccharide by faecal microbiota from lean and obese human subjects

The fermentation selectivity of a commercial source of α-gluco-oligosaccharides (BioEcolians; Solabia) was investigated in vitro. Fermentation by faecal bacteria from four lean and four obese healthy adults was determined in anaerobic, pH-controlled faecal batch cultures. Inulin was used as a positive prebiotic control. Samples were obtained at 0, 10, 24 and 36 h for bacterial enumeration by fluorescent in situ hybridisation and SCFA analyses. Gas production during fermentation was investigated in non-pH-controlled batch cultures. α-Gluco-oligosaccharides significantly increased the Bifidobacterium sp. population compared with the control. Other bacterial groups enumerated were unaffected with the exception of an increase in the Bacteroides–Prevotella group and a decrease in Faecalibacterium prausnitzii on both α-gluco-oligosaccharides and inulin compared with baseline. An increase in acetate and propionate was seen on both substrates. The fermentation of α-gluco-oligosaccharides produced less total gas at a more gradual rate of production than inulin. Generally, substrates fermented with the obese microbiota produced similar results to the lean fermentation regarding bacteriology and metabolic activity. No significant difference at baseline (0 h) was detected between the lean and obese individuals in any of the faecal bacterial groups studied.
Survival of Enterococcus faecalis in root canals ex vivo.

AIM The hypotheses tested in this study were that: (i) Enterococcus faecalis can survive long-term entombment in root filled teeth without additional nutrients, (ii) initial cell density influences the survival of E. faecalis in instrumented root canals and (iii) gelatinase-production capacity influences the survival of E. faecalis in root canals. METHODOLOGY The root canals of 150 extracted single canal teeth were instrumented to apical size 60 and divided into six groups of 25. Within each group 10 canals were inoculated with either gelatinase-producing E. faecalis OG1-S and the other 10 with its gelatinase-defective mutant E. faecalis OG1-X. Five canals per group were kept as uninoculated controls. The root canals in groups 1 and 2 were inoculated with 10(6) bacteria, incubated for 48 h at 37 degrees C then filled with gutta-percha and zinc-oxide eugenol sealer. Root canals were inoculated with 10(6), 10(5), 10(4) and 10(3) bacteria in groups 3-6, respectively, and left unfilled. All teeth were sealed coronally with glass-ionomer cement. After 6- (groups 1, 3-6) and 12-month (group 2) incubation at 37 degrees C in 100% humidity, root fragments were analysed for presence of E. faecalis, using culture, polymerase chain reaction and histological methods. RESULTS Viable E. faecalis was recovered from all root filled teeth and from 95-100% of unfilled inoculated teeth. Initial cell density and gelatinase production did not influence the recovery of viable E. faecalis (P > 0.05; chi-square test). Enterococcus faecalis 16S rRNA gene products were present in all inoculated teeth and absent in all noninoculated controls. Dentinal tubule infection was evident under light microscopy in sections from inoculated teeth after 48-h, 6- and 12-month incubation. CONCLUSIONS Enterococcus faecalis inoculated into root canals maintained viability for 12-months ex vivo. The clinical implications are that viable E. faecalis entombed at the time of root filling could provide a long-term nidus for subsequent infection.
Food Insecurity: The Future Challenge

At a time where the amount of food produced worldwide is sufficient to feed all, the number of food-insecure people remains high. This article presents an analysis of a number of futures studies on food and agriculture, at both local and global scale, and using quantitative and qualitative methods, with a specific focus on how they frame and address food security. After identifying future key drivers of change, implications for food security are discussed. The results show that futures studies in agriculture are entering into a third generation where key drivers of change include social and political forces as potential sources of discontinuities. It is proposed to move the field of futures studies from the exploration of food security to the exploration of food insecurity, whose multiple roots are anchored in social, political, economic and institutional dimensions, and to focus these future studies on ruptures and discontinuities rather than trends.
The impact of legal minimum wages on employment, income, and poverty incidence in the Philippines

It is commonly believed that mandating higher legal minimum wages (LMWs) is needed to help the poor earn a level of income that would allow them healthy and dignified lives. It is also seen as a tool to protect the weak against exploitation. This popular belief motivates and justifies the recurrent demands for hefty increases in LMW. But what is the empirical evidence behind this? This article seeks to address this question. It finds that in the Philippines, higher LMWs: (i) are likely to reduce the work hours of average workers; (ii) can be disadvantageous against the very groups that LMWs are intended to protect; (iii) decrease the employment probability of the young, inexperienced, less educated, and women laborers; and (iv) tend to ironically reduce average income and raise household poverty rate. These results illustrate how rapid rises in LMWs can be counter-productive and can go against the spirit of equal protection principle of the Constitution. If the goal is to help the poor and protect the weak, then these findings warrant the need to think more deeply and prudently about the use of LMWs and to consider other tools for achieving decent wages.
Heredity and muscle adaptation to endurance training.

To determine whether sensitivity of muscle characteristics and aerobic performances to endurance training was genotype-dependent, 6 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twins, 21 +/- 4 yr of age (mean +/- SD), took part in a 15-wk ergocycle endurance training program. Tests were performed before and after 7 and 15 weeks of training. A biopsy of the vastus lateralis muscle was obtained for the determination of fiber type composition and activities of creatine kinase, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase, and oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. Maximal oxygen uptake was measured with a progressive maximal ergocycle test, while endurance performance was determined as the total work output during a 90-min maximal ergocycle test. Results indicated that maximal oxygen uptake X kg-1 and endurance performance X kg-1 increased significantly (14 and 31%, respectively) with training, and intra-pair resemblance (intra-class) in response to 15 wk of training ranged from 0.65 to 0.83. Hexokinase (31%), phosphofructokinase (37%), lactate dehydrogenase (21%), malate dehydrogenase (31%), and 3-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (60%) were significantly increased with training whereas no mean change in fiber-type proportions, oxoglutarate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase activities and the phosphofructokinase/oxoglutarate dehydrogenase ratio was observed. Similarity within twin pairs in the response to enzyme activities was mainly detected in the second half of the training program. The present results confirm, therefore, that both maximal oxygen uptake and endurance performance responses to training are largely genotype-dependent. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The effect of intensity on relative pitch

In two experiments, we examined the effect of intensity and intensity change on judgements of pitch differences or interval size. In Experiment 1, 39 musically untrained participants rated the size of the interval spanned by two pitches within individual gliding tones. Tones were presented at high intensity, low intensity, looming intensity (up-ramp), and fading intensity (down-ramp) and glided between two pitches spanning either 6 or 7 semitones (a tritone or a perfect fifth interval). The pitch shift occurred in either ascending or descending directions. Experiment 2 repeated the conditions of Experiment 1 but the shifts in pitch and intensity occurred across two discrete tones (i.e., a melodic interval). Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the differences in interval size presented: Ratings were significantly higher when two pitches differed by 7 semitones than when they differed by 6 semitones. However, ratings were also dependent on whether the interval was high or low in intensity, whether it increased or decreased in intensity across the two pitches, and whether the interval was ascending or descending in pitch. Such influences illustrate that the perception of pitch relations does not always adhere to a logarithmic function as implied by their musical labels, but that identical intervals are perceived as substantially different in size depending on other attributes of the sound source.
Applying biofluid metabonomic techniques to analyze the combined subchronic toxicity of propoxur and permethrin in rats.

BACKGROUND NMR combined with pattern recognition was recently introduced as a new technique for rapid xenobiotic toxicity evaluation. In this article, metabolic changes in the biofluid of rats after 90-day oral treatment with propoxur, permethrin and a combination of these two pesticides were investigated. RESULTS Propoxur dosing induced increased urinary taurine, creatinine and glucose, whereas urinary lactate and acetate were increased in the highest permethrin dose group. Urinary acetate, alanine, lactate and trimethylamine levels were increased in the mixture group, accompanied by decreased urinary tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates. In addition, the highest dose of the mixture displayed raised 3-D-hydroxybutyrate, acetate and lactate levels in the serum sample. CONCLUSION Chronic exposure to a combination of propoxur and permethrin may induce hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. An increase in acetate, alanine and formate in the urine could be a potentially sensitive biomarker of the chronic, combined effects of permethrin and propoxur.
The Pro12Ala PPARg2 gene polymorphism involves residual C-peptide secretionand BMI in type 1 diabetes.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM Since insulin resistance is genetically determined and observed in type 1 diabetes, the study was designed to elucidate an involvement of Ala 12 Pro PPARg2 gene polymorphism in residual C-peptide secretion and BMI variation in children with type 1 diabetes. MATERIAL AND METHODS In 103 patients with type 1 diabetes genetic analysis of PPARg2 polymorphism, C-peptide measurements and evaluation of BMI and clinical parameters were performed. Control group consisted of 109 healthy subjects. RESULTS In diabetic patients, only three individuals exhibited Ala 12 Ala genotype (2.9%) and 29 patients were heterozygous Ala 12 Pro (28.2%). Interestingly, Ala12+ variants were associated with higher C-peptide levels in 6 th , 12 th and 24 th months after the onset than Pro 12 Pro genotype (0.39±0.24 pmol/mL vs. 0.22±0.14 pmol/mL, P=0.007 and 0.19±0.09 vs. 0.11±0.07, P=0.01 and 0.13±0.09 vs. 0.07±0.05, P=0.021, respectively). Similarly, C-peptide was also significantly increased in patients with history of type 2 diabetes in the first-degree relatives. The observation was even more evident when Ala12+ variants were taken together with family history of type 2 diabetes. Besides, in 24 th and 36 th months after the onset, Ala12+ variants revealed to be associated with higher BMI normalized by age and sex as compared to Pro 12 Pro (0.557±0.84 vs. -0.119±0.73, P=0.001 and 0.589±0.919 vs. 0.066±0.630, P=0.016, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Thus, it is likely that PPARg2 gene polymorphism and/or the genetically determined insulin resistance may be associated with residual C-peptide secretion and involve excessive BMI in type 1 diabetes.