Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implant Survival in Immediately Loaded Full-Arch Rehabilitations Following an Anatomical Classification System—A Retrospective Study in 1200 Edentulous Jaws

This retrospective study analyzed implant survival of immediate implant-supported fixed complete denture (IFCD) treatment options (TOs) based on the level of alveolar atrophy (CC). Records of 882 patients receiving a total of 6042 implants at one private referral clinic between 2004 and 2020 were considered. The mean follow-up period was 3.8 ± 2.7 years. Cumulative implant survival rates (CSRs) were analyzed as a function of CCs and TOs according to Mantel-Haenszel and Mantel-Cox. Hazard risk ratios for implant loss were compared using Cox regression. Confounding factors were identified using mixed Cox regression models. The 2- and 5-year CSRs were 98.2% and 97.9%, respectively. Maxillary 2- and 5-year CSRs were lower (97.7% and 97.3%) compared to mandibular CSRs (99.8% and 98.6%) (p = 0.030 and 0.0020, respectively). The CC did not influence CSRs of IFCDs in the mandible (p = 0.1483 and 0.3014, respectively) but only in the maxilla (p = 0.0147 and 0.0111), where CSRs decreased with increasing atrophy. TOs did not statistically differ in terms of survival rate for a given level of alveolar atrophy. The adaption of IFCD treatments to the level of atrophy and patient-specific risk factors can result in high CSRs, even at different levels of bone atrophy.
Impact of Pretreatment Ischemic Location on Functional Outcome after Thrombectomy

Pretreatment ischemic location may be an important determinant for functional outcome prediction in acute ischemic stroke. In total, 143 anterior circulation ischemic stroke patients in the THRACE study were included. Ischemic lesions were semi-automatically segmented on pretreatment diffusion-weighted imaging and registered on brain atlases. The percentage of ischemic tissue in each atlas-segmented region was calculated. Statistical models with logistic regression and support vector machine were built to analyze the predictors of functional outcome. The investigated parameters included: age, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, and lesional volume (three-parameter model), together with the ischemic percentage in each atlas-segmented region (four-parameter model). The support vector machine with radial basis functions outperformed logistic regression in prediction accuracy. The support vector machine three-parameter model demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.77, while the four-parameter model achieved a higher area under the curve (0.82). Regions with marked impacts on outcome prediction were the uncinate fasciculus, postcentral gyrus, putamen, middle occipital gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and posterior corona radiata in the left hemisphere; and the uncinate fasciculus, paracentral lobule, temporal pole, hippocampus, inferior occipital gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, pallidum, and anterior limb of the internal capsule in the right hemisphere. In conclusion, pretreatment ischemic location provided significant prognostic information for functional outcome in ischemic stroke.
The impact of program experiences on the retention of women engineering students in Mexico

The Impact of Program Experiences on the Retention of Women Engineering Students in Mexico. (December 2008) Maria Del Carmen Garcia Villa, B.S., Tecnológico de Monterrey, México; Diplôme de Etudes Approfondies en Informatique, Grenoble, France Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Jennifer A. Sandlin Dr. M. Carolyn Clark This qualitative study sought to describe and understand the experiences of female students attending engineering colleges in Mexico and the sources of support and strategies that helped them persist in their programs. The participants were 20 women engineering students enrolled in at least their third year in selected colleges of engineering in Mexico, in both public and private universities, and pursuing a variety of engineering majors. Findings focus on the experiences of female students that helped them stay in their programs. Participants described their experiences in college as very challenging and perceived the environment as hostile and uncertain. In addition, patriarchal Mexican cultural values and stereotypes were identified by students as influencing and helping shape the engineering environment. However, in this context, participants were able to find sources of support and use strategies that helped them remain in their majors, such as a strong desire to succeed, a perceived academic self-ability; and support from their families, peers, institutions, and—most importantly—their professors. Furthermore, the
An apparatus for high throughput muscle cell experimentation

The cardiac ventricular muscle cell (myocyte) is a key experimental system for exploring the mechanical properties of the diseased and healthy heart. The myocyte experimental model provides a higher level of physiological relevance than molecular or myofibril studies while avoiding problems inherent to multicellular preparations including heterogeneity of cell types and diffusion limited extracellular spaces. Millions of primary myocytes that remain viable for four to six hours can be readily isolated from animal models. However, the mechanical properties of only a few physically loaded myocytes can be explored in this time period using current, bulky and expensive instrumentation. In this thesis, a prototype instrument is described that is modular and inexpensive and could form the basis of an array of devices for probing the mechanical properties of single mammalian myocytes in parallel. This would greatly increase the throughput of scientific experimentation and could be applied as a high content screening instrument in the pharmaceutical industry providing information at the level of a critical cellular phenotype, myocyte mechanical properties, for drug development and toxicology studies. The design, development and experimental verification of the modular instrument are presented here. The mathematical, mechanical and electrical characteristics of the novel force sensor and actuator system, Ho control implementation and data processing methodology are discussed. Finally, the functionality of the instrument is demonstrated by implementing novel methodologies for loading and attaching healthy, single mammalian ventricular myocytes to the force sensor and actuator and measuring their isometric twitch force and passive dynamic stiffness at varied sarcomere lengths. Thesis Supervisor: Ian W. Hunter Title: Hatsopoulos Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Dynamics of Plasmatic Levels of Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines in HIV-Infected Individuals with M. tuberculosis Co-Infection

Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV have profound effects on the immune system, which can lead to the activation of viral replication and negatively regulate the activation of T cells. Dysregulation in the production of cytokines necessary to fight HIV and M. tuberculosis may ultimately affect the results of the treatment and be important in the pathogenesis of HIV infection and TB. This work presents the results of a study of the expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-1RA) in drug-naïve patients with dual infection of HIV/TB at the late stages of HIV-infection, with newly diagnosed HIV and TB, and previously untreated HIV in the process of receiving antiretroviral (ART) and TB treatment vs. a cohort of patients with HIV monoinfection and TB monoinfection. The study revealed that during a double HIV/TB infection, both Th1 and Th2 immune responses are suppressed, and a prolonged dysregulation of the immune response and an increased severity of the disease in pulmonary/extrapulmonary tuberculosis is observed in HIV/TB co-infection. Moreover, it was revealed that a double HIV/TB infection is characterized by delayed and incomplete recovery of immune activity. High levels of IL-6 were detected in patients with HIV/TB co-infection before initiation of dual therapy (2.1-fold increase vs. HIV), which persisted even after 6 months of treatment (8.96-fold increase vs. HIV), unlike other cytokines. The persistent enhanced expression of IL-6 in patients with dual HIV/TB co-infection allows the consideration of it as a potential marker of early detection of M. tuberculosis infection in HIV-infected individuals. The results of multivariate regression analysis showed a statistical trend towards an increase in the incidence of IRIS in patients with high IL-1Ra levels (in the range of 1550–2500 pg/mL): OR = 4.3 (95%CI 3.7–14.12, p = 0.53), which also allows IL-1Ra to be considered as a potential predictive biomarker of the development of TB-IRIS and treatment outcomes.
Circulating Superoxide Dismutase Concentrations in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is characterized by a pro-oxidant state that results from the recurrent hypoxia-reoxygenation cycles. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), a key antioxidant enzyme involved in the detoxification of superoxide radicals, could represent a reliable marker to monitor the antioxidant defences in OSA. In order to capture and critically appraise the available evidence, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting SOD concentrations in OSA patients and non-OSA controls in the electronic databases Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar. In total, 13 studies in 847 OSA patients and 438 non-OSA controls were included in the meta-analysis. Blood SOD concentrations were significantly lower in OSA patients (SMD = 0.87, p < 0.001). By contrast, serum/plasma SOD concentrations were not significantly different between the two groups. Although extreme between-study heterogeneity was observed, the SMD was not substantially modified when individual studies were sequentially removed. In conclusion, we observed that whole blood, but not serum/plasma, SOD concentrations were significantly lower in OSA patients compared with controls. Our meta-analysis suggests an impaired antioxidant defence in OSA that is more robustly assessed in the corpuscular biological matrix and provides useful background information for further studies investigating the association between SOD changes and clinical status in OSA.
Fast and Accurate Non-Negative Latent Factor Analysis of High-Dimensional and Sparse Matrices in Recommender Systems

A fast non-negative latent factor (FNLF) model for a high-dimensional and sparse (HiDS) matrix adopts a Single Latent Factor-dependent, Non-negative, Multiplicative and Momentum-incorporated Update (SLF-NM2U) algorithm, which enables its fast convergence. It is crucial to achieve a rigorously theoretical proof regarding its fast convergence, which has not been provided in prior research. Aiming at addressing this critical issue, this work theoretically proves that with an appropriately chosen momentum coefficient, SLF-NM2U enables the fast convergence of an FNLF model in both continuous and discrete time cases. Empirical analysis of HiDS matrices generated by representative industrial applications provides empirical evidences for the theoretical proof. Hence, this study represents an important milestone in the field of HiDS matrix analysis.
Research on the use of dynamic geometry software: implications for the classroom

This article summarise the research that has investigated the use of dynamic geometry software (DGS) in the teaching and learning of mathematics. This review is not intended to be exhaustive, rather the research is categorised under three main headings: interacting with the software, designing teaching activities and learning to prove. Overall, the research has found that DGS cannot provide a self-contained environment and that the software itself does not necessarily mean that students will learn geometry theory. Research also suggests that it can take quite a long time for the benefits of using DGS to emerge but that this investment is worthwhile in developing students’ knowledge of geometry. The sorts of tasks that students tackle, the form of teacher input and the general classroom atmosphere are all important factors.
Actual and Perceived Parental Knowledge and Child Delinquency: Does the Sex of the Parent, the Sex of the Child, and the Child’s Age Make a Difference?

Parental knowledge was tested as a possible deterrent to future delinquency in 3914 (51% male) early to mid-adolescent school children from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Using three waves of data, parent-rated mother and father knowledge were tested as correlates of future delinquency, controlling for age, perceived parental knowledge, and the willingness of children to share their thoughts and feelings with parents. Variables from Wave 5 (age 12/13) were used to predict delinquency at Wave 6 (age 14/15), and variables from Wave 6 were used to predict delinquency at Wave 7 (age 16/17). Results showed that mother- but not father-reported knowledge effectively deterred future child delinquency. A significant sex x mother knowledge interaction was found in both analyses, indicating that boys experienced a stronger deterrent effect than girls. It was further demonstrated that the deterrent effect of parental knowledge on child delinquency was stronger in early adolescence than in middle adolescence.
TALENT MANAGEMENT LITERATURE REVIEW

The concept of talent management has attracted most of the researchers’ attention in the recent years. In today’s business environment, talent management becomes one important source of competitive advantage that creates value for all companies. In the current economic downturn, there is a high demand for talent in the organizations. The aim of this study is to examine talent management process in organizations. This article is based on a review of the academic and popular talent management literatures. The paper focused by clarifying the definitions and the importance of talent management and what factors influencing the growth of talent management.
Factors Influencing Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs’ (MSMEs) Intentions to Purchase Micro-Takaful Scheme

This study attempts to investigate the factors that affect the micro, small and medium entrepreneurs’ (MSMEs) intention to purchase micro - takaful schemes. Based on the theory of planned behaviour, an empirical analysis was employed to analyse the relationships based on 135 MSMEs in Perak, Malaysia. The findings imply that knowledge has a large and favourable impact on micro-takaful scheme attitudes and purchasing intentions. Besides, the findings reveal the significant effect of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control to induce purchase intention on micro- takaful. The findings shed light on the importance for Islamic takaful companies to transform their marketing strategies to reach potential clients particularly the MSMEs. Specifically, the takaful companies not only need to consider the micro, small and medium entrepreneurs’ behaviour in selling their products but also to revise the provision and the outreach of micro- takaful for the MSMEs in the remote and rural areas as to increase their financial protection against unexpected business risks and improve their societal well-being.
Exploring Extrinsic and Intrinsic Work Values of British Ethnic Minorities: The Roles of Demographic Background, Job Characteristics and Immigrant Generation

Despite the increasingly diverse ethnic composition of the British labor force, there is no research investigating whether ethnic minorities have different work values from the White British demographic (White British). Using nationally representative data (2012–2013), this article fills this gap by comparing extrinsic and intrinsic work values between White British and five ethnic minorities, while distinguishing between first and second generations. The results show that both first- and second- generation minorities have stronger extrinsic work values than White British, but the ethnic differences are more pronounced for the second generations. Compared to White British, while first-generation minorities have weaker intrinsic work values, the second generations have stronger intrinsic work values. Differences in extrinsic work values are partly explained by differences in age, education and income, while differences in intrinsic work values are largely explained by age, education and job autonomy. These results hold significant implications for understanding the career choices of ethnic minorities and labor market outcomes.
The Investigation of Radiographic Findings of Mandibles on Panoramic Radiographs of Patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism Using Fractal Analysis

Objective: The basis of the research is the application of fractal analysis (FA) to panoramic radiographs of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). In addition, the relationship between the relevant biochemistry parameters and fractal values of healthy controls and patients with PHPT will be evaluated. Materials and Methods In the current study, FA was performed with ImageJ program on panoramic radiographs of 48 patients diagnosed with PHPT. Fractal dimension (FD) values of the patients and 48 healthy subjects were compared. In addition, biochemical [parathyroid hormone (PTH), serum calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and vitamin D] parameters and FD values of both groups were analyzed with Mann–Whitney U-tests and Pearson correlation coefficient (P < .05). Results FD values of four different angular areas were significantly lower in the patient group than in the healthy group (P < .05). There was no statistically significant difference between the patient and control groups in the measurements between the apexes of the right and left premolar and molar teeth. The mean PTH, Ca, P, and vitamin D values of the patients with PHPT and control group were highly significant, and all the parameters of the patient group showed higher values than the control group except for the P values (P < .001). In the patient group and control group, there was no significant difference between mean ALP values (P = .48). No correlation was found between the two groups. Conclusion Bone biopsy is the gold standard method for the diagnosis of bone structure changes in patients with PHPT. However, it is not used routinely because it is an invasive method. The FA method applied to panoramic radiographs may be used as a noninvasive, easy-to-apply method to reveal the changes in the trabecular structure of the jaw bones of the patients.
Physical Function, Cognitive Function, and Daily Activities in Patients Hospitalized Due to COVID-19: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in Sweden

An estimated 14–20% of people infected with COVID-19 require medical care. The aim of the present study was to evaluate physical function, cognitive function, and daily activities in patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, and to investigate differences depending on age and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). This prospective descriptive cross-sectional study included a consecutive sample of 211 patients (mean age 65.1 years, 67.3% men) hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Sweden. Data regarding physical function and daily activities were collected in hospital from July 2020 to February 2021. The average length of hospital stay was 33.8 days, and 48.8% of the patients were admitted to the ICU. Physical function (grip- and lower body strength) was reduced in both groups, and significantly more in the older group, ≥65 years old, compared to the younger. Furthermore, the older group also had significantly less ability to perform activities in daily life, and had significantly reduced cognitive function as compared to the younger age group. In patients treated in the ICU, physical impairments as well as the activity level were significantly more pronounced compared to patients not treated in the ICU. Patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 are physically impaired, have mild cognitive impairments, and have difficulties performing daily activities. The findings in this study indicate the need for out-patient follow-up and rehabilitation for patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, especially in older patients and patients treated in the ICU.
Predicting Dispersion Coefficient of Streams

Using inspectional analysis, a simple formula has been derived which relates the longitudinal dispersion coefficient of natural streams to several bulk flow properties such as the discharge and the hydraulic radius. It is shown that the dimensionless factor, β, of the formula, unlike the dimensionless dispersion coefficient α based on Elder's equation, is independent of the size of natural streams. An analysis of existing data indicates that the value of β for any stream may be predicted within a factor of six from the frictional or resistance factor of the stream. This means the proposed equation for predicting longitudinal dispersion is more accurate than any existing method based on bulk flow properties.
pH- Modified Solid Dispersions of Cefdinir for Dissolution Rate Enhancement: Formulation and Characterization

Objective: Cefdinir is a poorly- water-soluble drug, it belongs to Biopharmaceutical Classification System class IV, which shows that it may have limited therapeutic effects due to its low solubility and poor bioavailability. The aim of the present work was to design a pH-modified solid dispersion (pHM-SD) that can improve the dissolution rate of cefdinir and subsequently its bioavailability. Materials and Methods: pHM-SDs of cefdinir were prepared at different drug-to-carrier ratios by the spray-drying technique. The solid dispersions were investigated by dissolution studies at different pH media, drug release kinetics were studied, and their solid-state characterizations were performed by FTIR spectrophotometer, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Results: PVP- based and HPMC- based pHM-SDs exhibited a marked improvement in the dissolution behavior when compared with crystalline cefdinir powder, whereas Eudragit L100-based pHM-SDs showed lower dissolution at pH 1.2 and 4.5. FTIR results may indicate a formation of a salt between cefdinir and the alkalizer. Solid-state characterization may indicate a change in crystallinity of cefdinir into an amorphous state. Mathematical modeling of in vitro dissolution data indicated the best fitting with Korsmeyer–Peppas model and the drug release kinetics primarily as Fickian diffusion. Conclusion: According to these observations, pHM-SD in the presence of an alkalizer for a poorly water-soluble acidic drug, cefdinir, appeared to be efficacious for enhancing its dissolution rate.
Classification of Paintings Authorship Using Convolutional Neural Network

In this paper, state-of-the-art architectures of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are explained and compared concerning authorship classification of famous paintings. The chosen CNNs architectures were VGG-16, VGG-19, Residual Neural Networks (ResNet), and Xception. The used dataset is available on the website Kaggle, under the title “Best Artworks of All Time”. Weighted classes for each artist with more than 200 paintings present in the dataset were created to represent and classify each artist’s style. The performed experiments resulted in an accuracy of up to 95% for the Xception architecture with an average F1-score of 0.87, 92% of accuracy with an average F1-score of 0.83 for the ResNet in its 50-layer configuration, while both of the VGG architectures did not present satisfactory results for the same amount of epochs, achieving at most 60% of accuracy.