Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to the analysis of teeth and dental materials.

OBJECTIVES The luminous plasma generated during laser ablation of dental tissue and dental materials has been analyzed to determine qualitative and quantitative elemental composition. BACKGROUND DATA The use of pulsed lasers for controlled material ablation now is frequently suggested as an alternative to mechanical drilling for the removal of caries and in tooth modification. Spectral analysis of the ablated plasma can be exploited to monitor precisely the laser drilling process in vivo and in real time. METHODS Teeth samples and dental materials were ablated using pulses from a Nd:YAG laser. The line positions and intensities in the spectra, recorded in real time, were used to identify elements and to determine their relative concentrations. RESULTS From the spectra of horizontally and vertically cut tooth slices, profiles of elemental distribution were determined; these were used in a range of monitoring applications. We showed that the transition from caries to healthy tooth material could be identified through the decrease in calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) concentrations, whereas nonmineralizing elements and organic materials increased in concentration. We also could relate the spatial distribution of elements to their migration or accumulation over time, for example, the migration of aluminium (Al) from dental restorative materials to the tooth matrix. CONCLUSIONS The plasma existing during laser ablation (in vitro/in vivo) can be analyzed spectrally in real time. From the spectra, one can pinpoint high/low levels of element concentrations within the tooth matrix. Thus, this analysis could be used to monitor the ablation of material during laser dental treatment.
Replacement of the Ectodomains of the Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase and Fusion Glycoproteins of Recombinant Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 (PIV3) with Their Counterparts from PIV2 Yields Attenuated PIV2 Vaccine Candidates

ABSTRACT We sought to develop a live attenuated parainfluenza virus type 2 (PIV2) vaccine strain for use in infants and young children, using reverse genetic techniques that previously were used to rapidly produce a live attenuated PIV1 vaccine candidate. The PIV1 vaccine candidate, designated rPIV3-1cp45, was generated by substituting the full-length HN and F proteins of PIV1 for those of PIV3 in the attenuatedcp45 PIV3 vaccine candidate (T. Tao et al., J. Virol. 72:2955–2961, 1998; M. H. Skiadopoulos et al., Vaccine 18:503–510, 1999). However, using the same strategy, we failed to recover recombinant chimeric PIV3-PIV2 isolate carrying the full-length PIV2 glycoproteins in a wild-type PIV3 backbone. Viable PIV3-PIV2 chimeras were recovered when chimeric HN and F open reading frames (ORFs) rather than complete PIV2 F and HN ORFs were used to construct the full-length cDNA. The recovered viruses, designated rPIV3-2CT, in which the PIV2 ectodomain and transmembrane domain were fused to the PIV3 cytoplasmic domain, and rPIV3-2TM, in which the PIV2 ectodomain was fused to the PIV3 transmembrane and cytoplasmic tail domain, possessed similar in vitro and in vivo phenotypes. Thus, it appeared that only the cytoplasmic tail of the HN or F glycoprotein of PIV3 was required for successful recovery of PIV3-PIV2 chimeras. Although rPIV3-2CT and rPIV3-2TM replicated efficiently in vitro, they were moderately to highly attenuated for replication in the respiratory tracts of hamsters, African green monkeys (AGMs), and chimpanzees. This unexpected finding indicated that chimerization of the HN and F proteins of PIV2 and PIV3 itself specified an attenuation phenotype in vivo. Despite this attenuation, these viruses were highly immunogenic and protective against challenge with wild-type PIV2 in hamsters and AGMs, and they represent promising candidates for clinical evaluation as a vaccine against PIV2. These chimeric viruses were further attenuated by the addition of 12 mutations of PIV3cp45 which lie outside of the HN and F genes. The attenuating effects of these mutations were additive with that of the chimerization, and thus inclusion of all or some of the cp45 mutations provides a means to further attenuate the PIV3-PIV2 chimeric vaccine candidates if necessary.
Effects of Game-Like Interactive Graphics on Risk Perceptions and Decisions

Background. Many patients have difficulty interpreting risks described in statistical terms as percentages. Computer game technology offers the opportunity to experience how often an event occurs, rather than simply read about its frequency. Objective. To assess effects of interactive graphics on risk perceptions and decisions. Design. Electronic questionnaire. Participants and setting. Respondents (n = 165) recruited online or at an urban hospital. Intervention. Health risks were illustrated by either static graphics or interactive game-like graphics. The interactive search graphic was a grid of squares, which, when clicked, revealed stick figures underneath. Respondents had to click until they found a figure affected by the disease. Measurements. Risk feelings, risk estimates, intention to take preventive action. Results. Different graphics did not affect mean risk estimates, risk feelings, or intention. Low-numeracy participants reported significantly higher risk feelings than high-numeracy ones except with the interactive search graphic. Unexpectedly, respondents reported stronger intentions to take preventive action when the intention question followed questions about efficacy and disease severity than when it followed perceived risk questions (65% v. 34%; P < 0.001). When respondents reported risk feelings immediately after using the search graphic, the interaction affected perceived risk (the longer the search to find affected stick figures, the higher the risk feeling: ρ = 0.57; P = 0.009). Limitations. The authors used hypothetical decisions. Conclusions. A game-like graphic that allowed consumers to search for stick figures affected by disease had no main effect on risk perception but reduced differences based on numeracy. In one condition, the game-like graphic increased concern about rare risks. Intentions for preventive action were stronger with a question order that focused first on efficacy and disease severity than with one that focused first on perceived risk.
Factors contributing to child scrambling: evidence from Ukrainian*

ABSTRACT This study examines the word order phenomenon of optional scrambling in Ukrainian. It aims to test factors such as semantic features and object type that have been shown to affect scrambling in other languages. Forty-one children between 2 ; 7 and 6 ; 0, and twenty adult speakers participated in an elicited production experiment. The picture description task was used to set appropriate semantic contexts to prompt the production of scrambled structures. The results demonstrate that the children scrambled at higher rates in definite/partitive contexts than in indefinite/non-specific contexts. This suggests that children are susceptible to the same semantic features that are associated with NP scrambling in adult production. However, they differ from adults in pronominal scrambling and approximate adult scrambling behaviour only around four to five years. These findings underline the complex nature of syntax/semantics/phonology correlation in scrambling, and contribute to our understanding of the issue of optionality in child and adult grammar.
Dual antiplatelet therapy, drug‐eluting stents and bioresorbable vascular scaffolds: Evolutionary perspectives

Dual antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, and cardiovascular mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention, but the optimal duration of therapy remains unclear. Stent thrombosis, one of the most feared complications of coronary intervention, is associated with high mortality and morbidity and is related in part to technical and patient‐specific factors. Advances in device technology and better understanding of the pathophysiology of stent thrombosis have reduced the frequency of this devastating complication. Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds possess a number of advantageous features and are currently undergoing active investigation. Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds have been demonstrated to restore physiologic vasomotion, allow for late lumen enlargement, and upon full resorption remove the nidus for very late polymer reactions and resolve concerns of stent malapposition and side branch jailing. Based on the results from recent large‐scale randomized trials, the optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy may depend on the choice of device type, as well as the individual patient risk of ischemic versus hemorrhagic complications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Gender differences and regionalization of the cultural significance of wild mushrooms around La Malinche volcano, Tlaxcala, Mexico

The purpose of this study was to determine the cultural significance of wild mushrooms in 10 communities on the slopes of La Malinche volcano, Tlaxcala. The frequency and order of mention of each mushroom species in interviews of 200 individuals were used as indicators of the relative cultural significance of each species. A X2 analysis was used to compare the frequency of mention of each species between males and females, and a Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the difference in the total number of fungi mentioned by either gender. Traditional names for mushroom species were documented and frequency of mention assessed through multivariate statistics. The fungi with highest frequency of mention were Amanita basii, Lyophyllum decastes, Boletus pinophilus, Gomphus floccosus and Cantharellus cibarius complex. We found significant differences in the frequency of mention of different fungi by males and females but no significant difference was found for the total number of fungi mentioned by either gender. Principal component analysis suggested a cultural regionalization of La Malinche volcano communities based on preferences for consumption and use of traditional names. We observed two groups: one formed by communities on the eastern part of the volcano (with mixed cultures) and the other including communities on the western slope (ethnic Nahua towns). San Isidro Buensuceso is the most distinct community, according to the criteria in this study.
METAINTER: meta-analysis of multiple regression models in genome-wide association studies

MOTIVATION Meta-analysis of summary statistics is an essential approach to guarantee the success of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Application of the fixed or random effects model to single-marker association tests is a standard practice. More complex methods of meta-analysis involving multiple parameters have not been used frequently, a gap that could be explained by the lack of a respective meta-analysis pipeline. Meta-analysis based on combining p-values can be applied to any association test. However, to be powerful, meta-analysis methods for high-dimensional models should incorporate additional information such as study-specific properties of parameter estimates, their effect directions, standard errors and covariance structure. RESULTS We modified 'method for the synthesis of linear regression slopes' recently proposed in the educational sciences to the case of multiple logistic regression, and implemented it in a meta-analysis tool called METAINTER. The software handles models with an arbitrary number of parameters, and can directly be applied to analyze the results of single-SNP tests, global haplotype tests, tests for and under gene-gene or gene-environment interaction. Via simulations for two-single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) models we have shown that the proposed meta-analysis method has correct type I error rate. Moreover, power estimates come close to that of the joint analysis of the entire sample. We conducted a real data analysis of six GWAS of type 2 diabetes, available from dbGaP (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gap). For each study, a genome-wide interaction analysis of all SNP pairs was performed by logistic regression tests. The results were then meta-analyzed with METAINTER. AVAILABILITY The software is freely available and distributed under the conditions specified on http://metainter.meb. uni-bonn.de. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Variation in NGFB is associated with primary affective disorders in women

Affective disorders (AFDs) are highly comorbid with substance dependence (SD) and both are genetically influenced. However, the specific etiology of the comorbidity is not well understood. We genotyped an array of 1,350 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in or near 130 genes in 868 European‐Americans (EAs), including 182 individuals with primary AFDs (PAFDs), 214 with SD comorbid with AFD (CAFD), and 472 screened controls. NGFB, which encodes nerve growth factor β and was represented in the array by 15 SNPs, showed the strongest evidence of association, but only among women with PAFDs. Six of the SNPs showed nominally significant association with PAFDs in women (P's = 0.0007–0.01); three (rs2856813, rs4332358, and rs10776799) were empirically significant based on 1,000,000 permutations (P's = 0.008–0.015). Seven haplotypes were significantly associated with PAFDs in women (P's = 0.0014–0.01), of which six were significant based on empirical permutation analysis (minimal P = 0.0045). Four diplotypes were significantly associated with PAFDs in women (global P's = 0.001–0.01). The specific diplotype GG‐TC, reconstructed from rs2856813 and rs6678788, showed the strongest evidence of association with PAFDs in women (OR = 4.07, P = 4.2E−05). No SNPs or haplotypes were associated with PAFDs in men or with CAFDs in either sex. We conclude that variation in NGFB is a risk factor for PAFDs in women, but not for CAFD. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fibrillar islet amyloid polypeptide differentially affects oxidative mechanisms and lipoprotein uptake in correlation with cytotoxicity in two insulin-producing cell lines.

We reported recently that fibrillar human islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is cytotoxic to RIN5mF cells but not to HIT-T15 cells, both being insulin-producing cell lines. In the present study, we explored the basis for this difference by studying oxidative stress responses and low density lipoprotein (LDL) binding and uptake. In RINm5F but not in HIT-T15 cells, plasma membrane NADPH oxidase activity and intracellular lipid peroxidation increased by challenge with IAPP fibrils for 24 h (10 microM), whereas glutathione peroxidase activity was not changed. Furthermore, although both cell lines express (125)I-LDL binding sites, IAPP fibrils increased (125)I-LDL binding and uptake only in RINm5F cells and not in HIT-T15 cells. The cytotoxic action of IAPP fibrils in RINm5F cells is therefore paralleled by increased oxidative responses and LDL uptake, suggesting that cytotoxic mechanisms of IAPP fibrils in insulin-producing cells involve changes in pathways of cellular oxidative stress systems and lipid homeostasis.
Cumulative moving averaged bottleneck speaker vectors for online speaker adaptation of CNN-based acoustic models

Adapting acoustic models to speakers have shown to greatly improve performance for many tasks. Among the adaptation approaches, exploiting auxiliary features characterizing speakers or environments has received great attention because they allow rapid adaptation, i.e. adaptation with limited amount of speech data such as a single utterance. However, the auxiliary features are usually computed in batch mode, which causes some inevitable latency. In this paper we explore an extension of the auxiliary feature-based adaptation to online processing. We employ auxiliary features obtained from bottleneck speaker vectors and extend their computation to online processing using cumulative moving averaging. We test our proposed approach for deep CNN-based acoustic models, using context adaptive networks to exploit the auxiliary features. Experimental results on the CHiME-3 task demonstrate that the proposed approach can realize online speaker adaptation.
Isolation and characterization of a novel gene from human glioblastoma multiforme tumor tissue

Using the technique of DD‐PCR (differential display‐polymerase chain reaction) we isolated a novel gene (D2‐2) that is overexpressed in glioblastoma multiforme tissue (GMT) as compared to normal brain tissue (NBT). D2‐2 is also highly expressed in recurrent glioma, colon tumor metastatic to brain, breast tumors, prostate tumors and a prostate tumor cell line (LNCaP). Northern blot analysis showed that D2‐2 is highly expressed in several tumor cell lines (MOLT lymphoblastic leukemia, SW480 colorectal adrenocarcinoma, A549 lung carcinoma, HL‐60 promyelocytic leukemia, 53 HeLa cells, K‐562 chronic myelogeneous leukemia and G361 melanoma) as compared to NBT. Additionally, D2‐2 is very highly expressed in cell lines derived from glioblastomas, grade IV astrocytomas, normal human fetal astrocytes (NHFA) and glioma. D2‐2 is moderately expressed in neuroblastoma, neuroectodermal and medulloblastoma tumor cell lines. D2‐2 expression is localized to the frontal lobe, occipital lobe and the cerebellum in the normal brain. Normal tissues such as thyroid, stomach, adrenal cortex, small intestine and pancreas show high expression of D2‐2. We also show that D2‐2 is expressed 28‐fold higher in fetal brain (20 weeks) than in adult brain. Sequence analysis of a 2.0‐kb fragment for D2‐2 shows no homology to known sequences in the data base. Int. J. Cancer 71:565‐572, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Risk for ventricular fibrillation in peripartum cardiomyopathy with severely reduced left ventricular function—value of the wearable cardioverter/defibrillator

The true incidence of life‐threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmic events and the risk of sudden cardiac death in the early stage of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) are still unknown. We aimed to assess the usefulness of the wearable cardioverter/defibrillator (WCD) to bridge a potential risk for life‐threatening arrhythmic events in patients with early PPCM, severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and symptoms of heart failure.
Evidence of a role for S. cerevisiae α‐arrestin Art1 (Ldb19) in mating projection and zygote formations

The discovery of arrestin‐mediated biased signalling mechanisms for mammalian G‐protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) has revolutionized the field over the last decade. Now, with the recent demonstration of a role for α‐arrestins in internalization of the yeast pheromone GPCR, Ste2p, the possibility of arrestin‐mediated alternate GPCR functionalities in yeast also follows. Here, the effects of knockout and complementation of yeast α‐arrestin expression during mating are reported. Although minor effects on classical pheromone‐related signalling are noted for a few arrestins, much stronger effects were observed downstream of cell cycle arrest, in particular linking Ldb19 (Art1) to mediation of zygote formation. Subsequent phenotypic observations linked this activity to more pronounced projection formation in an Art1 complemented noncuple α‐arrestin knockout line, compared to the knockout‐line alone, or either of the Art3 or Art6 complemented lines. Together with the observation of ligand‐stimulated localization of Art‐GFP to the mating projection, a possible role for this arrestin‐like protein in projection formation is supported. While leaving the full mechanism of alternate Art1 functionality to be elucidated, together these findings implicate Art1 in selective regulation of mating events downstream of receptor internalization and cell cycle arrest, leading to schmoo, and ultimately zygote formation.
In-process rheometry as a PAT tool for hot melt extrusion

Abstract Real time measurement of melt rheology has been investigated as a Process Analytical Technology (PAT) to monitor hot melt extrusion of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) in a polymer matrix. A developmental API was melt mixed with a commercial copolymer using a heated twin screw extruder at different API loadings and set temperatures. The extruder was equipped with an instrumented rheological slit die which incorporated three pressure transducers flush mounted to the die surface. Pressure drop measurements within the die at a range of extrusion throughputs were used to calculate rheological parameters, such as shear viscosity and exit pressure, related to shear and elastic melt flow properties, respectively. Results showed that the melt exhibited shear thinning behavior whereby viscosity decreased with increasing flow rate. Increase in drug loading and set extrusion temperature resulted in a reduction in melt viscosity. Shear viscosity and exit pressure measurements were found to be sensitive to API loading. These findings suggest that this technique could be used as a simple tool to measure material attributes in-line, to build better overall process understanding for hot melt extrusion.
Carrier Frequency Offset Estimation for OFDM Systems Over Mobile Radio Channels

In this paper, a new technique is proposed for blind estimation of carrier frequency offset (CFO) in wireless orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems with constant-modulus constellations. The proposed scheme is based on the assumption that the channel slowly changes in the time domain with respect to the OFDM symbol duration. As a consequence, the channel effect on a given subcarrier in two consecutive OFDM symbols is approximately the same. Based on this assumption, a cost function is derived such that the power difference between all subcarriers in two consecutive OFDM symbols is minimized. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we demonstrate that the proposed scheme has superior performance in both static and time-varying frequency-selective fading channels. The proposed system can rapidly and accurately estimate the CFO using only three trial values, given that the CFO is less than half of the subcarriers' frequency spacing.
A Ca2+‐activated Cl− conductance in interstitial cells of Cajal linked to slow wave currents and pacemaker activity

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are unique cells that generate electrical pacemaker activity in gastrointestinal (GI) muscles. Many previous studies have attempted to characterize the conductances responsible for pacemaker current and slow waves in the GI tract, but the precise mechanism of electrical rhythmicity is still debated. We used a new transgenic mouse with a bright green fluorescent protein (copGFP) constitutively expressed in ICC to facilitate study of these cells in mixed cell dispersions. We found that ICC express a specialized ‘slow wave’ current. Reversal of tail current analysis showed this current was due to a Cl− selective conductance. ICC express ANO1, a Ca2+‐activated Cl− channel. Slow wave currents are not voltage dependent, but a secondary voltage‐dependent process underlies activation of these currents. Removal of extracellular Ca2+, replacement of Ca2+ with Ba2+, or extracellular Ni2+ (30 μm) blocked the slow wave current. Single Ca2+‐activated Cl− channels with a unitary conductance of 7.8 pS were resolved in excised patches of ICC. These are similar in conductance to ANO1 channels (8 pS) expressed in HEK293 cells. Slow wave current was blocked in a concentration‐dependent manner by niflumic acid (IC50= 4.8 μm). Slow wave currents are associated with transient depolarizations of ICC in current clamp, and these events were blocked by niflumic acid. These findings demonstrate a role for a Ca2+‐activated Cl− conductance in slow wave current in ICC and are consistent with the idea that ANO1 participates in pacemaker activity.