Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detecting Vertical Root Fractures Using Modified Methylene Blue Dye: A Preliminary In Vitro Study

Diagnostically, vertical root fractures (VRFs) can be a frustrating experience for the dentist. Misdiagnosis could result in significant time and effort losses involved in erroneously intervening endodontically and/or periodontally. Certainly, diagnosing VRFs is often very difficult, and diagnoses based on speculations have led to the extraction of many salvageable teeth. This study was conducted in the radiology unit of College of Dentistry, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, between December 2021 and June 2022 to evaluate the ability to detect VRFs following the use of a novel radio-opaque dye using periapical radiographs (PARs) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). After carefully inducing VRFs on extracted, single-rooted, virgin premolars (n = 26), they were assigned to control (n = 2) and experimental groups (n = 24). The fracture site of the tooth in the control group received methylene blue dye, whereas the experimental group received a novel dye. Two differently angled PARs were obtained for all the teeth, followed by a CBCT image. Three blinded investigators participated in scoring a Likert scale form with a set of questions. Inter-/intra-examiner reliability showed excellent consistency using Cronbach’s alpha test. The Z-test revealed CBCT and PAR to be equally adept at detecting VRFs, with the mean values showing no statistically significant differences. The extent of the VRFs and dye penetration were significantly better when angled radiographs and axial view CBCT were evaluated. Within the limitations of this study, the dye tested showed promising initial results as an aid in radiographically detecting VRFs. The use of such minimally invasive methods is critically needed for diagnosing and managing VRFs. However, further testing should be performed prior to its clinical use.
On the use of a chaotic cavity transducer in nonlinear elastic imaging

We discuss the advantages of “chaotic cavity transducer focusing” to enhance the localization of microdamage in conjunction with nonlinear elastic wave spectroscopy methods. Chaotic cavity transducer focusing is defined as the hardware-software combination of a piezoelectric ceramic glued on a cavity of chaotic shape on the one hand with the reciprocal time reversal (or inverse filter) technique on the other hand. Additional optimization through the use of sweeps and inverse filtering techniques are discussed as well. The technique is applied to image a crack in a steel sample.
Inextensible Riesz spaces

My aim in this paper is to give an abstract characterization of the C∞ spaces described in (6) or (9), and to develop some of the remarkable special properties of these spaces. Although the subject is in some ways highly specialized, inextensible and sequentially inextensible spaces seem common enough (they include all spaces of the forms Rx and L0) to be worth studying, and I have already employed them in the proof of more general results (1). In the first section I set out those properties that can be described in simple Riesz space terms; much of this work has already been published in slightly different forms. In the second part I go on to questions that arise when we impose a topology on an inextensible Riesz space. Finally, in the third section, I discuss some problems, arising from the work before, which are related to the famous measurable cardinal problem.
Hand Eczema in Apprentice Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic after a Skin Prevention Program

Background: Healthcare workers, particularly nurses and apprentice nurses, are at high risk of the development of hand eczema due to daily exposure to wet work. This study aimed to assess the occurrence of hand eczema in a group of first-, second-, and third-year apprentice nurses at the University Hospitals of Trieste (northeastern Italy) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Two hundred forty-two Nursing School students were recruited. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire based on the Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire, and all patients underwent a medical examination to evaluate their skin condition based on standard scores. Transepidermal water loss was also measured. The factors associated with hand eczema were investigated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of hand eczema was low in students both before and after the traineeship (17.9 and 21.5%, respectively), but clinical signs of mild skin damage, mainly skin dryness, were present in 52.3 and 47.2%, respectively. The factor associated with hand eczema was a personal history of atopic eczema (odd ratios 2.61, 95% confidence intervals 1.18–5.80), while exposure to irritants and glove use did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Our findings might be explained by the preventive measures adopted for skin protection among healthcare workers in Trieste since the apprenticeship.
Criticality dependence on data and parameters for a problem in combustion theory

Abstract A central problem in the theory of combustion, consisting of a nonlinear parbolic equation together with initial and boundary conditions, is considered. The influence of the initial and boundary data examined. In the main part of the study, a two-step linearization is developed such that the interesting features of the original problem are given by the solution of a non-liner and ordinary differential equation. Approximate solutions are obtained and upper and lower solutions are used to assess the validity of the approximations. Whenever possible, results are compared with those obtained previously and there is good agreement in all cases.
A Backhaul Adaptation Scheme for IAB Networks Using Deep Reinforcement Learning With Recursive Discrete Choice Model

Challenges such as backhaul availability and backhaul scalability have continued to outweigh the progress of integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks that enable multi-hop backhauling in 5G networks. These challenges, which are predominant in poor wireless channel conditions such as foliage, may lead to high energy consumption and packet losses. It is essential that the IAB topology enables efficient traffic flow by minimizing congestion and increasing robustness to backhaul failure. This article proposes a backhaul adaptation scheme that is controlled by the load on the access side of the network. The routing problem is formulated as a constrained Markov decision process and solved using a dual decomposition approach due to the existence of explicit and implicit constraints. A deep reinforcement learning (DRL) strategy that takes advantage of a recursive discrete choice model (RDCM) was proposed and implemented in a knowledge-defined networking architecture of an IAB network. The incorporation of the RDCM was shown to improve robustness to backhaul failure in IAB networks. The performance of the proposed algorithm was compared to that of conventional DRL, i.e., without RDCM, and generative model-based learning (GMBL) algorithms. The simulation results of the proposed approach reveal risk perception by introducing certain biases on alternative choices and the results showed that the proposed algorithm provides better throughput and delay performance over the two baselines.
Adaptation to Virtual Assessment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Clinical Case Presentation Examination

Background: Case presentation assessment is common in both medicine and dentistry and is known under various names depending on the country and institution. It relates mainly to aspects of diagnosis and treatment planning and is considered highly authentic and useful. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the movement of this assessment from face-to-face to online. The aim of this investigation was to explore the students’ impressions of the two different examination modalities. With this information, a decision on future diets of this examination can be made to accommodate the students’ perspectives. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered using an online, self-administered survey. Results: The students were split 50/50 regarding which assessment modality they preferred. Overall, they considered the online examination to be fair, and the majority agreed that the online format allowed them to display their knowledge as well as face-to-face. Conclusions: The delivery of case presentation examination is possible online. An online case presentation is a fair, useful, and authentic assessment that is appropriate to the needs of the faculty and students. Satisfaction with the two possible methods of conducting this assessment suggests it would be reasonable to conduct this examination online in the future.
Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation on the Clinical Outcomes and Epigenetic Markers in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Vitamin D has recently been found to influence the renin-angiotensin system (RAS); it can reduce the effects of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASI) by decreasing plasma renin. This study examines the effect of vitamin D supplements on cardiac fibrosis markers, echocardiographic parameters, and epigenetic markers in patients with established acute coronary syndrome (ACS). It also looks at the incidence of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms Apa I (rs7975232), Bsm I (rs1544410), Taq I (rs731236), and Fok I (rs2228570) and its association with the development of secondary major acute cardiovascular events (MACE) and heart failure (HF). A randomized controlled trial in which patients were divided into two groups was performed. Group 1 comprised of 125 ACS patients who received ACS standard therapy alone, while Group 2 consisted of 125 ACS patients who received ACS standard therapy plus vitamin D according to their vitamin D levels. Patients were monitored for 24 months to find subsequent MACE and HF. Vitamin D therapy for ACS patients resulted in a substantial decline in end systolic and end diastolic volumes (p = 0.0075 and 0.002, respectively), procollagen type III N-terminal peptide (PIIINP) and soluble ST2 levels (p = 0.007 and 0.001, respectively), as well as in ejection fraction and vitamin D level (p = 0.0001 and 0.008, respectively). In addition, vitamin D treatment was linked to a significant decline in the levels of noncoding RNA, such as mir361, lncRNA MEG3, and lncRNA Chaer (p = 2.9 × 10−4, 2.2 × 10−6, and 1.2 × 10−5, respectively). Furthermore, patients who suffered MACE had significantly higher levels of the Bsm I CC and Fok I GG genotypes (p = 4.8 × 10−4 and 0.003, respectively), while patients with HF had significantly higher levels of the Taq I AA genotype (p = 4.2 × 10−7). Supplementing ACS patients with vitamin D has been demonstrated to limit cardiac fibrosis and echocardiographic parameters, as well as epigenetic markers. Additionally, MACE and HF among ACS patients may be related to genetic variations among VDR gene polymorphisms.
Safe and Effective Antioxidant: The Biological Mechanism and Potential Pathways of Ergothioneine in the Skin

Ergothioneine, a sulfur-containing micromolecular histidine derivative, has attracted increasing attention from scholars since it was confirmed in the human body. In the human body, ergothioneine is transported and accumulated specifically through OCTN-1, especially in the mitochondria and nucleus, suggesting that it can target damaged cells and tissues as an antioxidant. It shows excellent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effects, and anti-aging properties, and inhibits melanin production. It is a mega antioxidant that may participate in the antioxidant network system and promote the reducing glutathione regeneration cycle. This review summarizes studies on the antioxidant effects of ergothioneine on various free radicals in vitro to date and systematically introduces its biological activities and potential mechanisms, mostly in dermatology. Additionally, the application of ergothioneine in cosmetics is briefly summarized. Lastly, we propose some problems that require solutions to understand the mechanism of action of ergothioneine. We believe that ergothioneine has good prospects in the food and cosmetics industries, and can thus meet some needs of the health and beauty industry.
Projectively flat arctangent Finsler metric

In this work, we study a class of special Finsler metrics F called arctangent Finsler metric, which is a special (α,β)-metric, where α is a Riemannian metric and β is a 1-form. We obtain a sufficient and necessary condition that F is locally projectively flat if and only if α and β satisfy two special equations. Furthermore we give the non-trivial solutions for F to be locally projectively flat. Moreover, we prove that such projectively flat Finsler metrics with constant flag curvature must be locally Minkowskian.
Magnetic fluctuations embedded in dipolarization inside geosynchronous orbit and their associated selective acceleration of O+ ions

We study magnetic fluctuations embedded in dipolarizations in the inner magnetosphere (a geocentric distance of ≤6.6 RE) and their associated ion flux changes, using the Engineering Test Satellite VIII and Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers/CCE satellites. We select seven events of dipolarization that occur during the main phase of magnetic storms having a minimum value of the Dst index less than −40 nT. It is found that (1) all of the dipolarization events are accompanied by strong magnetic fluctuations with the major frequency close to the local O+ gyrofrequency; (2) the magnetic fluctuations appear with significant amplitude in the component nearly parallel to the local magnetic field; (3) the strong flux enhancement is seen in the energy range of 1–10 keV only for O+ ions. In terms of frequency and dominant components of the magnetic fluctuations, they are considered to be excited by the drift‐driven electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) instability that is recently identified with the linear theory. We perform particle tracing for H+ and O+ ions in the electromagnetic fields modeled by the linear dispersion relation of the drift‐driven EMIC instability. Results show that the O+ ions are accelerated to the energy range of 0.5–5 keV and undergo a significant modification of the spectral shape, while the H+ ions have no clear change of spectral shape, being consistent with the observations. We therefore suggest that the electromagnetic fluctuations associated with the dipolarizations can accelerate O+ ions locally and nonadiabatically in the inner magnetosphere. This selective acceleration of O+ ions may play a role in enhancing the O+ energy density in the storm time ring current.
Leader-following coordination problem with an uncertain leader in a multi-agent system

A leader-following coordination problem is considered in this study where the active leader is driven by an unknown input. With the help of output regulation and disturbance decoupling, a distributed protocol is proposed to solve this problem. Two cases are studied based on whether the bound of uncertain (disturbance) inputs of the leader is known. When the bound is unknown, an adaptive technique is employed to achieve the goal. Simulations are also given to verify the effectiveness of these controllers.
Educational leaders’ perceptions of STEM education revealed by their drawings and texts

This study explored school principals' and teacher educators' perceptions of STEM education based on how they described STEM as a discipline, their understanding of the nature of teaching and learning of STEM, and the capabilities of a STEM-educated person. Data were generated through the Draw a STEM Learning Environment (D-STEM) instrument comprising drawn and written descriptions where participants drew a picture of a STEM learning environment and completed five prompt statements about what STEM is and how an individual develops personal STEM capability. The Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) specialization codes were used for data analysis (198 individual response items in total) to understand how the participants perceive STEM education. Almost half the participant responses indicated knowledge-code perceptions with a smaller but significant number (approximately a third of responses) indicating knower-code perceptions. The remaining responses showed élite-code perceptions, indicating a small proportion of participants valued the development of both disciplinary knowledge/practices and generic skills/attributes in STEM education. We posit that curriculum structure and reporting requirements influence these perceptions. Further research in relation to the influence of such understandings on enacted curriculum is warranted.
Conjugate natural convection from a horizontal circular cylinder

ABSTRACT Steady, laminar natural convection flow from a horizontal circular cylinder with a heated core region has been theoretically analyzed by taking account of the thermal conduction of the core region. The problem is conjugate, and the main focus of the study is to examine the effect of conduction in the core region on the natural convection flow from the cylinder. The governing equations were solved numerically using a finite difference technique. The effects of various parameters are presented in graphical form. Approximate solutions for the average boundary temperature at the surface of the cylinder and for the average Nusselt number are also found. In the parametric range investigated, both the theoretical and numerical results predict nearly the same values for the average boundary temperature at the surface of the cylinder and the same values for the average Nusselt number, showing the validity of the present analysis.
A preliminary investigation of the interaction of internal gravity waves with a steady shearing motion

Preliminary experimental results are presented which describe the interaction of an internal-wave field with a steady shearing motion. The results are primarily qualitative and presented in the form of photographs of shadowgraph images. Several internal-wave sources are used, and both critical- and non-critical-layer flows are examined. The results of these observations are interpreted in terms of several existing theories. For critical-layer flows the primary result is that virtually none of the internal-wave momentum flux penetrates the critical-level region, and under certain conditions a critical-layer instability develops resulting in the generation of turbulence. Such wave-induced turbulence is also observed for certain non-critical-layer flows and is believed to be the result of a convective instability.
The Affecting Factors of Willingness to Communicate of Inside Classroom, Outside Classroom, and Digital Setting on Japanese Language Students

The present study investigates the variables believed to relate to and affect Japanese language students’ willingness to communicate in Japanese in online learning situations. This study was a quantitative study that used questionnaire data as the main data distributed through the Google Form platform. A total of 81 Japanese language students from three universities participated. The findings showed that anxiety negatively correlated with willingness to communicate inside the classroom. Meanwhile, self-rating and virtual intercultural experiences positively correlated with willingness to communicate inside the classroom, outside the classroom, and in digital settings. The regression analysis showed that language anxiety, self-rating, and virtual intercultural experiences variables had a minor effect on willingness to communicate inside the classroom (19%) and digital setting (22.5 %). The results of this study indicate that besides the factors of anxiety, self-rating, and virtual intercultural experience, other variables are considered to be more contributing to how Japanese language students have the will to communicate in the target language.
Effectiveness of Awareness Package on Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Prevention and Management of Elderly Health Problems among the Adults in Selected Rural Community, Bengaluru

Background: Arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus are common diseases, which affect the elderly people over 60 years and above. Within depth-knowledge and attitude of six components of healthy ageing models such as exercise, nutrition, stress management, social support, spiritual support, and cognitive training of adults will help in maintaining healthy ageing. Aims: The aim of the study was to find the effectiveness of awareness package on knowledge and attitude and to correlate knowledge and attitude regarding prevention and management of elderly health problems among adults. Methodology: Pre-experimental one group pre-test post-test design was used. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select 60 adults. Data were collected using structured knowledge questionnaire and 3 point Likert scale. Results: The mean knowledge score in pre-test was 16.03 with SD = 3.57 and the mean attitude score was 38.10 with SD = 2.79. Whereas in the post-test mean knowledge score was found 25.38 with SD = 1.99 and attitude score was 45.10 with SD = 2.46. Paired t -test shows that there was statistical significance at P < 0.0001 level. It showed there was an establishing impact of awareness package on knowledge and attitude regarding prevention and management of elderly health problems and there was significant linear correlation ( r = 0.288) between knowledge and attitude regarding prevention and management of elderly health problems among the adults at P < 0.05 level. Conclusion: The study concluded that the awareness package was effective in improving level of knowledge and attitude regarding prevention and management of elderly health problems among adults
Secondary Degeneration of Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells Occurs as Early as 24 h after Optic Nerve Injury in Rats

Optic nerve injury causes secondary degeneration, a sequela that spreads damage from the primary injury to adjacent tissue, through mechanisms such as oxidative stress, apoptosis, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), a key component of the BBB and oligodendrogenesis, are vulnerable to oxidative deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage by 3 days post-injury. However, it is unclear whether oxidative damage in OPCs occurs earlier at 1 day post-injury, or whether a critical ‘window-of-opportunity’ exists for therapeutic intervention. Here, a partial optic nerve transection rat model of secondary degeneration was used with immunohistochemistry to assess BBB dysfunction, oxidative stress, and proliferation in OPCs vulnerable to secondary degeneration. At 1 day post-injury, BBB breach and oxidative DNA damage were observed, alongside increased density of DNA-damaged proliferating cells. DNA-damaged cells underwent apoptosis (cleaved caspase3+), and apoptosis was associated with BBB breach. OPCs experienced DNA damage and apoptosis and were the major proliferating cell type with DNA damage. However, the majority of caspase3+ cells were not OPCs. These results provide novel insights into acute secondary degeneration mechanisms in the optic nerve, highlighting the need to consider early oxidative damage to OPCs in therapeutic efforts to limit degeneration following optic nerve injury.