Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Radiation doses in examination of lower third molars with computed tomography and conventional radiography.

OBJECTIVES To measure organ doses and calculate effective doses for pre-operative radiographic examination of lower third molars with CT and conventional radiography (CR). METHODS Measurements of organ doses were made on an anthropomorphic head phantom with lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosemeters. The dosemeters were placed in regions corresponding to parotid and submandibular glands, mandibular bone, thyroid gland, skin, eye lenses and brain. The organ doses were used for the calculation of effective doses according to proposed International Commission on Radiological Protection 2005 guidelines. For the CT examination, a Siemens Somatom Plus 4 Volume Zoom was used and exposure factors were set to 120 kV and 100 mAs. For conventional radiographs, a Scanora unit was used and panoramic, posteroanterior, stereographic (scanogram) and conventional spiral tomographic views were exposed. RESULTS The effective doses were 0.25 mSv, 0.060 mSv and 0.093 mSv for CT, CR without conventional tomography and CR with conventional spiral tomography, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The effective dose is low when CT examination with exposure factors optimized for the examination of bone structures is performed. However, the dose is still about four times as high as for CR without tomography. CT should therefore not be a standard method for the examination of lower third molars. In cases where there is a close relationship between the tooth and the inferior alveolar nerve the advantages of true sectional imaging, such as CT, outweighs the higher effective dose and is recommended. Further reduction in the dose is feasible with further optimization of examination protocols and the development of newer techniques.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of wheat using suspension cells as a model system and green fluorescent protein as a visual marker

Conditions for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were defined using wheat suspension cells as a model system and green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a visual marker. Different strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens were compared using established wheat cell suspension cultures, where the frequency of cell clusters showing transient activity of GFP ranged from 2 to 52%. High levels of transient GFP activity and stable transformed callus lines were obtained with plasmid pTO134 containing a gfp gene with an enhanced CaMV 35S promoter and a bar gene with a 35S promoter in combination with Agrobacterium strain AGL0. These results suggest that the important variables in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of wheat cells include media composition, Agrobacterium strain, plasmid vector and the addition of virulence-inducing agents such as acetosyringone. The conditions deemed optimal for transformation of wheat suspension cell lines were applied to scutella isolated from immature embryos and scutella-derived calli. Transient GFP expression in these tissues ranged from 10 to 75% and, while quite variable among and within cultivars, stably transformed scutellum-derived callus was obtained. Further studies with scutellum-derived calli suggested that variables such as duration of pre-inoculation culture and co-cultivation, as well as co-cultivation temperature, were also important. Optimisation of these variables resulted in the recovery of transformed wheat plants at a transformation frequency of 1.8%, which is comparable with other reports.
Natural Course of Retention Cysts of the Maxillary Sinus: Long‐Term Follow‐Up Results

Objectives: Retention cysts of the maxillary sinus are an incidental finding on radiographs. These cysts usually appear as rounded, dome‐shaped, soft tissue masses, most often on the floor of the maxillary sinus. The aim of this study was to investigate the long‐term natural course of retention cysts of the maxillary sinus.
Analysis of Herpes Simplex Virus ICP0 Promoter Function in Sensory Neurons during Acute Infection, Establishment of Latency, and Reactivation In Vivo

ABSTRACT We have begun an analysis of the functional architecture of the ICP0 promoter in neurons in vivo with the ultimate goal of determining how this gene is regulated during reactivation in vivo. Promoter/reporter mutants in which the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase (β-Gal) gene was driven by various permutations of the ICP0 promoter were employed to permit the analysis of promoter function without the added complications that would arise due to inappropriate regulation of ICP0 protein levels. A whole-ganglion immunohistochemical staining procedure (N. M. Sawtell, J. Virol. 77:4127-4138, 2003) was used for direct comparisons of the expression of the promoter/reporter gene to expression of the native protein in the same cell. In this way, the expression of the putative wild-type promoter could be validated and results for mutant promoters could be compared to expression of the native gene. We found that a DNA fragment from bp −562 through the methionine start codon of the ICP0 gene contained all sequences required for properly regulated ICP0 expression in diverse cell types (including sensory neurons of the trigeminal ganglia [TG]) in vitro and in vivo, as indicated by colocalization of ICP0 and β-Gal. Truncation of the ICP0 promoter to bp −145 or −129 resulted in the loss of immediate-early (α) kinetics. The truncated promoters expressed high levels of the reporter gene with leaky late (γ1) kinetics in vitro and in some cell types in vivo. Unexpectedly, the truncated promoters did not express in TG neurons. Thus, TAATGARAT or other sequences upstream of bp −145 in the ICP0 promoter are required for basal expression of ICP0 in neurons but are not required for basal expression in other cells in vivo. There was a >95% concordance between reporter and native protein expression detected with the 562-bp promoter in neurons during the acute stage. However, this was not the case during reactivation from latency in vivo, as nearly twice as many neurons contained detectable β-Gal as contained detectable ICP0. This same 562-bp promoter/reporter cassette, when placed in the context of a latency-associated transcript (LAT) null mutant, resulted in >95% concordance of expression of β-Gal and ICP0 during reactivation in vivo. These last results strongly suggest that there is a posttranscriptional constraint on the expression of ICP0 protein during reactivation from latency and that this constraint is mediated by LAT.
Pyrogenic reactions in patients receiving conventional, high-efficiency, or high-flux hemodialysis treatments with bicarbonate dialysate containing high concentrations of bacteria and endotoxin.

High-efficiency (HE) and high-flux (HF) hemodialysis are becoming increasingly popular methods for treating patients with chronic renal failure because they reduce the time required for dialysis treatment. HF and HE dialyzers require bicarbonate dialysate, often prepared from concentrates that can support bacterial growth with endotoxin production. There is a concern that endotoxins or bacteria may cross or interact at the membranes of these dialyzers, triggering the release of endogenous pyrogens (cytokines) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells to cause pyrogenic reactions (PR). To determine the incidence of PR and to examine the association between PR and levels of bacteria and endotoxin in dialysate, a cohort of patients receiving conventional, HE, or HF hemodialysis with bicarbonate dialysate and reprocessed dialyzers at three dialysis centers during a 12-month period was studied prospectively. All dialyzers underwent a test of membrane integrity before use. A total of 19 PR were identified among 18 patients in 26,877 hemodialysis treatments (0.7 PR/1,000 treatments). There was no significant difference in PR rates by treatment modality: conventional, 0.5 per 1,000 (7 PR/13,123 treatments) versus HE, 0.9 per 1,000 (9 PR/11,345) versus HF, 1.2 per 1,000 (3 PR/2,409) (P = 0.21; chi 2 test). Throughout the study period, bacterial counts for dialysate at each center significantly exceeded the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation's (AAMI) microbiologic standards for dialysate of less than 2,000 CFU/mL (mean, 19,000 CFU/mL), but water used in the reuse of dialyzers tested less than 200 CFU/mL. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Determination of Pyrimidine Deoxynucleoside Triphosphates in Leukaemia Cell Extracts Containing 1-ß-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine Triphosphate

Deoxynucleoside 5'-triphosphates (dNTPs) can be determined in cell extracts by high performance liquid chromatography after prior selective degradation of ribonucleoside 5'-triphosphates with sodium periodate and methylamine. When the method is used for the evaluation of deoxynucleoside triphosphates in 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine triphosphate (ara-CTP)-containing cell extracts, an additional peak coeluting with thymidine triphosphate (dTTP) is observed. This peak is due to the formation of a carboxylic acid derivative of ara-CTP by periodate oxidation, and it can lead to considerable overestimation of dTTP. Formation of this peak can be avoided by using alkaline reaction conditions (pH 7.5) and by changing the sequence of addition of the reagents used in the periodation procedure. By employing this modified protocol, cellular dNTP and ara-CTP levels can be monitored in extracts of leukaemic blasts during cytosine arabinoside treatment in two separate HPLC runs.
Downregulation of intragraft IFN-gamma expression correlates with increased IgG1 alloantibody response following intrathymic immunomodulation of sensitized rat recipients.

A single intrathymic injection of donor-specific spleen cells (2 x 10(7)) abrogates accelerated (24 hr) rejection of LBNF1 cardiac allografts in presensitized LEW rats and prolongs graft survival to about 11 days. This effect is donor-specific, gamma-irradiation-sensitive, thymus-dependent, and requires no concomitant therapy. We have recently shown that following intrathymic alloantigen administration, there is an earlier and increased systemic production of alloreactive IgM, and subsequently a premature isotype switching to IgG with the predominant IgG1 and IgG2a alloantibody responses. There is also a preferential binding of these IgG subclasses to the endothelium of well-functioning allografts. In this work, we analyzed the early cell activation and related cytokine elaboration patterns at the mRNA and protein levels by competitive template RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. We found that prolonged cardiac allograft survival following intrathymic administration of donor spleen cells in presensitized rats was associated with markedly depressed intragraft IFN gamma mRNA and protein expression. Moreover, intrathymic allostimulation has led to a defect in the IL-2 pathway as the expression of IL-2 and IL-2R protein at the graft site was inhibited despite stable IL-2 mRNA levels. The inhibition of cell activation was also demonstrated by reduced MHC class II and the lack of ICAM-1, and TNF-alpha expression by immunohistochemistry. The expression of biologically active IL-12 (p70) by mononuclear and endothelial cells was detected in rejecting grafts between 3 and 12 hr. The well-functioning grafts after intrathymic allostimulation were devoid of IL-12 (p70), which in turn may have contributed to the downregulation of IFN-gamma mRNA and protein. Treatment with r.IFN-gamma, but not with r.IL-2, recreated the rejection response, and the characteristic IgG subclass pattern associated with accelerated graft loss. Hence, intrathymic immunomodulation with alloantigen results in selective inhibition of IFN-gamma-producing cells and a preferential upregulation of IgG1 alloantibodies. These data support the notion of the interlocked immunoregulatory roles of cytokine and alloantibody networks in rat allograft recipients.
Cash Flow Volatility - Return Relation and Financial Constraints: International Evidence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether cash flow volatility (CFV) has a negative impact on future stock returns, and whether the CFV-return relation is different among financially constrained and unconstrained firms, by using a broad sample of 21 developed markets. Design/methodology/approach The study conducts portfolio analysis to test the CFV effect on returns. Risk-adjusted returns (alphas) are computed with respect to country-specific factors based on market, size, book-to-market, and momentum. Findings The strategy of buying stocks with low CFV while shorting stocks with high CFV delivers significant alphas in more than three-fourths of the markets. The alphas for the long-short portfolio based on CFV are positive and statistically significant in more than 70 percent of the countries among financially constrained firms, largely driven by the underperformance of high-CFV stocks. In comparison, the CFV effect is observed in less than 45 percent of the countries among financially unconstrained firms, and is largely driven by the outperformance of low-CFV stocks. Originality/value This study extends prior findings by providing evidence of a negative relation between CFV and stock returns in a majority of global equity markets. The evidence also suggests an important role of financial constraints in explaining this relation.
Design Optimization of a Fully-Compliant Bistable Micro-Mechanism

Bistable behavior is desirable for a variety of applications because power is applied only during switching, and the mechanism state remains the same regardless of any power interruptions. The low variability in the stable positions also makes accurate open-loop control of many systems possible, and the precise switching characteristics make them valuable in sensing arrays. In this paper, fully-compliant bistable micromechanisms were modeled using finite elements. This model was then coupled with an optimization program, allowing extensive exploration of the design space. Three designs within this space were generated by minimizing the layout size of the devices subject to force constraints. These designs were subsequently manufactured and tested to verify bistability, with each mechanism snapping as expected between the two stable positions. The design space was then further explored to determine the behavior of the device as the maximum force output increased. This study revealed that the minimum layout size increases with the maximum force output.
Influence of Films on the Surface of Electrical Contacts at Cryogenic Temperatures

Superconducting devices in power generation, transmission and distribution imply the use of electrical contacts in liquid nitrogen LN2 atmosphere. In electrical power engineering, reliable operation of electrical contacts is essential for the system availability. This paper presents the results of experimental work and calculations of films' influence on the surface of electrolytic tough pitch copper conductors on the contact resistance in LN2. The contact resistance was measured at a crossed rod arrangement of different diameters at low and high contact forces in respective experiments. For small diameters, the rods were brought into contact either directly in LN2 or in ambient air before being immersed in a cryovessel. For bolted busbar joints the joint resistance was measured in LN2 at very high joint forces. In order to determine the influence of the film, film resistivities for the contact resistance were applied and evaluated. The interaction between constriction resistance and film resistance is further discussed. It was found that the influence of films on electrical contacts at cryogenic temperatures is significant and cannot be neglected. The separate consideration of constriction resistance and film resistance of contacts formed in LN2 is not appropriate. Applying very high forces on electrical joints in power devices in LN2 cannot ensure a stable contact resistance for long-term operations.
Machine Learning for Real-Time, Automatic, and Early Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease by Extracting Signs of Micrographia from Handwriting Images

Parkinson's disease (PD) is debilitating, progressive, and clinically marked by motor symptoms. As the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world, it affects over 10 million lives globally. Existing diagnoses methods have limitations, such as the expense of visiting doctors and the challenge of automated early detection, considering that behavioral differences in patients and healthy individuals are often indistinguishable in the early stages. However, micrographia, a handwriting disorder that leads to abnormally small handwriting, tremors, dystonia, and slow movement in the hands and fingers, is commonly observed in the early stages of PD. In this work, we apply machine learning techniques to extract signs of micrographia from drawing samples gathered from two open-source datasets and achieve a predictive accuracy of 94%. This work also sets the foundations for a publicly available and user-friendly web portal that anyone with access to a pen, printer, and phone can use for early PD detection.
Early Regeneration of Whole Skeletal Muscle Grafts Is Unaffected by Overexpression of IGF-1 in MLC/mIGF-1 Transgenic Mice

Early myogenic events in regenerating whole muscle grafts were compared between transgenic MLC/mIGF-1 mice with skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of the Exon-1 Ea isoform of insulin-like growth factor-1 (mIGF-1) and control FVB mice, from day 3 to day 21 after transplantation. Immunocytochemistry with antibodies against desmin showed that skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of IGF-1 did not affect the pattern of myoblast activation or proliferation or the onset and number of myotubes formed in regenerating whole muscle grafts. Hypertrophied myotubes were observed in MLC/mIGF grafts at day 7 after transplantation, although such hypertrophy was transient, and the transgenic and control grafts had a similar appearance at later time points (days 10, 14, and 21). Immunostaining with antibodies to platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, which identifies endothelial cells, demonstrated no difference in the formation of new vascular network in grafts of transgenic and control mice. Skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of mIGF-1 does not appear to stimulate the early events associated with myogenesis during regeneration of whole muscle grafts. (J Histochem Cytochem 52:873–883, 2004)
Survival models for cost data: The forgotten additive approach

The usage of the Aalen additive approach is proposed to model cost data. Using a Monte Carlo simulation, in a wide set of scenarios, we showed that the Aalen model is performing well and can be a reasonable alternative to the standard Gamma regression models. In addition, with reference to the COSTAMI trial data, we highlighted the ability of the Aalen model to offer additional information about the relationships between costs and specific covariates, as compared with standard regression techniques. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Maltreated Youth

The study of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in maltreated youth has received increased attention, though extensive comparisons to maltreated youth without PTSD and administrations of anxiety-based structured diagnostic interviews remain needed. We examined maltreated youth with or without PTSD using structured diagnostic interviews and standardized child self-report measures. We hypothesized that maltreated youth with PTSD, compared to their peers without PTSD, would experience significantly greater duration of abuse, diagnostic comorbidity, PTSD symptomatology, dysfunctional family environment, and avoidant coping styles. Results indicated that the group with PTSD did indeed experience significantly greater duration of abuse, diagnostic comorbidity, and PTSD symptomatology, though less so dysfunctional family environment or avoidant coping styles. The presence of a mood or anxiety disorder was highly predictive of PTSD in this sample. Results are discussed within the context of evolving etiological and maintenance models of PTSD in maltreated youth.
Twenty‐four‐well plate miniature bioreactor high‐throughput system: Assessment for microbial cultivations

High‐throughput (HT) miniature bioreactor (MBR) systems are becoming increasingly important to rapidly perform clonal selection, strain improvement screening, and culture media and process optimization. This study documents the initial assessment of a 24‐well plate MBR system, Micro (µ)‐24, for Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, and Pichia pastoris cultivations. MBR batch cultivations for S. cerevisiae demonstrated comparable growth to a 20‐L stirred tank bioreactor fermentation by off‐line metabolite and biomass analyses. High inter‐well reproducibility was observed for process parameters such as on‐line temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. E. coli and P. pastoris strains were also tested in this MBR system under conditions of rapidly increasing oxygen uptake rates (OUR) and at high cell densities, thus requiring the utilization of gas blending for dissolved oxygen and pH control. The E. coli batch fermentations challenged the dissolved oxygen and pH control loop as demonstrated by process excursions below the control set‐point during the exponential growth phase on dextrose. For P. pastoris fermentations, the µ‐24 was capable of controlling dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature under batch and fed‐batch conditions with subsequent substrate shot feeds and supported biomass levels of 278 g/L wet cell weight (wcw). The average oxygen mass transfer coefficient per non‐sparged well were measured at 32.6 ± 2.4, 46.5 ± 4.6, 51.6 ± 3.7, and 56.1 ± 1.6 h−1 at the operating conditions of 500, 600, 700, and 800 rpm shaking speed, respectively. The mixing times measured for the agitation settings 500 and 800 rpm were below 5 and 1 s, respectively. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007;98: 1017–1028. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Exchange of regions of the carboxypeptidase Y propeptide. Sequence specificity and function in folding in vivo.

The propeptide of carboxypeptidase Y from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is important for folding of the enzyme. Previous work [Ramos, C. , Winther, J.R. & Kielland-Brandt, M. C. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 7006-7012] suggested that the sequences essential for in vivo folding were situated in the COOH-proximal third of the propeptide. Concentrating on this region we have investigated the functionality of propeptide variants. Using a random mutagenesis approach we found that two segments can be defined: one in which there is a fairly high tolerance for substitution with unrelated sequences and another that has a more strict requirement for sequence conservation. Nevertheless, an overall lack of requirement for propeptide sequence conservation was found by substitution of the carboxypeptidase Y propeptide with that of a highly divergent propeptide sequence from an otherwise similar carboxypeptidase from Candida albicans. This propeptide was partially functional when combined with carboxypeptidase Y. Analysis of the biosynthesis of the mutant forms of the zymogen showed that a fraction of the molecules proceeded from the endoplasmic reticulum with fairly rapid kinetics, while the rest was degraded.
Respiration of a Forest Measured by Carbon Dioxide Accumulation during Temperature Inversions

Nocturnal accumulations of carbon dioxide during 40 temperature inversions in 1 year were used as an index of the metabolic activity of a forest. Rates of CO2 production varied with temperature and with season. Spring and summer rates were 2 to 3 times higher than winter rates at the same temperature. Mean monthly temperatures, averaged over 15 years, were used with the curves of respiration on temperature to compute annual gross respiration of the Brookhaven oak-pine forest. The forest was estimated to have a yearly release of approximately 3400 grams of CO2 per square meter, theoretically equivalent to 2104 grams of dry matter (carbohydrate).