Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative crown systems. Is the metal-ceramic crown always the restoration of choice?

The metal-ceramic crown system still is selected the most frequently because of its strength and versatility. The ability to select metals for color or strength for single units or fixed partial dentures gives great flexibility, but when esthetics of the anterior region are a prime concern, the all-ceramic crown is still an excellent choice. Choice of which all-ceramic system to use is dependent on the strength demands, esthetic needs, amount of tooth structure that can be preserved, and laboratory support available. Where good tooth structure remains but some color, contour, or incisal length changes are desired, the porcelain laminate veneer is an outstanding esthetic and restorative choice. When good labial tooth structure remains but lingual structure is inadequate, a partial veneer gold crown can be an excellent esthetic choice. If moderate tooth structure is lost or moderate staining is present, the Dicor crown is a superb choice. In those instances in which heavy staining is present, a foil or core system should be considered to completely block out the background colors. As the occlusal forces become more of a factor, selection of a restorative system will depend more on strength than esthetic demands. The aluminous porcelain jacket crown still offers great strength and esthetics at a reasonable price. When most of the color is on the surface of the teeth, or when there is a high translucency to the teeth, Dicor can provide very esthetic results, and the Dicor Plus crown offers the opportunity to develop intrinsic shading. When greater strength is required, selection of a foil and core system is suggested, as might be a system that provides a stronger core material, like Alceram or Inceram. These stronger core materials will render improved flexural and compressive strengths, but some increases in brightness may occur with the increased alumina content of the cores. The future in ceramic restorative dentistry may be in the computer-generated crown if ways to develop internal coloring and layered building can be developed and cost can be controlled. Ceramic crowns are best limited to the anterior region of the mouth where occlusal forces normally are less than those found in the posterior region. In selected cases, in which there is no evidence of parafunctional habits, and when the dentist and technician are well versed in functional occlusion and have maximum restorative control of the occlusion, posterior ceramic restorations will be successful. It is important to remember in these cases that porcelain is harder than enamel and very strong in compression. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Towards a Critique of Rights Talk in New Democracies: The Case of Legal Aid in Malawi

As an institutionalized form of human rights discourses, rights talk plays a prominent role in recently democratized countries. It also poses a challenge to critical analysts of language, because its contribution to maintaining inequalities is not apparent in its emancipatory rhetoric. This article examines rights talk at a non-governmental centre for free legal aid in Malawi. By deploying the notion of narrative inequality, the article shows how legal officers and their clients engage in a contest of contexts from unequal subject positions. While officers subscribe to an individualist concept of rights and seek piecemeal solutions to abuse, clients generally situate their complaints in complex moral narratives. The limited success of their claims leads to subtle forms of resistance against rights talk. The article shows that narrative inequality provides a perspective that both reaches beyond interlocutors’ own terms and asserts the value of rigorous empirical analysis in the critical study of language.
Functional Assessment and Treatment of Migraine Reports and School Absences in an Adolescent with Asperger's Disorder

Psychological interventions for migraines typically include biofeedback training, stress-management training, or relaxation training and are implemented without consideration of environmental variables that might maintain migraines or complaints of migraines. An adolescent with daily reports of migraines that negatively impacted school attendance participated in therapy with his parents. A functional assessment of migraine complaints was conducted with the participant and his mother. After developing a hypothesis that the function of migraine complaints was escape from tasks and school, differential reinforcement and escape extinction were implemented. Results indicate that migraine reports can be successfully treated using a function-based intervention even when standard psychological interventions were ineffective, illustrating the importance of considering the function of a problem rather than treating based upon the topography.
Antiallodynic Effect of Intrathecal Neostigmine Is Mediated by Spinal Nitric Oxide in a Rat Model of Diabetic Neuropathic Pain

BackgroundIntrathecal administration of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors produces antinociception in both animals and humans, but their effect on diabetic neuropathic pain has not been studied. In the current study, we determined the antiallodynic effect of intrathecal injection of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, neostigmine, in a rat model of diabetic neuropathic pain. In addition, since acetylcholine can increase release of nitric oxide in the spinal cord, we studied the role of spinal endogenous nitric oxide in the action of intrathecal neostigmine in diabetic neuropathic pain. MethodsRats were rendered diabetic with an intraperitoneal 50-mg/kg injection of streptozotocin. Intrathecal catheters were inserted, with tips in the lumbar intrathecal space. Mechanical allodynia was determined by application of von Frey filaments to the hind paw. We first determined the dose-dependent effect of intrathecal neostigmine on allodynia. The role of spinal nitric oxide in the action of intrathecal neostigmine was then examined through intrathecal treatments with a neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (TRIM), a nitric oxide scavenger (PTIO), l-arginine, or d-arginine. ResultsThe diabetic rats developed a sustained tactile allodynia within 4 weeks after streptozotocin injection. Intrathecal injection of 0.1–0.5 &mgr;g neostigmine dose-dependently increased the withdrawal threshold in response to application of von Frey filaments. Intrathecal pretreatment with 30 &mgr;g TRIM or 30 &mgr;g PTIO abolished the antiallodynic effect of intrathecal neostigmine. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of TRIM on the action of intrathecal neostigmine was reversed by intrathecal injection of 100 &mgr;g l-arginine but not d-arginine. ConclusionsIntrathecal neostigmine produces a profound analgesic effect in a rat model of diabetic neuropathic pain. Spinal endogenous nitric oxide contributes to the analgesic action of intrathecal neostigmine in this rat model of diabetic neuropathic pain.
Phase estimation by message passing

The problem of phase estimation in a "turbo receiver" is considered for two different channel models. Several message passing algorithms for phase estimation are derived from the factor graph of the channel models: (1) straight sum-product, applied to a quantized phase model; (2) LMS-type gradient methods; (3) a particle filter. All considered algorithms are suitable for use in a "turbo receiver" with joint iterative decoding and phase estimation.
Scalable and lock-free concurrent dictionaries

We present an efficient and practical lock-free implementation of a concurrent dictionary that is suitable for both fully concurrent (large multi-processor) systems as well as pre-emptive (multi-process) systems. Many algorithms for concurrent dictionaries are based on mutual exclusion. However, mutual exclusion causes blocking which has several drawbacks and degrades the system's overall performance. Non-blocking algorithms avoid blocking, and are either lockfree or wait-free. Our algorithm is based on the randomized sequential list structure called Skiplist, and implements the full set of operations on a dictionary that is suitable for practical settings. In our performance evaluation we compare our algorithm with the most efficient non-blocking implementation of dictionaries known. The experimental results clearly show that our algorithm outperforms the other lockfree algorithm for dictionaries with realistic sizes, both on fully concurrent as well as pre-emptive systems.
Performance benefits of optimistic programming: a measure of HOPE

Optimism is a powerful technique for avoiding latency by increasing concurrency. By optimistically assuming the results of some computation, other computations can be executed in parallel, even when they depend on the assumed result. Optimistic techniques can be particularly beneficial to parallel and distributed systems because of the critical impact of inter-node communications latency. This paper describes how optimism can be used to enhance the performance of distributed programs by avoiding remote communications delay. We then present a new programming model that automates many of the difficulties of using optimistic techniques in a general programming environment, and describe a prototype implementation. Finally, we present performance measurements showing how optimism improved the performance of a test application in this environment.
An Internet-Wide Distributed System for Data-Stream Processing

The ubiquity of the Internet has stimulated the development of datarather than processor-intensive applications. Such data-intensive applications include streaming media, interactive distance learning, and live web-casts. While plenty of research has focused on the real-time delivery of media streams to various subscribers, no solutions have been proposed that provide per-subscriber QoS guarantees to hundreds of thousands of subscribers distributed on an Internet scale. Moreover, there has been no successful approach that integrates heterogeneous end-hosts into a distributed system, connected via an overlay network, for the purpose of QoS-constrained data processing and delivery. This paper proposes a pipelined distributed system that is the foundation for the delivery of QoS constrained datastreams over a scalable backbone consisting of heterogeneous commodity-off-the-shelf (COTS) systems. To provide a scalable routing substrate that can adapt to QoS demands and constraints, a peer-to-peer (P2P) overlay topology is constructed consisting of the end-hosts of the system. Further, end-hosts leverage a technique called user-level sandboxing, that enables application-specific stream processing agents (SPAs) to be deployed on various hosts in the system. These SPAs can be used to process and route data according to application-level service requirements without the need for explicit scheduling or data-copying overheads. Collectively, these research endeavors provide the mechanisms by which a distributed data-stream processing system on the scale of the Internet can be realized.
A Framework for Speeding Up Priority-Queue Operations

We introduce a framework for reducing the number of element compari- sons performed in priority-queue operations. In particular, we give a priority queue which guarantees the worst-case cost of O(1) per minimum finding and insertion, and the worst-case cost of O(logn) with at most logn+O(1) element comparisons per minimum deletion and deletion, improving the bound of 2logn + O(1) on the number of element comparisons known for binomial queues. Here, n denotes the number of elements stored in the data structure prior to the operation in question, and logn equals max{1,log 2 n}. We also give a priority queue that provides, in addition to the above-mentioned methods, the priority-decrease (or decrease-key) method. This priority queue achieves the worst-case cost of O(1) per minimum finding, insertion, and priority decrease; and the worst-case cost of O(logn) with at most logn+O(loglogn) element comparisons per minimum deletion and deletion. CR Classification. E.1 (Data Structures): Lists, stacks, and queues; E.2 (Data Storage Representations): Linked representations; F.2. 2 (Analysis of Algorithms and Problem Complexity): sorting and searching
Practicum Learning: perils of the authentic workplace

Abstract The goals of practicum programs frequently require that the practicum experience is an authentic experience of work and workplace learning. The more authentic the experience, the more the situation of the student in the workplace conforms to that of the employee. Most accounts of adult learning assume that their recommendations are applicable to all environments. Few countenance the possibility of malevolent or perverted facilitation, or envisage facilitation occurring under hostile conditions. Yet an examination of the learning environment of the workplace reveals that it is far from ideal and poses unique challenges to the practicum facilitator, especially when that role is assumed by workplace supervisors. The specific interests of student and employee may not be aligned, but the interests of both diverge from those of organisations and owners sufficiently to raise issues for the applicability of adult learning approaches. The argument supports a closer examination of the dynamics of trust bui.
Components of Accurate Problem-Solving Communications1

A type of problem-solving communication is defined in which, it is hypothesized, communication accuracy may be facilitated by specified communication behaviors. Forty-three pairs of fifth grade children were observed performing three representative problem-solving tasks. Although the specific content of the three tasks differed, accuracy scores were significantly correlated. Three components of problem-solving communication were assessed: (1) orientation to other’s point of view, (2) communication of essential information and (3) verification of solutions. These components were used to account for communication accuracy and to reexamine previously reported relationships between children’s social characteristics and communication accuracy.
A Cross-cultural Study of Music Mood Perception between American and Chinese Listeners

Music mood has been recognized as an important access point for music and many online music services supp ort browsing by mood. However, how people judge music mood has not been well studied in the Music Information Retrieval (MIR) domain. In particular, people's cul tural background is often assumed to be an important fact or in music mood perception, but this assumption has not been verified by empirical studies. This paper reports o n a study comparing mood judgments on a set of 30 songs by American and Chinese people. Results show that mood judgments do indeed differ between American and Chinese respondents. Furthermore, respondents’ mood judgments tended to agree more with other respondents from the same culture than those from the other gro up. Both the song characteristics (e.g., genre, lyrical or instrumental) and the non-cultural background of the respondents (e.g., age, gender, familiarity with the songs) were analyzed to further examine the difference in mood judgments. Findings of this study help further our understanding on how cultural background affects mood perception. Also discussed in this paper are implicati ons for designing MIR systems for cross-cultural music mood classification and recommendation.
Characterization of AGT1 encoding a general α‐glucoside transporter from Saccharomyces

Molecular genetic analysis is used to characterize the AGT1 gene encoding an α‐glucoside transporter. AGT1 is found in many Saccharomyces cerevisiae laboratory strains and maps to a naturally occurring, partially functional allele of the MAL1 locus. Agt1p is a highly hydrophobic, postulated integral membrane protein. It is 57% identical to Mal61p, the maltose permease encoded at MAL6, and is also a member of the 12 transmembrane domain superfamily of sugar transporters. Like Mal61p, Agt1p is a high‐affinity, maltose/proton symporter, but Mal61p is capable of transporting only maltose and turanose, while Agt1p transports these two α‐glucosides as well as several others including isomaltose, α‐methylglucoside, maltotriose, palatinose, trehalose and melezitose. AGT1 expression is maltose inducible and induction is mediated by the Mal‐activator. The sequence of the upstream region of AGT1 is identical to that of the maltose‐inducible MAL61 gene over a 469 bp region containing the UASMAL but the 315 bp sequence immediately upstream of AGT1 shows no significant homology to the sequence immediately upstream of MAL61. The evolutionary origin of the MAL1 allele to which AGT1 maps and the relationship of AGT1 to other α‐glucoside fermentation genes is discussed.
Approximating meta-heuristics with homotopic recurrent neural networks

Much combinatorial optimisation problems constitute a non-polynomial (NP) hard optimisation problem, i.e., they can not be solved in polynomial time. One such problem is finding the shortest route between two nodes on a graph. Meta-heuristic algorithms such as $A^{*}$ along with mixed-integer programming (MIP) methods are often employed for these problems. Our work demonstrates that it is possible to approximate solutions generated by a meta-heuristic algorithm using a deep recurrent neural network. We compare different methodologies based on reinforcement learning (RL) and recurrent neural networks (RNN) to gauge their respective quality of approximation. We show the viability of recurrent neural network solutions on a graph that has over 300 nodes and argue that a sequence-to-sequence network rather than other recurrent networks has improved approximation quality. Additionally, we argue that homotopy continuation -- that increases chances of hitting an extremum -- further improves the estimate generated by a vanilla RNN.
Engendering Gesture: Gender Performativity and Bodily Regimes from New Ireland

Following Marcel Mauss, who argued that the way people move and position their bodies is socially learned and culturally specific, I examine the ways that bodies move in one particular culture in Papua New Guinea, namely the Lelet. I extend Mauss' insights by drawing on the work of Judith Butler, who suggests that gender is a performance rather than instinctive. Looking at the kinds of actions Lelet women perform, I argue that these play an important part in constituting them as gendered beings. Lelet women's bodily movements, comportments and dispositions are heavily circumscribed by conventions that define what sorts of movements are appropriate to their gender. This process of engendering is quintessentially about power and shows how particular forms of power produce particular subjects. Although these gender conventions are sometimes enforced by punitive means, women largely come to embody them as a process of self-government. Although the Christian church has upheld such conventions in the past, the Pentecostal Christianity the Lelet now practice has produced departures from them, which I analyse.
Semen quality and reproductive hormone levels in men from Southern Spain

In North European countries, a significant difference in semen quality among young men has been shown. Men from the western countries, Denmark, Germany and Norway, have lower semen quality than men from the eastern countries Finland, Estonia and Lithuania. Similarly, men in the western countries have a higher risk of testicular cancer. According to the testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) concept that suggests a link between risk of impaired semen quality and increased risk of testicular cancer, Spanish men would be expected to have a semen quality at a normal level because of their very low testis cancer risk. We therefore investigated 273 men from the Almeria region in the Southern Spain to test this hypothesis. The men delivered semen samples, underwent physical examinations, had a blood sample drawn and provided information on lifestyle and reproductive health parameters. The investigations took place from November 2001 to December 2002. Adjusting for effects of confounders, the median sperm concentration and total sperm count were 62 (95% confidence interval 47–82) million/mL and 206 (153–278) million, respectively. The median numbers of motile and morphologically normal spermatozoa assessed according to strict criteria were 59% (57–62%) and 9.4% (8.6–10.0%), respectively. The median total testosterone and calculated free androgen index were 28 nm (26–30) and 95 (88–103), respectively. Assuming that the investigated men, to a large extent, are representative of the population of young men the Southern Spain, the results show that these have normal semen quality and reproductive hormone levels as expected in a population with a low incidence of testicular cancer.
Synchronization in general complex delayed dynamical networks

This paper investigates synchronization dynamics of a general model of complex delayed networks as well as the effects of time delays. Some simple yet generic criteria ensuring delay-independent and delay-dependent synchronization are derived, which are less conservative than those reported so far in the literature. Moreover, a scale "nu" denoted by a function of the smallest and the second largest eigenvalues of coupling matrix is presented to analyze the effects of time delays on synchronization of the networks. Furthermore, various kinds of coupling schemes, including small-world networks and scale-free networks, are studied. It is shown that, if the coupling delays are less than a positive threshold, then the network will be synchronized. On the other hand, with the increase of the coupling delays, the synchronizability of the network will be restrained and even eventually desynchronized. The results are illustrated by a prototype composed of the chaotic Duffing oscillators. Numerical simulations are also given to verify theoretical results
Waypoint guidance control for underwater snake robots exposed to ocean currents

This paper presents a waypoint guidance strategy for underwater snake robots, which is an extension of the straight line path following controllers previously proposed by the authors. The proposed waypoint guidance control enables an underwater snake robot to converge towards and follow a desired path compensating for disturbances due to ocean currents effects. The ocean currents are constant and irrotational, and with unknown magnitude and direction. A set of waypoints is chosen along the desired path which is then defined by interconnecting these waypoints by straight lines. Simulation results for both lateral undulation and eel-like motion illustrate the performance of the guidance strategy.