Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computed online determination of life-long mean index values for carious, extracted, and/or filled permanent teeth

Objective. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a data-mining system for the online determination of mean DS, M, and FS or DMFS values per subject at different ages from electronic patient records at two health centers to see if there are north–south differences in oral health in Finland. Material and methods. The mean index values were determined at two health centers using the codes of dental charts and progress notes of electronic dental records during the digital era of more than 10 years in a total of 153,619 subjects of all ages. Extracted teeth, as well as sound, carious, and restored tooth surfaces, were recorded from the dental charts. Treatments were then additionally registered from progress notes of the records when performed. Results. The cumulative DS and FS values were similar in subjects under the age of 20 years at both health centers. In adults, caries was more abundant in northern Finland, where there was a higher number of restored surfaces (>40) registered, compared to only 30 in southern Finland at the age of 40 years. A high increase in the number of extractions began at age 45 in the north compared to age 70 in the south. These changes were clearly reflected in the DMFS index. Conclusions. Online determination of health parameters is a feasible methodology. The results revealed that north–south regional differences in dental health still occur in adults in Finland, but not in subjects younger than 20 years of age.
Nonpolar Inactivation of the Hypervariable Streptococcal Inhibitor of Complement Gene (sic) in Serotype M1 Streptococcus pyogenes Significantly Decreases Mouse Mucosal Colonization

ABSTRACT Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a human pathogen that commonly infects the upper respiratory tract. GAS serotype M1 strains are frequently isolated from human infections and contain the gene encoding the hypervariable streptococcal inhibitor of complement protein (Sic). It was recently shown that Sic variants were rapidly selected on mucosal surfaces in epidemic waves caused by M1 strains, an observation suggesting that Sic participates in host-pathogen interactions on the mucosal surface (N. P. Hoe, K. Nakashima, S. Lukomski, D. Grigsby, M. Liu, P. Kordari, S.-J. Dou, X. Pan, J. Vuopio-Varkila, S. Salmelinna, A. McGeer, D. E. Low, B. Schwartz, A. Schuchat, S. Naidich, D. De Lorenzo, Y.-X. Fu, and J. M. Musser, Nat. Med. 5:924–929, 1999). To test this idea, a new nonpolar mutagenesis method employing a spectinomycin resistance cassette was used to inactivate the sic gene in an M1 GAS strain. The isogenic Sic-negative mutant strain was significantly (P < 0.019) impaired in ability to colonize the mouse mucosal surface after intranasal infection. These results support the hypothesis that the predominance of M1 strains in human infections is related, in part, to a Sic-mediated enhanced colonization ability.
Molecular Mechanisms of Lipotoxicity in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by insulin resistance, which results in elevated serum concentration of free fatty acids (FFAs). Circulating FFAs provide the substrate for triacylglycerol formation in the liver, and may also be directly cytotoxic. Hepatocyte apoptosis is a key histologic feature of NAFLD, and correlates with progressive inflammation and fibrosis. The molecular pathways leading to hepatocyte apoptosis are not fully defined; however, recent studies suggest that FFA-induced apoptosis contributes to the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. FFAs directly engage the core apoptotic machinery by activating the proapoptotic protein Bax, in a c-jun N-terminal kinase-dependent manner. FFAs also activate the lysosomal pathway of cell death and regulate death receptor gene expression. The role of ER stress and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis has also been described. Understanding the molecular mediators of liver injury should promote development of mechanism-based therapeutic interventions.
Modeling of plasmonic nanoantennas for optical microscopy and surface enhanced spectroscopy

Esta tesis doctoral es establece una metodologia teorica que permite estudiar y desarrollar nanoestructuras que presentan una respuesta optica adecuada y efectiva (nanoantenas) para llevar a cabo de manera optima microscopias opticas e infrarrojas de barrido y espectroscopias de campo aumentado de grupos moleculares. Mediante la utilizacion de un metodo de elemento de frontera (BEM) es posible obtener los modos electromagneticos de superficie de estas nanoestructuras resolviendo las ecuaciones de Maxwell con las condiciones de contorno adecuadas. Mediante esta metodologia, es posible calcular la dispersion (o scattering) de la luz por parte de estos modos. Mediante la aplicacion de este metodo, combinado con desarrollos analiticos, esta tesis se centra en el estudio de la respuesta electromagnetica de nanosistemas fuertemente acoplados, que producen un efecto de aumento de campo en la nanoescala tipo antena. Se hace especial enfasis en la respuesta local de nanoantenas para su uso en espectroscopias de absorcion de campo aumentado (SEIRA) estudiando un nuevo mecanismo de acoplo resonante entre la antena y las vibraciones moleculares a analizar. Por otro lado, en microscopias opticas de barrido de campo cercano (s-SNOM), se analiza la interaccion entre la sonda y la muestra y la capacidad de control del campo cerca
A Picture is Worth …

When writing can change your life, when writing can enrich you by offering much money, why don't you try it? Are you still very confused of where getting the ideas? Do you still have no idea with what you are going to write? Now, you will need reading. A good writer is a good reader at once. You can define how you write depending on what books to read. This a picture is worth 1000 words can help you to solve the problem. It can be one of the right sources to develop your writing skill.
ADH2 expression is repressed by REG1 independently of mutations that alter the phosphorylation of the yeast transcription factor ADR1

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, expression of the ADH2 gene is undetectable during growth on glucose. The transcription factor ADR1 is required to fully activate expression when glucose becomes depleted. Partial activation during growth on glucose occurred in cells carrying a constitutive allele of ADR1 in which the phosphorylatable serine of a cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation site had been changed to alanine. When glucose was removed from the growth medium, a substantial increase in the level of this constitutive expression was observed for both the ADH2 gene and a reporter construct containing the ADR1 binding site. This suggests that glucose can block ADR1-mediated activation independently of cAMP-dependent phosphorylation at serine 230. REG1/HEX2/SRN1 was identified as a potential serine 230-independent repressor of ADH2 expression. Yeast strains carrying a deletion of the REG1 gene, reg1-1966, showed a large increase in ADR1-dependent expression of ADH2 during growth on glucose. A smaller increase in ADR1-independent expression was also observed. Additionally, an increase in the level of ADR1 expression and posttranslational modification of the ADR1 protein were observed. When the reg1-1966 allele was combined with various ADR1 constitutive alleles, the level of ADH2 expression was synergistically elevated. This indicates that REG1 can act independently of phosphorylation at serine 230. Our results suggest that glucose repression in the presence of ADR1 constitutive alleles occurs primarily through a REG1-dependent pathway which appears to affect ADH2 transcription at multiple levels.
Fields Tests for Ranging and Localization with Time-of-Flight-Measurements Using Chirp Spread Spectrum RF-devices

Short range wireless networks (SRWN) are an important platform for an increasing number of applications. Apart from the pure communication benefit and other added values, e.g. ease-of-installation, support of mobility, high level of redundancy and reliability, wireless networks can bring in an important additional feature: localization. In many cases, the precision of ranging and localization is based on the measurement of Received Signal Strength (RSS) and is thus quite limited. Systems with time-of-flight measurements promise better performance. However, not many systems are commercially available for applications in Short Range Wireless Networks. One of the first available products uses Chirp Spread Spectrum technology with a symmetric two way ranging. This contribution examines the results, which were achieved with these products for real-life environments. Vehicle-based applications for active safety (eSafety) play a special role in those scenarios.
Continuous optimization of reactive power from PV and EV in distribution system

As photovoltaic systems (PV) and electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more widespread, it is now possible to utilize them to provide reactive power support. To capitalize on this possibility, continuous reactive power optimization from PV and EVs' stationary chargers has been proposed and optimized using particle swarm optimization in this paper. Active power generation/consumption is integrated as a constraint in the optimization, and the cost of reactive power injection has been considered. Through simulation in a radial distribution system, continuous reactive power management has been shown to reduce the operational cost of running the system, decrease transmission losses in the system, as well as improve the voltage profiles significantly. This work also highlights the need for optimization in reactive power dispatch through different scenarios.
A Multi-metric AODV Routing in IEEE 802.11 s

The upcoming IEEE Standard 802.11s will support wireless mesh framework. The draft of 802.11s introduces a new metric called airtime link metric. This paper analyses the performance of this metric and proposes a new Multi-metric (MM) consisting of the interference and mesh point's transmitting capability in wireless environment based on residual bandwidth, Frame Delivery Ratio (FDR), and mesh point's load. We implement our MM based AODV. The simulation results show that the multi-metric proposal achieves significant improvement, becomes more effective and also reaches the target of load balance simultaneously.
Caching and prefetching for efficient video services in mobile networks

Cellular networks have witnessed phenomenal traffic growth recently fueled by new high speed broadband cellular access technologies. This growth is in large part driven by the emergence of the HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) as a new video delivery method. In HAS, several qualities of the same videos are made available in the network so that clients can choose the quality that best fits their bandwidth capacity. This strongly impacts the viewing pattern of the clients, their switching behavior between video qualities, and thus beyond on content delivery systems. Our first contribution consists in providing an analysis of a real HAS dataset collected in France and provided by the largest French mobile operator. Firstly, we analyze and model the viewing patterns of VoD and live streaming HAS sessions and we propose a new cache replacement strategy, named WA-LRU. WA-LRU leverages the time locality of video segments within the HAS content. We show that WA-LRU improves the cache hit-ratio mostly at the loading phase while it reduces significantly the processing overhead at the cache. In our second contribution, we analyze and model the adaptation logic between the video qualities based on empirical observations. We show that high switching behaviors lead to sub optimal caching performance, since several versions of the same content compete to be cached. In this context we investigate the benefits of a Cache Friendly HAS system (CF-DASH) which aims at improving the caching efficiency in mobile networks and to sustain the quality of experience of mobile clients. We evaluate CF-dash based on trace-driven simulations and test-bed experiments. Our validation results are promising. Simulations on real HAS traffic show that we achieve a significant gain in hit-ratio that ranges from 15% up to 50%. In the second part of this thesis, we investigate the mobile video prefetching opportunities. Online media services are reshaping the way video content is watched. People with similar interests tend to request same content. This provides enormous potential to predict which content users are interested in. Besides, mobile devices are commonly used to watch videos which popularity is largely driven by their social success. We design a system, named "Central Predictor System (CPsys)", which aims at predicting and prefetching relevant content for each mobile client. To fine tune our prefetching system, we rely on a large dataset collected from a large mobile carrier in Europe. The rationale of our prefetching strategy is first to form a graph and build implicit or explicit ties between similar users. On top of this graph, we propose the Most Popular and Most Recent (MPMR) policy to predict relevant videos for each user. We show that CPSys can achieve high performance as regards prediction correctness and network utilization efficiency. We further show that CPSys outperforms other prefetching schemes from the state of the art. At the end, we provide a proof-of-concept implementation of our prefetching system.
Tissue Weights of the Rat. I. Normal Values Determined By Dissection and Chemical Methods

Summary A combined dissection and chemical approach to the problem of determining tissue weights has been described. It allows the exact determination of total muscle mass and supportive tissue weight in a fraction of the time required by the complete dissection approach. It also provides estimates of the total marrow weight and the fresh weight of the connective tissue, which are difficult to obtain in any other manner.
Sharing stories: indigenous alcohol and other drug workers' well-being, stress and burnout.

BACKGROUND Indigenous alcohol and other drug (AOD) workers' roles are often exhausting, poorly paid and under-recognised. There has been relatively little examination of work-related stressors on their health and well-being. This national study identified Indigenous AOD workers' experiences and perspectives on well-being, stress and burnout along with strategies to improve worker well-being. METHODS Focus groups were conducted with 121 participants (70 Indigenous, 20 non-Indigenous, 31 unspecified) from metropolitan, rural and remote locations around Australia, selected via a purposive sampling strategy. Audio files and interview notes were analysed to identify key themes. RESULTS Main themes identified included excessive workloads, extensive demands and expectations, workers' proximity to communities, loss and grief issues, lack of recognition, inadequate rewards, stigma and racism, and Indigenous ways of working. Stressors were compounded by workers' complex personal circumstances, profound levels of loss and grief, and lack of culturally safe working environments. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Indigenous workers' stress was exacerbated by close links and responsibilities to their communities and a 'dual accountability', being constantly on call, playing multiple roles, complex personal and professional lives, and needing to interact with multiple agencies. Many Indigenous AOD workers had developed mechanisms to deal with work-related pressures and received valued support from their communities. The study identified the importance of workforce strategies to improve Indigenous workers' well-being and reduce stress, including: mutual support networks, training in assertiveness and boundary setting, workloads that take account of Indigenous ways of working, adequate remuneration, supervision and mentorship, and cultural sensitivity training for non-Indigenous workers.
Five Homologous Repeats of the Protein G-Related Protein MIG Cooperate in Binding to Goat Immunoglobulin G

ABSTRACT Protein MIG, from Streptococcus dysgalactiae, binds α2-macroglobulin and immunoglobulin G (IgG). MIG-derived fusion proteins with one to five IgG-binding repeats differed up to 72,000-fold in avidity for goat IgG, indicating a considerable cooperativity of the repeats. Significant sequence variation in the IgG-binding repeats was recognized. Protein MIG interacted with goat IgG1 via both the Fc and Fab parts.
Cancer patients seeking a second surgical opinion: results of a study on motives, needs, and expectations.

PURPOSE To explore the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of cancer patients seeking a second-opinion consultation and to analyze their second opinion-related motives, needs, and expectations. PATIENTS AND METHODS In 212 consecutive patients seeking a second opinion at the Surgical Oncology Outpatient Clinic, satisfaction with the first specialist, motivation for the second opinion, need for information, preference for decision participation, and hope for and expectation of a different second opinion were assessed with a questionnaire. RESULTS The mean age was 53 years. Most patients were women (82%), of whom 76% were diagnosed with breast cancer. Half of the patients (51%) had a low educational level. The majority of patients (62%) only had internal motives for second-opinion seeking associated with the need for reassurance and more certainty, whereas a substantial minority of patients (38%) also had external motives related to negative experiences or unfulfilled needs. The externally motivated patients had a higher anxiety disposition, were less satisfied with their first specialist, preferred a more active role in medical decision making, and more often hoped for and expected a different second opinion. CONCLUSION Motives for second-opinion consultations differ greatly. Understanding the difference between internal and external motivation is necessary to develop strategies to prevent unnecessary second-opinion seeking. Additional studies are warranted to evaluate the objective and subjective outcomes of second-opinion consultations.
A low phase noise 2 GHz VCO using 0.13 /spl mu/m CMOS process

A 2 GHz LC VCO with a large improvement in phase noise is designed and implemented in 0.13/spl mu/m CMOS process. It has phase noise of -100.7 dBc/Hz, -130.6 dBc/Hz, and -140.8 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz, 1 MHz, and 3 MHz offset frequencies from the carrier, respectively. The phase noise reduction of about 10 dB is observed for all controllable voltage range, as compared with a comparable conventional VCO. This VCO consumes 3.29 mA from a 1.8 V supply with the silicon area of 500 /spl mu/m /spl times/ 850 /spl mu/m.
Fluorescence Detection of a Protein‐Bound 2Fe2S Cluster

A fluorescent biosensor is described for 2Fe2S clusters that is composed of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to glutaredoxin 2 (Grx2), as illustrated here. 2Fe2S detection is based on the reduction of GFP fluorescence upon the 2Fe2S‐induced dimerization of GFP‐Grx2. This assay is sufficiently sensitive to detect submicromolar changes in 2Fe2S levels, thus making it suitable for high‐throughput measurements of metallocluster degradation and synthesis reactions.
Genetic Algorithms as a method to study adaptive walks in biological landscapes

The metaphor of fitness landscapes is common in evolutionary biology, as a way to visualise the change in allele or phenotypic frequencies of a population under selection. Understanding how different factors in the evolutionary process affect the trajectory of the population across the landscape is of interest to both theoretical and empirical evolutionary biologists. However, fitness landscape studies often have to rely heavily on mathematical methods that are not easy to access by biologically trained researchers. Here, we used a method borrowed from engineering - genetic algorithms - to simulate the evolutionary process and study how different components affect the path taken through a phenotypic fitness landscape. In a simple study, we compare five selection models that reflect different degrees of dependency of fitness on trait quality: this includes strengths of selection, trait-quality dependent reproductive hierarchy and the amount of stochasticity in the reproductive process. We include an analysis of other evolutionary variables such as population size and mutation rate. We analyse a game theory problem, as a test landscape, that lends itself to analysis through a deterministic mathematical simulation, which we use for comparison. Our results show that there are differences in the speed with which different models of selection lead to the fitness optimum. Author summary Evolution and adaptation in biology occurs in fitness landscapes, multidimensional spaces representing all possible genotypic or phenotypic combinations, where population adapt by following the cline of the fitness dimension. The study of adaptation on complex fitness landscapes has so far been limited by the need for mathematically heavy methods. Here, we present a simulation modelling framework, genetic algorithms, that can be used for evolutionary simulations of a population on a fitness landscape of chosen features and with custom evolutionary parameters.
THE İMPORTANCE OF THE TRUTH EFFECT AND SOURCE CREDILIBLITY FOR NEW FMCGS ADVERTISING

This study (N=348) examined the correlation for demographics of Turkish consumers, product trial, the type of media, and the credibility of advertising. The data was gathered by a telephone survey using the systematic sampling in Turkey. The results showed that higher household income, product trial, and certain types of media contributed to the credibility of advertising in a positive way. Price, quality, and word-of mouth were found to be important factors that affected Turkish consumers’ shopping decisions. The results were discussed in accordance with the truth effect and source credibility.
A Location Management Scheme with Reinforcement Learning for PCS Networks

Mobility management, consisting of location management and handoff management, is a challenge for personal communication services (PCS) networks. Location management mainly involves two operations: location update and paging. A two-stage paging strategy with reinforcement learning is proposed. Under this scheme, each cell in a location area is given a preference. Besides, a small real number is used to decide whether to choose and page cells with higher preferences or with lower ones during the first paging stage so that the scheme can quickly adapt to the moving pattern of mobiles. Simulation results show that the proposed paging strategy can reduce the cost as much as 25%, compared with the paging strategy of the basic location management scheme used in the existing PCS networks.