Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Head posture and cephalometric analyses : An integrated photographic ~ radiographic technique

A photographic technique for natural head postu? e (NHP) recording that can be associated to standard radiographic exposures is presented. It allows the evaluation of radiographs, according to both the standard intracranial references and NHP. On the NHP photograph, the angle between the soft tissue nasion-pogonion line and the true vertical is calculated, and this value is used to rotate the standard radiograph around the Bolton point. The technique has been applied to 40 private orthodontic patients (24 females and 16 males, aged 7 to 20 years, mean 12.9 years). The hard tissue Frankfurt plane in NHP showed a wide variation: 80% of the patients had orbitale lower than potion (mean angle 6 ~ relative to the ground), 20% had orbitale higher than porion (mean angle 4~ The position of this plane in NHP seemed to be different in the two sexes, with more males having the Frankfurt plane going upwards than females. The soft tissue Frankfurt plane (tragus-orbitale) in NHP was directed upwards (head extended) in 53% of patients.The two Frankfurt planes were never coincident in all subjects; the tragus was always lower and more anterior than porion. On average, the angle tragus-orbitale-porion was about 6 ~ In young orthodontic patients NHP is therefore highly variable, gender dependent, and cannot be deduced from mean population values. Nevertheless, the evaluation of head position should be performed in each young patient before and during the treatment, to verify how the combined effects of therapy and growth act. (AM J ORTHOD DENTOFAC ORTHOP 1994;106:257-66.)
Fibrillar Collagen Organization Associated with Broiler Wooden Breast Fibrotic Myopathy

SUMMARY Wooden breast (WB) is a fibrotic myopathy affecting the pectoralis major (p. major) muscle in fast-growing commercial broiler lines. Birds with WB are phenotypically detected by the palpation of a hard p. major muscle. A primary feature of WB is the fibrosis of muscle with the replacement of muscle fibers with extracellular matrix proteins, such as collagen. The ability of a tissue to be pliable and stretch is associated with the organization of collagen fibrils in the connective tissue areas surrounding muscle fiber bundles (perimysium) and around individual muscle fibers (endomysium). The objective of this study was to compare the structure and organization of fibrillar collagen by using transmission electron microscopy in two fast-growing broiler lines (Lines A and B) with incidence of WB to a slower growing broiler Line C with no phenotypically detectable WB. In Line A, the collagen fibrils were tightly packed in a parallel organization, whereas in Line B, the collagen fibrils were randomly aligned. Tightly packed collagen fibrils arranged in parallel are associated with nonpliable collagen that is highly cross-linked. This will lead to a phenotypically hard p. major muscle. In Line C, the fibrillar collagen was sparse in its distribution. Furthermore, the average collagen fibril diameter and banding D-period length were altered in Line A p. major muscles affected with WB. Taken together, these data are suggestive of different fibrotic myopathies beyond just what is classified as WB in fast-growing broiler lines.
Recovery of infectious murine norovirus using pol II-driven expression of full-length cDNA

Noroviruses are the major cause of nonbacterial gastroenteritis in humans. These viruses have remained refractory to detailed molecular studies because of the lack of a reverse genetics system coupled to a permissive cell line for targeted genetic manipulation. There is no permissive cell line in which to grow infectious human noroviruses nor an authentic animal model that supports their replication. In contrast, murine norovirus (MNV) offers a tractable system for the study of noroviruses with the recent discovery of permissive cells and a mouse model. The lack of a reverse genetic system for MNV has been a significant block to understanding the biology of noroviruses. We report recovery of infectious MNV after baculovirus delivery of viral cDNA to human hepatoma cells under the control of an inducible DNA polymerase (pol) II promoter. Recovered virus replicated in murine macrophage (RAW264.7) cells, and the recovery of MNV from DNA was confirmed through recovery of virus containing a marker mutation. This pol II promoter driven expression of viral cDNA also generated infectious virus after transfection of HEK293T cells, thus providing both transduction and transfection systems for norovirus reverse genetics. We used norovirus reverse genetics to demonstrate by mutagenesis of the protease–polymerase (pro–pol) cleavage site that processing of pro–pol is essential for the recovery of infectious MNV. This represents the first infectious reverse genetics system for a norovirus, and should provide approaches to address fundamental questions in norovirus molecular biology and replication.
Roughness distributions for 1/f alpha signals.

The probability density function (PDF) of the roughness, i.e., of the temporal variance, of 1/f(alpha) noise signals is studied. Our starting point is the generalization of the model of Gaussian, time periodic, 1/f noise, discussed in our recent Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 240601 (2001)], to arbitrary power law. We investigate three main scaling regions (alpha < or = 1/2, 1/2 < alpha < or = 1, and 1< alpha), distinguished by the scaling of the cumulants in terms of the microscopic scale and the total length of the period. Various analytical representations of the PDF allow for a precise numerical evaluation of the scaling function of the PDF for any alpha. A simulation of the periodic process makes it possible to study also nonperiodic, thus experimentally more relevant, signals on relatively short intervals embedded in the full period. We find that for alpha < or = 1/2 the scaled PDFs in both the periodic and the nonperiodic cases are Gaussian, but for alpha > 1/2 they differ from the Gaussian and from each other. Both deviations increase with growing alpha. That conclusion, based on numerics, is reinforced by analytic results for alpha = 2 and alpha-->infinity, in the latter limit the scaling function of the PDF being finite for periodic signals, but developing a singularity for the aperiodic ones. Finally, an overview is given for the scaling of cumulants of the roughness and the various scaling regions in arbitrary dimensions. We suggest that our theoretical and numerical results open a different perspective on the data analysis of 1/f(alpha) processes.
Nuclear distribution of Oct‐4 transcription factor in transcriptionally active and inactive mouse oocytes and its relation to RNA polymerase II and splicing factors

The intranuclear distribution of the transcription factor Oct‐4, which is specifically expressed in totipotent mice stem and germ line cells, was studied in mouse oocytes using immunogold labeling/electron microscopy and immunofluorescence/confocal laser scanning microcopy. The localization of Oct‐4 was studied in transcriptionally active (uni/bilaminar follicles) and inactive (antral follicles) oocytes. Additionally, the Oct‐4 distribution was examined relative to that of the unphosphorylated form of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and splicing factor (SC 35) in the intranuclear entities such as perichromatin fibrils (PFs), perichromatin granules (PGs), interchromatin granule clusters (IGCs), Cajal bodies (CBs), and nucleolus‐like bodies (NLBs). It was shown that: (i) Oct‐4 is localized in PFs, IGCs, and in the dense fibrillar component (DFC) of the nucleolus at the transcriptionally active stage of the oocyte nucleus; (ii) Oct‐4 present in PFs and IGCs colocalizes with Pol II and SC 35 at the transcriptionally active stage; (iii) Oct‐4 accumulates in NLBs, CBs, and PGs at the inert stage of the oocyte. The results confirm the previous suggestion that PFs represent the major nucleoplasmic structural domain involved in active pre‐mRNA transcription/processing. The colocalization of Oct‐4 with Pol II in both IGCs and PFs in active oocytes (uni/bilaminar follicles) suggests that Oct‐4 is intimately associated with the Pol II holoenzyme before and during transcription. The colocalization of Oct‐4, Pol II, and SC 35 with coilin‐containing structures such as NLBs and CBs at the inert stage (antral follicles) suggests that the latter may represent storage sites for the transcription/splicing machinery during the decline of transcription. J. Cell. Biochem. 89: 720–732, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Does doing “good” always translate into doing “well”? An eco‐efficiency perspective

Does doing “good” always translate into doing “well”? Debate over the “value” of corporate social responsibility is high on the agenda of corporate finance research. Deeper understanding is required on managers' incentives to pursue and implement corporate social responsibility related strategies, as is more thorough comprehension of the effect of these strategies to firms' performance levels as well as shareholder and wider stakeholder valuations of the firm. This paper provides a new lens by approaching the subject from a different methodological paradigm, grounded in the performance benchmarking methods more commonly applied in operational research. In so doing, we provide novel evidence of the effect of corporate choices on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategic investment compliance (i.e., doing good) to firms' eco‐efficiency levels (doing well). In brief, our empirical findings suggest that ESG and firm's eco‐performance are nonlinearly related. Specifically, advanced ESG policies and disclosure levels are associated with a positive affect to firms' eco‐efficiency levels, but only up to a point, after which the effect becomes “neutral,” that is, ESG demonstrates a visible pattern of diminishing marginal returns. Thus, we may humbly conclude that a firm may “do well” by doing good, but it is not clear they should ever expect to “do great” just by “doing good. ” The threshold at which this “neutrality” appears varies systematically with the characteristics of the sector in which the firm is operating, as well as dimensions of board diversity. Finally, it is evident that ESG implementation choices can be a source of managerial agency problems.
Impact of Government Spending on Private Consumption: Evidence from ECOWAS Countries

This study examines the impact of government spending on household consumption for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). As a modelling strategy, we use the Common Correlated Effect Mean Group (CCEMG) estimator that accounts for both parameter heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. The study provides various pieces of evidence through whole-panel and country-level analyses. The panel estimates indicate that government consumption has, on average, a negative effect on private consumption, implying that government and private consumption are substitutes. Country-level results reveal, however, considerable heterogeneity in the degree of substitutability across countries. They show crowding out effects in six countries, crowding in effects in one country and no significant effect in five countries. Therefore, government consumption is not a good instrument to stimulate aggregate demand and economic growth in ECOWAS countries.
Prognosis After Surgical Resection of M1a/M1b Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

This study was undertaken to examine prognosis after resection for M1 disease in squamous cell esophageal carcinoma. Fifty-six patients with M1 esophageal cancer underwent esophageal resection with two or three-field nodal dissection from 1994 to 2001. Operative mortality occurred in 3 patients. Primary tumor sites were as follows; 10 upper, 23 middle, and 20 lower thoracic esophagus. They were found to have M1 disease by pathologic examination of dissected nodes, 24 M1a and 29 M1b. Forty-two patients (79%) were considered to have undergone curative resection. Chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy was given to 38 patients perioperatively. Recurrence was identified in 35 patients (66%) during a mean follow-up of 23 months. Overall median and 5-yr survivals were 19 months and 12.7%. Five-year survivals for M1a and M1b disease were 23.9% and 6.1%, respectively (p=0.0488). Curative resection tended to show better survival (p=0.3846). Chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy provided no advantage (p=0.5370). Multivariate analysis showed that M1b was significant risk factor over M1a disease. Our conclusion is that surgical resection can provide acceptable survival in thoracic squamous esophageal cancer with M1a disease. Survival differences between M1a and M1b disease support the current subclassification staging system.
IS THERE A LATIN AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL GROWTH PATTERN? FACTOR ENDOWMENTS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

ABSTRACT In this article, we discuss whether there was a single Latin American pattern of agricultural growth between 1950 and 2008. We analyse the sources of growth of agricultural production and productivity in ten Latin American countries. Our results show that the differences between these countries are too large to establish a single pattern for this region. However, certain common trends may be observed, such as the growing importance of labour productivity as a component of agricultural production growth and the increasing relevance of total factor productivity as a component of agricultural labour productivity growth.
Computer simulation and design of a solder joint vibration test machine

Vibration is commonly encountered during the life time of electronic components. It is a major cause of failure due to cyclic strain and stress that give rise to damage in the materials making up the component. The recent move from lead to lead-free soldering by the electronics industry has necessitated the generation of material properties data that will allow accurate prediction of the lead-free solder's performance under vibration conditions. To assess the reliability of lead-free solders under vibration loading, test equipment has been designed for small solder joints using a piezoelectric cell as the vibration source. This equipment will also be used to produce results that can be used to extract solder mechanical material properties and fatigue lifetime parameters suitable for numerical simulations and prediction of solder joint lifetime under vibration loading. This paper focuses on the analysis of the structure of the proposed vibration test equipment using Finite Element analysis method. Modal analysis as well as transient analysis has been undertaken to help understand the equipment response in vibration tests. A number of design variables and loading conditions have been analysed in this work.
Deep Depth Inference using Binocular and Monocular Cues

Human visual system relies on both binocular stereo cues and monocular focusness cues to gain effective 3D perception. In computer vision, the two problems are traditionally solved in separate tracks. In this paper, we present a unified learning-based technique that simultaneously uses both types of cues for depth inference. Specifically, we use a pair of focal stacks as input to emulate human perception. We first construct a comprehensive focal stack training dataset synthesized by depth-guided light field rendering. We then construct three individual networks: a FocusNet to extract depth from a single focal stack, a EDoFNet to obtain the extended depth of field (EDoF) image from the focal stack, and a StereoNet to conduct stereo matching. We then integrate them into a unified solution to obtain high quality depth maps. Comprehensive experiments show that our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art in both accuracy and speed and effectively emulates human vision systems.
Homocysteine, the Cholesterol of the 21st Century. Impact of Hyperhomocysteinemia on Patency and Amputation-Free Survival after Intervention for Critical Limb Ischemia

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia and determine any correlation to the clinical and technical outcome of peripheral arterial revascularization for critical limb ischemia (CLI). Methods: Between October 1, 2002, and December 31, 2006, 953 revascularization procedures were performed for CLI in a high-volume tertiary referral vascular/endovascular unit. Fasting plasma homocysteine was accurately measured preoperatively in 225 patients (124 men; mean age 75.8 years, range 45–98), who formed the basis for the study. All patients had multilevel disease (TASC II C and D lesions), and 73% had single vessel runoff. Composite primary endpoints included primary, assisted primary, and secondary patency; amputation-free survival; and all-cause mortality. Results: The prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia was 30% [69 patients (36 men; mean age 78.2 years, range 53–93)]; most (88%) of the patients showed a mild elevation in homocysteine (13–20 µmol/L). Patients with hyperhomocysteinemia had significantly lower primary, assisted primary, and secondary patency rates at all intervals to 36 months (3.3%, 10.8%, and 11.2%, respectively; p<0.001) after the intervention compared to patients with normal homocysteine levels (50.8%, 54.6%, and 57.1%, respectively). The mean amputation-free survival was significantly lower for patients with hyperhomocysteinemia (54.8% versus 81.0%, p=0.008). Overall, 27% of the normal homocysteine group progressed to vessel occlusion compared to 65% of the hyperhomocysteinemia group (p<0.0001). There was no significant difference between groups with respect to 4-year cumulative all-cause mortality (p=0.331). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, only a homocysteine level <13.0 µmol/L was found to be significantly associated with adverse outcomes, such as amputation (OR=3.4, 95% CI 1.27 to 9.01; p=0.015) and graft occlusion (OR=7.97, 95% CI 3.63 to 17.5; p<0.0001). Conclusion: Hyperhomocysteinemia appears to be an independent risk factor for the progression of vascular disease and is an adverse prognostic factor for CLI patients undergoing peripheral arterial revascularization.
Maintenance of IL‐12‐responsive CD4+ T cells during a Th2 response in Leishmania major‐infected mice

BALB / c and anti‐IL‐12‐treated C3H mice infected with Leishmania major develop a Th2 cell response. However, in contrast to BALB / c mice, C3H mice treated transiently with an anti‐IL‐12 monoclonal antibody switch from a Th2 to a Th1 response and resolve their lesions once treatment is terminated. We report here that the critical difference in the Th2 response between BALB / c and C3H mice is in their ability to respond to IL‐12. Thus, C3H mice with a Th2 response maintain a CD4+ T cell population that expresses IL‐12 receptor β1 and β2 mRNA and produces IFN‐γ after exposure to IL‐12. These results indicate that Th2 cell populations from different genetic backgrounds differ in their stability, and that this difference can be related to differential regulation of the IL‐12 receptor.
Dantrolene Is Cytoprotective in Two Models of Neuronal Cell Death

Abstract: The neuroprotective effects of dantrolene, an inhibitor of calcium release from intracellular stores, were investigated in a model of cell death induced by calcium release from endoplasmic reticulum in vitro. Thapsigargin (50 nM), a selective inhibitor of endoplasmic reticular Ca2+‐ATPase, significantly increased the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration to 230% over basal levels, induced DNA fragmentation, and reduced cell viability from 94% in control cells to 41% after a 24‐h treatment in GT1‐7 hypothalamic neurosecretory cells. Pretreatment with dantrolene for 30 min significantly inhibited elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ levels, DNA fragmentation, and GT1‐7 cell death induced by thapsigargin in a dose‐dependent manner. To determine if dantrolene would also be protective in an in vivo model of neurodegeneration, it was administered intravenously immediately following a 5‐min global cerebral ischemia in gerbils, and the number of intact hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons was counted 7 days later. The effects of dantrolene on brain and rectal temperature were monitored in a separate experiment. Dantrolene significantly increased the number of intact CA1 pyramidal neurons from 40% (untreated ischemic animals) to 67 (10 mg/kg), 78 (25 mg/kg), or 83% (50 mg/kg) of values in sham controls (all p < 0.001). No significant changes in brain or rectal temperature were detected for 4 h following 50 mg/kg dantrolene. These results suggest that abnormal Ca2+ release from intracellular stores can induce neuronal death and that such a mechanism may contribute to delayed hippocampal neuronal death after cerebral ischemia. Dantrolene may be a potentially useful drug for neuroprotection after cerebral ischemia.
Atopy patch tests, together with determination of specific IgE levels, reduce the need for oral food challenges in children with atopic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND Atopic dermatitis is commonly associated with food allergy. In addition to skin prick tests (SPTs) and measurements of specific IgE levels, the atopy patch test (APT) has recently been introduced into the diagnostic procedure for food allergy. OBJECTIVE Our aim was to evaluate whether a combination of allergologic tests could improve the prognostic value of the individual tests for positive food challenge results. We hypothesized that the combination of a positive APT result plus proof of specific IgE, a positive SPT result, or both would render double-blind, placebo-controlled, food challenges unnecessary. METHODS One hundred seventy-three double-blind, placebo-controlled, food challenges were performed in 98 children (median age, 13 months) with atopic dermatitis. All children were subjected to SPTs, APTs, and determination of specific IgE. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated. RESULTS Ninety-five (55%) of 173 oral provocations were assessed as positive. For evaluating suspected cow's milk (CM) allergy, the APT was the best single predictive test (positive predictive value [PPV], 95%), and the combination of a positive APT result with evidence of specific IgE or an APT result together with a positive skin prick test response optimized the PPV to 100%. For hen's egg (HE) allergy, the APT was also the best single predictive test (PPV, 94%). The combination of 2 or more tests did not exceed the APT's predictive value. In both CM and HE challenges, the predictability of oral challenges depended on the level of specific IgE. For wheat allergy, the APT proved to be the most reliable test, and the PPV of 94% could not be improved by a combination with other allergologic tests. CONCLUSION The combination of positive APT results and measurement of levels of specific IgE (CM, > or = 0.35 kU/L; HE, > or = 17.5 kU/L) makes double-blind, placebo-controlled, food challenges superfluous for suspected CM and HE allergy.