Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Six-year clinical outcome of single implant-retained mandibular overdentures--a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this prospective pilot study was to evaluate the prosthodontic maintenance as well as the implant outcome of single implant-retained mandibular overdentures over an observation period of 6 years. METHODS Eleven edentulous patients received one single implant in the midline of the mandible. Denture bases were temporarily relined and 2 months later provided with a ball attachment for implant retention. Implant related parameters and prosthodontic maintenance interventions were assessed 4 weeks after implant loading and then once a year. RESULTS Over a mean observation period of 75.9 months, no implant was lost. The most frequent prosthetic maintenance intervention was activation of the matrix due to loss of retention, followed by exchange of the female part. Eight denture bases had to be repaired after a fracture in the midline area. CONCLUSIONS Within the limitations of this preliminary clinical study, the concept of a single midline implant to retain a mandibular complete denture was a successful treatment option for elderly edentulous patients.
National systems of innovation under strain: the internationalisation of corporate R&D.

The central components of national systems of innovation in the advanced OECD countries are the innovative activities performed by practitioners (mainly businesses), and the basic research and related training performed by universities. The close linkages observed between the national science base and innovative activities in nationally owned firms reflect the advantages of physical agglomeration in innovative activities, and allow companies and countries to extract major economic benefits from their investments. However, national systems of innovation are under increasing strain, because of emerging imbalances between what the science base has to offer, and the demands of the technology system. These imbalances reflect the combined effects of (1) the liberalisation of international exchanges, (2) uneven rates of national technological development, (3) increasing pressures of competition, (4) the increasing range of fields of potentially useful technology. These imbalances have long been felt by large firms in smaller countries. They have recently been experienced in different forms in Germany, Japan and the UK, in the last of which the dominant links between the science base and national firms has virtually disappeared in the electronics industry, and been replaced by more complicated links with foreign firms. These are likely to grow in all countries in future.
The information technology professional's psychological contract viewed through their employment arrangement and the relationship to organizational behaviors

Information technology (IT) professionals are continually placed in diverse employment arrangements as organizations continually look for ways to cut costs, enhance performance and maximize organizational goals. Organizations are using strategies beyond hiring permanent employees to achieve objectives in alternative sourcing. Even though the cost differential is positive when employing non-permanent individuals instead of permanent employees, little is known about the effects on the IT professional.This field study was designed to test the effects of employment arrangements on the IT professional's psychological contract and the effects of the level of fulfillment of their psychological contract on their organizational citizenship and innovative work behaviors using psychological contracts and social information processing theories. IT professionals were sampled from four different employment arrangements.The empirical findings show that there are differences in the IT pro proessional's psychological contract as explained by their employment arrangement, as well as by their perceptions of the characteristics of their particular employment arrangement. Permanent full-time IT professionals consistently had higher perceptions of their employer's obligations to them, than did IT professionals from the other employment arrangement categories. The level of fulfillment of the IT professional's psychological contract explained differences in their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) as a collective, with significant differences in the advocacy participation and obedience citizenship behaviors. This study also found significant relationships with the level of fulfillment of the IT professional's psychological contract and their innovative work behavior, as well as their organizational citizenship behaviors individually, specifically loyalty, advocacy participation, obedience, and functional participation. The primary predictors of the dimensions of OCB were the levels of fulfillment of the psychological contract as it relates to the scope, focus, and tangibility dimensions.The exploratory analysis into the characteristics of the employment arrangement provides a clearer understanding as to what encompasses the actual employment arrangement for IT professionals of differing categories. Independent contractors indicated significantly more job control than permanent full-time and contract company workers. Permanent full-time and permanent part-time have greater job stability than do independent contractors and contract company workers. Permanent full-time have greater benefits provided than the other three categories of IT professionals.
Remodeling of ventricular repolarization in a chronic doxorubicin cardiotoxicity rat model

Doxorubicin, one of the most effective anticancer drugs, is characterized by severe cardiotoxic effects, which induce cardiac remodeling and congestive heart failure. The aim of the study was to evaluate remodeling of ventricular repolarization heterogeneity in chronic doxorubicin cardiotoxicity in rats. Doxorubicin cardiotoxicity was produced by six equal intraperitoneal injections of the drug in a cumulative dose of 15 mg/kg in a 2‐week period. Electrophysiological mapping of the ventricular epicardium in situ was performed 6 weeks after the last injection of doxorubicin. Activation–recovery intervals (ARIs) were used for the evaluation of the heterogeneity in repolarization durations. The major findings were as follows: (1) ARIs on the ventricular epicardium of both ventricles were significantly prolonged in the doxorubicin group and (2) this inhomogeneous prolongation of ARIs on the ventricular epicardium resulted in (i) the increase in the dispersion of repolarization across the ventricular epicardium and (ii) the inhomogeneous alterations of the regional ARI gradients on the ventricular epicardium. These changes in repolarization could explain the electrocardiographic alterations, that is, the prolongation of the QT interval and flattening of the T wave.
Theory of Dispersive Tramsport in Disordered Solids

A mean-field theory of electronic and atomic dispersive hopping and/or multiple trapping transport in disordered solids is presented. The theory is based on a set of microscopic Markovian transport equations which are solved for the averaged dc and ac mobility by means of a two-site effective medium approximation. The averaged transient current is obtained by solving the macroscopic equation for the carrier profile with the frequency-dependent mobility as input. Results are shown for the case of hopping among impurities with spatial disorder.
A Quantitative Look at the Italian Banking System: Evidence from a New Dataset Since 1861

Building on a new dataset on Italian banks and other financial corporations from 1861 to 2011, the novelty of this paper is to examine the patterns of the main items of bank’s balance sheets, such as deposits, capital and reserves, bonds issued, bonds held in portfolio, and loans for a period of 150 years. The long time behaviour of credit maturity, postal savings, State ownership of banks, and bank interest rates is also studied.
Novel Inflammatory Marker in Dialysis Patients: YKL‐40

YKL‐40 has been introduced as a marker of inflammation in different clinical situations. The association between YKL‐40 and inflammation in chronic renal failure patients has not been researched currently. The objectives of this study were to establish serum YKL‐40 concentrations in dialysis patients with chronic renal failure compared to healthy subjects and to explore its relationships with a proinflammatory cytokine, interleukine‐6 (IL‐6) and an acute phase mediator, high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP). The study population included hemodialysis patients (N = 43; mean age of 40.9 ± 14.5), peritoneal dialysis patients (N = 38; mean age of 45.8 ± 13.7) and healthy subjects (N = 37; mean age of 45.5 ± 10.6). Serum concentrations of YKL‐40, IL‐6, hs‐CRP and routine laboratory measures were evaluated. Compared to the healthy subjects, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients had higher concentrations of YKL‐40, IL‐6, hs‐CRP, as well as lower concentrations of hemoglobin, serum albumin and high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (P < 0.001). YKL‐40 concentrations were positively correlated with serum creatinine (P < 0.001, r = 0.495), IL‐6 (P < 0.001, r = 0.306), hs‐CRP (P = 0.001, r = 0.306) levels and inversely correlated with hemoglobin (P = 0.002, r = −0.285), serum albumin (P < 0.001, r = −0.355) and high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (P = 0.001, r = −0.306). In multivariate regression analysis YKL‐40 was associated with creatinine, serum albumin and hs‐CRP concentrations after adjustments with covariates. Dialysis patients with chronic renal failure have elevated serum YKL‐40 concentrations. Associations with standard inflammatory parameters suggest that YKL‐40 might be a novel inflammatory marker in this population.
The employment effects of foreign direct investment

Recognising three main channels of economic integration (labour migration, trade flows, and FDI), this paper focuses on the employment effects of FDI in Europe, addressing, in particular, concerns that EU firms will relocate jobs to low-wage countries in Central and Eastern Europe at the expense of jobs elsewhere in the European Union. European firm level data are used to document firm level differences in labour costs and productivity between high-wage and low-wage regions, thereby assessing the competitiveness of various regions. In addition, firm level data of over 1,000 European transnational corporations and their affiliates are used to analyse whether employment relocation between high-and low-wage regions occurs. The main finding is that employment relocation from west to east is not taking place, but there is evidence for employment relocation within high-wage European regions.
Prognostic value of the expression of p53, bcl-2, and bax oncoproteins, and neovascularization in patients with radically resected non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE To assess the prognostic value of p53, bcl-2, bax, and neovascularization in radically resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS Tumors from 116 patients were assessed by immunohistochemistry for expression of p53 (DO7 and PAb1081), bcl-2, and the quantification of microvessel density (CD-31). In addition, the expression of bax was assessed in 61 stage I tumors. The median levels of expression of each marker were used as cutoff points. RESULTS p53 was not correlated to any patient or tumor characteristic, whereas bcl-2 showed higher expression in squamous cell carcinomas (P < .001). bax expression was significantly related with male sex (P = .006) and adenocarcinoma type (P = .0013). p53 status, assessed with one monoclonal antibody (MoAb), was not predictive for survival; however, the combination of staining results obtained with two MoAbs identified the DO7-/PAb1801+ tumors as those with the worst prognosis. bcl-2 expression was associated with longer survival in stage I patients (P = .0169). The combined group expressing p53+(PAb1801)/bcl-2- had the worst survival in stage I patients (P = .034) and in the whole series in comparison with the other combinations of the two oncoproteins. bax expression alone had no influence on survival of stage I patients, but patients with bax+/bcl-2- tumors had the worst prognosis (P = .02 in comparison with bax+/bcl-2+). Tumor neovascularization was not related with other factors, and patients with CD-31+ tumors had a shorter survival duration than those with CD-31- tumors only in stage II (P = .0283). By multivariate analysis including all patients, the presence of p53+/ bcl-2- tumor expression and large tumor diameter (> or = 4cm) were independent prognostic factors for shorter survival duration. For stage I, only the presence of bax+/ bcl-2- tumor expression had a significant negative influence on survival. CONCLUSION The interaction and the regulation of new biologic markers, such as those involved in the apoptotic pathway, are complex. Combinations of the expression of several of them may give more valuable information than the study of just one. Prognostic influence of p53 staining varied depending on the choice of antibody and the combination of bcl-2- together with p53+ (PAb1801) or with bax+ had the worst influence on survival for patients with stage I NSCLC.
Epidemiology of culture-negative peritonitis in Iranian patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

INTRODUCTION Culture-negative peritonitis is a major challenge in the treatment of peritonitis in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). This study aimed to evaluate the culture-negative peritonitis in patients from the Iranian CAPD Registry. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data of 1472 patients from 26 CAPD centers were analysed. Peritonitis was defined as any clinical suspicion together with peritoneal leukocyte count of 100/mL and more. RESULTS The patients had been on PD for a mean of 500 ± 402 days. There were a total of 660 episodes of peritonitis observed among 299 patients (peritonitis rate of 1 episode in 34.1 patient-months). Excluding patients with both negative and positive culture results, there were 391 episodes of peritonitis in 220 patients (174 culture-positive episodes in 97 patients and 217 culture-negative episodes in 123). The 1- to 4-year patient survival rates were 85%, 75%, 69%, and 59% for the patients with culture-positive peritonitis, and 92%, 78%, 73% and 63% for the patients with culture-negative peritonitis, respectively (P = .34). The technique survival rates were 90%, 57%, 42%, and 27% and 95%, 85%, 74%, and 40%, respectively (P = .001). On follow-up, there were higher rates of active PD patients, lower rates of PD dropouts, and higher rates of kidney transplantation in patients with culture-negative peritonitis compared to those with culture-positive peritonitis. CONCLUSIONS In our patients, the prevalence of culture-negative peritonitis was high (55.9%). Patient survival with culture-negative peritonitis was comparable to those with culture-positive peritonitis and technique survival was higher among those with culture-negative peritonitis.
Optimization for viewshed analysis on GPU

Different algorithms have been raised for viewshed analysis and measures were taken to get the compromise between performance and accuracy. The most accurate and standard algorithm is still the basic interpolation method, though its time cost is high. However, the development of Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) enables us to acquire high performance with normal PC, especially when the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) is put forward by NVIDIA for general purpose computing. In this paper, we will analyze the feasibility to map the basic interpolation method into GPU application and give our approach to achieve this goal. Further, we will introduce two critical measures in this approach: one is how to assign the data into different memory spaces on GPU according to their different access characteristics; the other is how to regularize the computing instructions and minimize branch parts in the procedure. At most, nearly 70 times speedup is reached in the experiment compared with the basic interpolation method on CPU.
Status of fees and charges in public leisure service agencies.

Fees and charges represent a significant portion of most leisure service agency budgets. This study presents the responses of 372 chief executive officers in eight states to a number of questions concerning philosophy and opinions about fees and charges; factors considered in establishing fees; types offee waivers in force; participant reaction to fees; tax revenues visa-vis fees; and what the future may hold for increased fees. These data are interpreted as they reflect on the philosophy and operating procedures of park and recreation agencies. Conclusions suggest that community recreation agencies in the National Recreation-and Parks Association (NRPA) Great Lakes Region will enter the 1990s with a strong reliance on fees and charges.
Revisiting Shareholder Activism at AGMs: Voting Determinants of Large and Small Shareholders

Using a sample of voting turnouts of annual general meetings of European companies, we document that shareholder voting turnouts are significantly different according to the ownership structure of the company. Different types of shareholder classes show different voting engagements according to the ownership concentration and the ownership structure. The number of directors that stand up for (re)election positively influences voting turnouts. Special resolutions like changes of the articles of associations have no major impact on shareholders’ engagements. Corporate performance and other governance mechanisms do not change shareholder activism measured as voting turnout. These results provide important benchmarks for the current debate of shareholder empowerment. The agenda and hence the role of shareholders should be restructured. The AGM should be used as a strategic governance tool for director elections while the central decision making body should be the board, balancing shareholder primacy with board primacy.
Neuroimaging Evidence of a Bilateral Representation for Visually Presented Numbers

The clustered architecture of the brain for different visual stimulus categories is one of the most fascinating topics in the cognitive neurosciences. Interestingly, recent research suggests the existence of additional regions for newly acquired stimuli such as letters (letter form area; LFA; Thesen et al., 2012) and numbers (visual number form area; NFA; Shum et al., 2013). However, neuroimaging methods thus far have failed to visualize the NFA in healthy participants, likely due to fMRI signal dropout caused by the air/bone interface of the petrous bone (Shum et al., 2013). In the current study, we combined a 64-channel head coil with high spatial resolution, localized shimming, and liberal smoothing, thereby decreasing the signal dropout and increasing the temporal signal-to-noise ratio in the neighborhood of the NFA. We presented subjects with numbers, letters, false numbers, false letters, objects and their Fourier randomized versions. A group analysis showed significant activations in the inferior temporal gyrus at the previously proposed location of the NFA. Crucially, we found the NFA to be present in both hemispheres. Further, we could identify the NFA on the single-subject level in most of our participants. A detailed analysis of the response profile of the NFA in two separate experiments confirmed the whole-brain results since responses to numbers were significantly higher than to any other presented stimulus in both hemispheres. Our results show for the first time the existence and stimulus selectivity of the NFA in the healthy human brain. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This fMRI study shows for the first time a cluster of neurons selective for visually presented numbers in healthy human adults. This visual number form area (NFA) was found in both hemispheres. Crucially, numbers have gained importance for humans too recently for neuronal specialization to be established by evolution. Therefore, investigations of this region will greatly advance our understanding of learning and plasticity in the brain. In addition, these results will aid our knowledge regarding related neurological illnesses (e.g., dyscalculia). To overcome the fMRI signal dropout in the neighborhood of the NFA, we combined high spatial resolution with liberal smoothing. We believe that this approach will be useful to the broad neuroimaging community.
A mutant form of the Ran/TC4 protein disrupts nuclear function in Xenopus laevis egg extracts by inhibiting the RCC1 protein, a regulator of chromosome condensation.

The Ran protein is a small GTPase that has been implicated in a large number of nuclear processes including transport. RNA processing and cell cycle checkpoint control. A similar spectrum of nuclear activities has been shown to require RCC1, the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Ran. We have used the Xenopus laevis egg extract system and in vitro assays of purified proteins to examine how Ran or RCC1 could be involved in these numerous processes. In these studies, we employed mutant Ran proteins to perturb nuclear assembly and function. The addition of a bacterially expressed mutant form of Ran (T24N‐Ran), which was predicted to be primarily in the GDP‐bound state, profoundly disrupted nuclear assembly and DNA replication in extracts. We further examined the molecular mechanism by which T24N‐Ran disrupts normal nuclear activity and found that T24N‐Ran binds tightly to the RCC1 protein within the extract, resulting in its inactivation as a GEF. The capacity of T24N‐Ran‐blocked interphase extracts to assemble nuclei from de‐membranated sperm chromatin and to replicate their DNA could be restored by supplementing the extract with excess RCC1 and thereby providing excess GEF activity. Conversely, nuclear assembly and DNA replication were both rescued in extracts lacking RCC1 by the addition of high levels of wild‐type GTP‐bound Ran protein, indicating that RCC1 does not have an essential function beyond its role as a GEF in interphase Xenopus extracts.
The Relationship between Firm Characteristics and Mandatory Disclosure Level: When Egyptian Accounting Standards Were First Adopted

Egypt witnessed continuous developments in accounting regulations which led to a comprehensive set of Egyptian Accounting Standards (EAS) in June 2006, to be implemented starting 2007. It is expected that complying with high quality accounting standards would result in more adequate information disclosure. This research aims to identify companies’ disclosure level after compliance with the newly issued EAS, and test the relationship between firm characteristics and mandatory disclosure level in the Egyptian context. Firm characteristics have been divided into three groups: market-related, structure-related and performance related characteristics. The research used annual reports of 39 listed companies for the year ended December 2007. Findings reveal that the average mandatory disclosure level was 74%, while the maximum disclosure level was 83%. Results indicate that the firm characteristics with a positive significant relationship with disclosure level are company size, and auditor type, while the factor that had a negative relationship is liquidity.
IFN-γ-Independent Effects of IL-12 During Intestinal Nematode Infection1

Expulsion of the gastrointestinal nematode Trichinella spiralis is associated with a pronounced mastocytosis mediated by a Th2-type response involving IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13. When exogenous rIL-12 was administered to T. spiralis-infected NIH mice, this resulted in significant suppression of intestinal mast cell responses, delayed worm expulsion, increased muscle larvae burdens, and a transient, but significant decrease in early Th2 cytokine secretion. rIL-12 treatment also altered chemokine expression in the jejunal mucosa. The effects of exogenous IL-12 administration were largely independent of IFN-γ as shown by rIL-12 treatment of IFN-γ knockout mice. Hence, IL-12 may play a significant biological role as a direct negative regulator of intestinal Th2 responses and may act to promote the survival of intestinal parasites in vivo also in the absence of IFN-γ.