Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alveolar Bone Morphology in Patients with Bilateral Complete Cleft Lip and Palate in the Mixed Dentition: Cone Beam Computed Tomography Evaluation

Objectives To verify the thickness and level of alveolar bone around the teeth adjacent to the cleft by means of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in patients with complete bilateral cleft lip and palate prior to bone graft surgery and orthodontic intervention. Method The sample comprised 10 patients with complete bilateral cleft lip and palate (five boys and five girls) in the mixed dentition. The mean age was 9.5 years, and all subjects showed a G3 interarch relationship according to the Bauru index. The thickness of alveolar bone surrounding the maxillary incisors and the maxillary canines was measured in CBCT axial section using the software iCAT Xoran System. The distance between the alveolar bone crest and the cement-enamel junction (CEJ) was measured in cross sections. Results The tomography images showed a thin alveolar bone plate around teeth adjacent to clefts. No bone dehiscence was observed in teeth adjacent to clefts during the mixed dentition. A slight increase in the distance between the alveolar bone crest and the CEJ was observed in the mesial and lingual aspects of canines adjacent to cleft. Conclusion In patients with BCLP in the mixed dentition, teeth adjacent to the alveolar cleft are covered by a thin alveolar bone plate. However, the level of alveolar bone crest around these teeth seems to be normal, and no bone dehiscence was identified at this age.
Using co-simulation for the integrated planning and analysis of wide area measurement systems

The increasing penetration of measurement and communication infrastructures in power grids has led to the development of new applications and use cases in the utility sector, such as demand side management and virtual power plants. The success of such applications, however, depends on a proper interplay of the underlying communication network and the power grid. For this reason, integrated planning approaches for the extension of measurement and communication infrastructures in the power grids have recently been a hot research topic. Although such planning techniques are of crucial significance for an optimum network design satisfying the requirements of both the power system and the communication network, a simulative performance analysis must accompany the planning process. Therefore, in this work we present a co-simulation environment and tool chain to enable integrated planning and subsequent performance analysis of a wide area measurement system. As an example use case, the proposed environment is used to investigate the accuracy of phasor measurement unit-based linear state estimation techniques for IEEE 14-bus test network under several communication network scenarios.
Evaluation of anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities and the phytochemical study of Astragalus arbusculinus gum in animal models

Abstract Background: The importance of inflammatory diseases and side effects of conventional drugs necessitate the finding of new anti-inflammatory agents from natural sources. In this study, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of the aqueous extract of Astragalus arbusculinus gum were evaluated in animal models. Methods: Thirty-five male Wistar rats were divided into five groups and pretreated with different doses of A. arbusculinus gum extract before the injection of formalin. Paw edema was measured by a plethysmometer at time 0 and after 8 days and compared to controls. The analgesic effect of the extract was evaluated using the hot-plate test in 42 male albino mice. Results: The extract of A. arbusculinus gum decreased the rat paw edema in a dose-dependent manner. The effect on inflammation of the highest dose of extract was comparable to sodium salicylate. Astragalus arbusculinus gum extract at doses of 300 and 1000 mg/kg showed analgesic effects comparable to sodium salicylate and morphine, respectively. A preliminary phytochemical study and the determination of the total phenolic content of the gum extract were performed for the first time. Conclusions: The aqueous extract of A. arbusculinus gum reduced the inflammation and pain in a dose-dependent manner and is a good candidate for further studies of safety and efficacy. The clarification of active components of the plant is necessary.
Multilevel current source inverter topologies based on the duality principle

This paper explores the issue of constructing multi-level current source inverter (MCSI) topologies using the duality principle. In order to extend the application of duality to the three-phase power electronic circuits which are non-planar, two methods for planar treatment with three-phase voltage source inverter (VSI) are presented. Based on such equivalent transformation, an improved topology of three-phase flying-capacitor multi-level voltage source inverter (MVSI) is obtained, then a new kind of three-phase MCSI topology is derived from the application of the duality on such MVSI topology. This allows the wealth of existing knowledge relating to modulation of multilevel VSI to be immediately mapped to the multilevel CSI. Analytical results show that the derived MCSI and its corresponding MVSI present dual features such as operations, modulations and control strategies, etc. Some simulation results are given to verify the proposed MCSI structure.
GlycA, a novel marker of inflammation, is elevated in systemic lupus erythematosus

Background GlycA is a novel marker of systemic inflammation detected by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In the general population, GlycA is correlated with inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and associated with coronary heart disease and diabetes. The utility of GlycA in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has not been defined. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that GlycA concentrations are elevated in patients with SLE and associated with other markers of inflammation and coronary atherosclerosis. Methods We compared concentrations of GlycA, detected by NMR, in 116 patients with SLE and 84 control subjects frequency-matched for age, sex, and race. SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) and the SLE Collaborating Clinics damage index (SLICC) were calculated. Acute phase reactants, a panel of cytokines, and a lipid panel were measured. Electron beam computer tomography (EBCT) was used to quantify coronary artery calcification, a measure of coronary artery atherosclerosis. Results Patients with SLE had higher concentrations of GlycA (398 (350–445)) than control subjects (339 (299–391)) µmol/L, p < 0.001. In patients with SLE, concentrations of GlycA were significantly associated with sedimentation rate (rho = 0.43), C-reactive protein (rho = 0.59), e-selectin (rho = 0.28), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (rho = 0.30), triglycerides (rho = 0.45), all p < 0.0023 to account for multiple comparisons, but not with creatinine, SLEDAI, SLICC, or coronary calcium scores. Conclusions Concentrations of GlycA are higher in patients with SLE than control subjects and associated with markers of inflammation but not with SLE disease activity or chronicity scores or coronary artery calcification.
Wealth Effects of Bank Mergers: Evidence from Shareholder Returns

The objective of this study is to measure the merger announcement effects on the wealth of shareholders of bidder banks, target banks, and combined banks. This article employs event study methodology and Paired-samples t-test to evaluate the impact of merger announcement on shareholders wealth. It is found that the bidder bank shareholders enjoy significant wealth gains of 4.14% in a 41-day event window period, whereas the target and combine bank shareholders do not. The voluntary mergers bestow significant wealth gains of 8.637% for the shareholders of bidder bank, whereas in case of forced merger the shareholders have witnessed nominal wealth loss. The redistribution of shareholder wealth on the merger announcement in India seems to be found in other studies. Managers may have to factor-in the impact of the type of merger before deciding the pairs of mergers. This article adds to knowledge about wealth effects of merger announcement and influence of the type of merger in the Indian context.
In vivo oxygen tension in human septal cartilage increases with age

Tissue‐engineered septal cartilage may provide a source of autologous cartilage for repair of nasal defects. Production of clinically useful neocartilage involves multiple steps that include manipulating the culture environment. Partial pressure of oxygen (ppO2) is a property that has been shown to influence cartilage development. Specifically, studies suggest low ppO2 augments in vitro growth of articular cartilage. Although in vivo measurements of articular cartilage ppO2 have demonstrated hypoxic conditions, measurements have not been performed in septal cartilage. The objective of this study was to determine the ppO2 of septal cartilage in vivo.
Perception And Attachment Of Local Residents Toward Sustainable Conservation Programs: A Study Of The Developing Historic City

ABSTRACT:Owing to its colonial past, the Subcontinent Asia inherited diversified heritage and vibrant culture. Pakistan, being central part of the subcontinent, offers the provision of numerous traditional heritage sites and sense of belongingness. The heart of Pakistan and second largest city, Lahore, is selected as the focal region for the purpose of this study. Historically speaking, it is believed to be 2000 years old city and thus many of its ancient places are characterized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Over the last several decades, many of world heritage sites of Pakistan have come under increasing pressure, as a result of a growing human population and urbanization. Considering these dynamics, the study of its urban conservation and heritage management practices are of paramount importance. The study aims to analyze the effect of attachment and perception on the sense of belongingness, with mediating effect of involvement of residents in world heritage sites (WHS) programs. The data is obtained from 256 respondent living in the areas of the Walled city of Lahore, and stepwise multiple regression models were used to test hypotheses. The results depicts that perception, both positive and negative, does not affect the involvement of residents in WHS programs, and it also does not affect the sense of belonging. People and place attachment has a significant relationship with both involvements of residents in WHS programs and a sense of belonging. Involvement of residents in WHS programs also has a significant partial mediating effect on the relationship between attachment and perception on a sense of belonging. Research can be helpful to conduct more effective conservation programs, by involving the public of the specific area. Tourism industry has a unique and critical role to play in the sustainable development of Pakistan, and offers solutions to many of its problems. There is high need to sustain the tourism attraction and preserve the heritage. Putting the tourism industry at low priority has led to no development in tour industry and historical sites. The conservation of cultural heritage and the objective of sustainable tourism development can only be realized if stakeholders take care of the issues faced by the sector in a coordinated manner. The major challenge for the policy makers is to stimulate tourism in a sustainable fashion, with minimal negative impacts on local culture and natural environment.
A Case Report of a Spontaneous Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) Occurring in a F344 Rat

We report a case of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) that developed in a male F344 rat at week 101 of an experiment in a carcinogenicity study. Macroscopically, the primary tumor, which measured 1 cm in diameter, involved the submucosal tissue of the forestomach at the lesser curvature extending to the glandular stomach and esophagus. Histopathologically, the tumor was composed of neoplastic cells with small- to medium-sized spindle-shaped single nuclei and fibrillary cytoplasm lacking distinct cell borders. It invaded extensively into the tunica muscularis and subserosa, further extending to the lamina propria mucosa and serosal surface. A few densely proliferating portions showed a tendency to storiform pattern. Metastatic tumor nodules were found in the liver, spleen, and femur bone marrow, with multiple nodules, up to 1 cm in diameter, apparent in the liver. Immunohistochemically, diffuse, but weak cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for KIT was evident, and most neoplastic cells also exhibited strong immunoreactivity for α-smooth muscle actin and vimentin. Sparse nuclear S-100-immunoreactive cells were further observed, but none of neoplastic cells were immunoreactive for CD34, caldesmon, desmin, cytokeratin, or synaptophysin. Collectively, these features meet the criteria for a GIST, with limited potential for differentiation to smooth muscle and neural cells.
New research advances of facial expression recognition

As an important part of the technology for human-machine interface, facial expression recognition (FER) draws much attention recently and numerous methods are proposed. In this survey we present the facial expression recognition research and characteristics which focus on the development in the past five years. A new classification method of feature extraction is proposed in this paper, through which we can realize the development trend of feature extraction methods. Currently, the automatic and multi-scale methods of feature extraction are widely used. With the rapid development of the technology of three-dimensional model, some novel methods are used to feature extraction. At the same time, improved expression classification methods (ANN, SVM, HMM) are emphasized. Lastly, we demonstrate the state and possible challenges of the technology of FER and provide some valuable advices about the development trend of FER.
BER performance due to irregularity of row-weight distribution of the parity-check matrix in irregular LDPC codes for 10-gb/s optical signals

Forward-error correction (FEC) coding is theoretically investigated to improve bit-error-rate (BER) performance in a 10-Gb/s optical transmission system using randomly irregular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, regular LDPC codes, and the Reed-Solomon (RS) (255,239) code as a comparison. The irregular LDPC codes has different row-weight variances of a parity-check matrix from 10.9 to 18.8 and a row-weight mean of 60. Simulation is carried out under various conditions including the impairment factors such as dispersion, polarization-mode dispersion (PMD), and fiber nonlinearities. Results suggest that the irregular LDPC code with a low row-weight variance (=10.9) generally has better performance for the most impairment factors except for the factor of dispersion. On the other hand, for the factor of dispersion the irregular LDPC code performs better with a high row-weight variance (=18.8). A specific LDPC code can overcome the impairment limits in a deployed link.
Practical Derivation of Slot Equivalent Admittance in Periodic Waveguides

This communication describes a procedure for obtaining the equivalent-admittance representation of a slot in a waveguide. The approach is general, but it is particularly interesting for periodic waveguides, because it does not require knowing the Green's function of the wave guides or properly defining the ports in such waveguides. The procedure is demonstrated on a well-known rectangular waveguide. It is later applied to a periodic waveguide and used to design a small array. Measurements of the array performance are shown so as to validate the approach.
Activation of cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase A in Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Working Memory Performance

Activation of the adenylyl cyclase-cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA) intracellular signaling cascade is necessary for long-term memory consolidation in brain regions such as the hippocampus. However, the role of the PKA cascade in the working memory functions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is unknown. The present study examined the effects of manipulating PKA activity in the PFC using the cAMP stereoisomers Sp-cAMPS and Rp-cAMPS, which activate and inhibit PKA, respectively. Animals received bilateral infusions of Sp-cAMPS and/or Rp-cAMPS into the PFC immediately before testing on the delayed alternation task, a test of spatial working memory that depends on the integrity of the PFC. Low doses of Sp-cAMPS (0.21, 2. 1, or 21 nmol/0.5 microl) produced a marked, dose-dependent impairment in working memory performance. The impairment produced by infusion of Sp-cAMPS (21 nmol/0.5 microl) was fully reversed by co-infusion of Rp-cAMPS (21 nmol/0.5 microl), consistent with actions on PKA. Rp-cAMPS (21 or 42 nmol/0.5 microl) by itself had no effect on performance. These results indicate that activation of the PKA intracellular signaling cascade in the PFC impairs working memory performance. The current findings contrast with studies of long-term memory consolidation, in which inhibition of PKA with agents such as Rp-cAMPS impaired memory consolidation (Bernabeu et al., 1997; Bourtchouladze et al., 1998), whereas enhancement of the PKA pathway improved memory (Bernabeu et al., 1997; Barad et al., 1998). These results demonstrate that discrete cognitive processes subserved by different cortical regions are mediated by distinct intracellular mechanisms.
An ex-vivo setup for characterization of atherosclerotic plaque using shear wave elastography and micro-computed tomography

Quantification of the mechanical properties of atherosclerotic plaque has shown to be important in assessing carotid artery plaque vulnerability. For such, shear wave elastography (SWE) has been applied on both in-vitro and in-vivo setups. The aim of this study was to build an ex-vivo setup for combined evaluation of plaque characteristics using SWE and micro-computed tomography (μCT). As a proof-of-concept of the constructed experimental setup, a single human carotid plaque specimen was extracted during carotid endarterectomy. The plaque was imaged in the μCT system, and subsequently imaged using SWE. For the SWE measurement, group and phase velocity was extracted from the obtained in-phase/quadrature data, with its spatial distribution being compared to anatomical features visible in the μCT images. The results indicated wave velocity changes at boundaries identified in the μCT, with group velocity data slightly increasing when entering a calcified nodule. Additionally, μCT images seemed to provide good contrast between several plaque constituens using the defined imaging settings. Overall, the study represents a proof-of-concept for detailed ex-vivo plaque analysis using combined SWE and μCT, with obtained wave speed and shear modulus values falling within observed values for atherosclerotic plaque tissue. With an experimental setup defined, future studies on carotid plaque behaviour both in SWE and μCT is enabled, where a large-scale plaque study could be performed to investigate the ability of SWE to differentiate between different plaque types.
Cumulative social disadvantage, ethnicity and first-episode psychosis: a case-control study

Background Numerous studies have reported high rates of psychosis in the Black Caribbean population in the UK. Recent speculation about the reasons for these high rates has focused on social factors. However, there have been few empirical studies. We sought to compare the prevalence of specific indicators of social disadvantage and isolation, and variations by ethnicity, in subjects with a first episode of psychosis and a series of healthy controls. Method All cases with a first episode of psychosis who made contact with psychiatric services in defined catchment areas in London and Nottingham, UK and a series of community controls were recruited over a 3-year period. Data relating to clinical and social variables were collected from cases and controls. Results On all indicators, cases were more socially disadvantaged and isolated than controls, after controlling for potential confounders. These associations held when the sample was restricted to those with an affective diagnosis and to those with a short prodrome and short duration of untreated psychosis. There was a clear linear relationship between concentrated disadvantage and odds of psychosis. Similar patterns were evident in the two main ethnic groups, White British and Black Caribbean. However, indicators of social disadvantage and isolation were more common in Black Caribbean subjects than White British subjects. Conclusions We found strong associations between indicators of disadvantage and psychosis. If these variables index exposure to factors that increase risk of psychosis, their greater prevalence in the Black Caribbean population may contribute to the reported high rates of psychosis in this population.
A sensitivity study of the key parameters in the interfacial photopolymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate upon porcine islets.

A method has been defined to interfacially photopolymerize poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylates (PEG diacrylates) to form a crosslinked hydrogel membrane upon the surfaces of porcine islets of Langerhans to serve as an immune barrier for allo- and xenotransplantation. A sensitivity study of six key parameters in the interfacial photopolymerization process was performed to aid in determination of the optimal encapsulation conditions, leading to the most uniform hydrogel membranes and viable islets. The key parameters included the concentrations of the components of the initiation scheme, namely eosin Y, triethanolamine, and 1-vinyl 2-pyrrolidinone. Other parameters investigated included the duration and flux of laser irradiation and the PEG diacrylate molecular weight. Each parameter was doubled and halved from the standard conditions used in the encapsulation process while holding all the remaining parameters at the standard conditions. The effects of changing each parameter on islet viability, encapsulation efficiency, and gel thickness were quantified. Islet viability was sensitive to the duration of laser illumination, viability significantly increasing as the duration was reduced. Encapsulation efficiency was sensitive to the concentrations of eosin Y, triethanolamine, and 1-vinyl 2-pyrrolidinone, to the laser flux, and to the PEG diacrylate molecular weight. Increasing the concentration of eosin Y significantly improved the encapsulation efficiency, while decreasing the concentration of 1-vinyl 2-pyrrolidinone and increasing the concentration of triethanolamine had the greatest effects in significantly reducing the encapsulation efficiency. Gel thickness was sensitive to the concentrations of triethanolamine and 1-vinyl 2-pyrrolidinone, to the duration of laser illumination, and to the PEG diacrylate molecular weight. Increasing the PEG diacrylate molecular weight significantly increased the gel thickness, while decreasing the concentration of 1-vinyl 2-pyrrolidinone and increasing the concentration of triethanolamine had the greatest effects in significantly reducing the gel thickness. From this sensitivity study, conditions were determined to encapsulate porcine islets, resulting in greater than 90% islet viability and greater than 90% encapsulation efficiency.