Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dimensional changes in soft tissues around dental implants following free gingival grafting: an experimental study in dogs.

OBJECTIVE To study the buccal dimensional tissue changes at oral implants following free gingival grafting, with or without including the keratin layer, performed at the time of implant installation into alveolar mucosa. MATERIAL AND METHODS The mandibular premolars and first molars were extracted bilaterally in six Beagle dogs. In the right side of the mandible (Test), flaps were first elevated, and the buccal as well as part of the lingual masticatory mucosa was removed. An incision of the periosteum at the buccal aspect was performed to allow the flap to be coronally repositioned. Primary wound closure was obtained. In the left side, the masticatory (keratinized) mucosa was left in situ, and no sutures were applied (Control). After 3 months of healing, absence of keratinized mucosa was confirmed at the test sites. Two recipient sites were prepared at each side of the mandible in the region of the third and fourth premolars. All implants were installed with the shoulder placed flush with the buccal alveolar bony crest, and abutments were connected to allow a non-submerged healing. Two free gingival mucosal grafts were harvested from the buccal region of the maxillary canines. One graft was left intact (gingival mucosal graft), while for the second, the epithelial layer was removed (gingival connective tissue graft). Subsequently, the grafts were fixed around the test implants in position of the third and fourth premolars, respectively. After 3 months, the animals were euthanized and ground sections obtained. RESULTS Similar bony crest resorption and coronal extension of osseointegration were found at test and control sites. Moreover, similar dimensions of the peri-implant soft tissues were obtained at test and control sites. CONCLUSIONS The increase in the alveolar mucosal thickness by means of a gingival graft affected the peri-implant marginal bone resorption and soft tissue recession around implants. This resulted in outcomes that were similar to those at implants surrounded by masticatory mucosa, indicating that gingival grafting in the absence of keratinized mucosa around implants may reduce the resorption of the marginal crest and soft tissue recession.
Immigration, Enterprises, and Employment in the European Union

We study the effects of ethnic diversity, measured by the share of immigrants in the total population in the EU member countries, on the number of establishments and employment in the EU. We distinguish between different industries and between different groups of source (migrant-sending) countries; i.e., Eastern European Countries (EECs) and Mediterranean Countries (MPCs). We use a panel data that covers the period 1988-2010, and find that migration from MPCs to the EU has a positive impact on both the number of enterprises and employment, especially in light manufacturing industries. Also migration from MPCs to the EU positively affects employment in construction and heavy manufacturing industries. Similarly, migration from EECs to the EU positively affects employment, especially in food and beverages industries. See above See above
A CUDA Kernel Scheduler Exploiting Static Data Dependencies

The CUDA execution model of Nvidia’s GPUs is based on the asynchronous execution of thread blocks, where each thread executes the same kernel in a data-parallel fashion. When threads in di↵erent thread blocks need to synchronise and communicate, the whole computation launched onto the GPU needs to be stopped and re-invoked in order to facilitate interblock synchronisations and communication. The need for synchronisation is tightly connected with the underlying data dependency pattern of the computation. For a good range of algorithms, the underlying data dependency pattern is static, scalable and shows some regularity. For instance, sorting networks, the Fast Fourier Transform, stencil computations of PDE solvers are such examples, but parallel design patterns like scan, reduce, and alike can also be considered. In such cases, much of the e↵ort of devising and scheduling CUDA kernels for the computation can be automatized by exposing the dataflow representation of the computation in the program code using a
Registration of 3D Intraoperative MR Images of the Brain Using a Finite Element Biomechanical Model

We present a new algorithm for the nonrigid registration of three-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR) intraoperative image sequences showing brain shift. The algorithm tracks key surfaces of objects (cortical surface and the lateral ventricles) in the image sequence using a deformable surface matching algorithm. The volumetric deformation field of the objects is then inferred from the displacements at the boundary surfaces using a linear elastic biomechanical finite-element model. Two experiments on synthetic image sequences are presented, as well as an initial experiment on intraoperative MR images showing brain shift. The results of the registration algorithm show a good correlation of the internal brain structures after deformation, and a good capability of measuring surface as well as subsurface shift. We measured distances between landmarks in the deformed initial image and the corresponding landmarks in the target scan. Cortical surface shifts of up to 10 mm and subsurface shifts of up to 6 mm were recovered with an accuracy of 1 mm or less and 3 mm or less respectively.
How Wacky is the DAX? The Changing Structure of German Stock Market Volatility

In this paper we investigate the volatility structure of the German stock market index DAX and its constituents. Using a recently developed test, we find a volatility break in 1997. Interestingly, not only is the volatility higher after 1997 but the volatility persistence also increased. That means that there is a greater likelihood of high volatility days being followed by further high volatility days. An immediate consequence is that the tails of the distribution of stock market returns become fatter or that the probability of extreme price movements becomes greater. The break in volatility is not only a phenomenon of the index itself; the returns of the underlying equities also show a volatility break. If the volatility is decomposed into market and firm-specific or idiosyncratic components, the idiosyncratic volatility is shown to have increased much more than the market volatility. This is probably connected to the declining correlations among individual stock returns and has implications for portfolio diversification. When analysing potential reasons for the break in volatility, we find that the increase in the volatility of the German stock market cannot be attributed to international spillovers alone. Domestic factors which may help to explain the break in volatility are the growing number of institutional investors and the increase in the volatility of longer-term interest rates.
An intermediate filament-associated protein, p50, recognized by monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies (mAB) were raised to be used as probes to identify cytoplasmic components associated with intermediate filaments (IF). Four hybridomas (B27, B76, B78, and B100) secreting mAB were generated by fusing mouse myeloma cells with the spleen cells of mice immunized intraperitoneally with Triton-high salt insoluble materials from BHK-21 cells. This insoluble material consists mostly of IF, a small number of microfilaments, and some polyribosomes. Biochemical studies show that the Triton-insoluble materials contain many proteins, including vimentin (decamin) and desmin. Immunofluorescence microscopy of BHK-21 cells stained with the four mAB showed that these mAB decorate the IF in a dotted pattern. Double staining with polyclonal antibody to vimentin confirmed the reactivity of the mAB with the IF. These mAB also stained the vimentin-containing filament system in a variety of other cells including epithelial cells (PTK1 and HeLa) and cells of astroglial origin. Histological studies showed that mAB-B100 stained many types of tissue including epidermis, smooth muscle, and subdermis pericytes, but not the white matter nor the gray matter of the cerebellum and spinal cord. Immunoelectron microscopy with colloidal gold has shown that the mAB-B100 decorated the IF in clusters or aggregates around proteinaceous materials associated with the filaments. Results of immunoprecipitation indicate that mAB-B100 reacted with a protein of 50,000 daltons. These findings suggest that the mAB-B100 we have developed recognizes one of the many components of what appears to be an integrated cytoskeletal structure connected with intermediate filaments.
Simplified Pedestrian Tracking Filters with Positioning and Foot-Mounted Inertial Sensors

Pedestrian tracking is one of the bases for many ubiquitous context-aware services, but it is still an open issue in indoor environments or when GPS estimations are not optimal. In this paper, we propose two novel different data fusion algorithms to track a pedestrian using current positioning technologies (i.e., GPS, received signal strength localization from Wi-Fi or Bluetooth networks, etc.) and low cost inertial sensors. In particular, the algorithms rely, respectively, on an extended Kalman filter (EKF) and a simplified complementary Kalman filter (KF). Both approaches have been tested with real data, showing clear accuracy improvement with respect to raw positioning data, with much reduced computational cost with respect to previous high performance solutions in literature. The fusion of both inputs is done in a loosely coupled way, so the system can adapt to the infrastructure that is available at a specific moment, delivering both outdoors and indoors solutions.
LATERAL SPREAD ALONG THE MAIN PANCREATIC DUCT IN BRANCH‐DUCT INTRADUCTAL PAPILLARY‐MUCINOUS NEOPLASMS OF THE PANCREAS: USEFULNESS OF INTRADUCTAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY FOR ITS EVALUATION

Background: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) of the pancreas tend to spread intraepithelially along the pancreatic duct wall. We evaluated histopathological intraductal lateral spread (LS) along the main pancreatic duct (MPD) from branch‐duct IPMN and investigated the usefulness of intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) for its preoperative diagnosis.
Extraoral Surgical Approach of Ectopic Mandibular Third Molar to the Lower Border of Mandible

AbstractThe surgical removal of impacted lower third molar is an ordinary intervention. The treatment of choice in this pathology is an intraoral or, seldom, extraoral surgical approach. Various surgical procedures have been described to remove ectopic mandibular teeth. The more common technique is an intraoral approach (so named “conservative”), even when the tooth is located in an ectopic area. However, the “intraoral approach” is often related with the difficulty of view, the bleeding of the surgical site, and with the possible lesions of inferior alveolar or lingual nerve. From the other side, a nonconservative surgical approach like “extraoral pathway” may be associated with no aesthetic cutaneous postoperative scar tissue. The aim of those 2 study cases is to highlight the management of infected ectopic third molars located close to the lower border of the mandibular body, underlining the anatomical land markers of the submandibular area. The authors have applied the extraoral pathway using an incision of small size. From our analysis, the treatment of those typical can be managed by using a “mini-skin-incision” (so termed as mini-submandibular approach) respecting the cosmetic expectations of the patients.
Actions of halothane and isoflurane on Purkinje fibers in the infarcted canine heart: conduction, regional refractoriness, and reentry.

The actions of halothane (HAL) and isoflurane (ISO) on conduction and regional refractoriness were studied in infarcted canine hearts to compare their effects on reentry in vitro. In two anesthetic groups of 8 hearts, high and low dose effects were assessed using action potentials recorded from Purkinje fibers located in the nonischemic and ischemic regions. An extrastimulus technique was used to determine the relationship between delay of conduction of premature impulses into the more refractory ischemic region and induction of reentrant responses. At high doses (HAL 0.60 mM and ISO 0.64 mM, approximately 2.3 minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration [MAC]) both anesthetics decreased (P < or = 0.05) the effective refractory period for direct intracellular stimulation of nonischemic fibers (local ERP, initial control: 294 +/- 8 ms); the decrease with HAL (-29 +/- 6 ms) was smaller (P < or = 0.05) than with ISO (-50 +/- 7 ms). HAL and ISO also decreased (P < or = 0.05) the coupling interval of the earliest premature impulse which conducted into the infarct (system effective refractory period [SERP], control: 301 +/- 7 ms) by -31 +/- 11 and -44 +/- 8 ms, respectively. In contrast, the functional refractory period (FRP) in the ischemic region (control:354 +/- 4 ms) was increased by HAL (26 +/- 8 ms; P < or = 0.05) but decreased by ISO (-14 +/- 4 ms, P < or = 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Use of endoscopic septotomy for the treatment of late staple-line leaks after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy

Abstract Background Staple-line leak following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a dire adverse event. While the treatment of acute and early leaks is well established, there is still dispute regarding late and chronic leaks. We describe an endoscopic approach combining septotomy and sleeve stricture dilation for treating late/chronic leaks. Methods Ten consecutive patients with late/chronic proximal leaks were treated at our center. The septum separating the sleeve lumen from the perigastric cavity was progressively dissected over several sessions and the downstream stricture was pneumatically dilated. The technical and clinical success rates were evaluated. Results: All ten patients were treated successfully. Eight patients had sleeve strictures that were dilated in conjunction with septotomy. A mean of five sessions over the course of 43 days was needed to complete treatment. In two patients with a small perigastric cavity and no stricture, septotomy was achieved with through-the-scope balloon dilation of the fistula. No adverse events were encountered. Conclusions Septotomy accompanied by stricture dilation seems highly effective and safe in late and chronic leaks following sleeve gastrectomy.
Poor Nutritional Habits: A Modifiable Predecessor of Chronic Illness? A North Carolina Family Medicine Research Network (NC-FM-RN) Study

Purpose: To examine associations between personal nutritional patterns and various indicators of health, disease risk, and chronic illness in a diverse, representative sample of adult patients from primary care settings. Methods: As part of a survey of adult patients conducted in the waiting rooms of 4 primary care practices in North Carolina (recruitment rate 74.8%), a 7-item nutrition screen was administered to 1788 study participants. Other questionnaire items addressed disease and functional status, race/ethnicity, health habits, and demographic factors. Results: Respondents included 292 African Americans (17.3%), 1004 non-Hispanic whites (59.4%), 255 Hispanics (15.1%), and 126 American Indians (7.4%); mean age 47.5 years. Thirty percent reported eating 3 or more fast food meals weekly, 29% drank 3 or more high-sugar beverages weekly, 22% ate 3 or more high-fat snacks weekly, 36% ate 3 or more desserts weekly, 11% reported eating “a lot” of margarine, butter, or meat fat; 62% ate 2 or fewer fruits or vegetables daily; and 42% reported consuming protein less than 3 times a week. Scores on a summary measure were worse for prediabetics than for diabetics, for young adults compared with older persons, and for persons reporting good/excellent health versus fair/poor health. Conclusions: People at high risk for developing chronic illnesses later in life reported poorer diets in comparison with people who are already ill. This probably represents increased nutritional awareness and motivation among people with chronic diseases. Because primary care patients have a high prevalence of chronic disease risk factors, the primary care office setting may constitute a particularly appropriate location for nutrition education.
Continuum model for linked fibers with alignment interactions

We introduce an individual-based model for fiber elements having the ability to cross-link or unlink each other and to align with each other at the cross links. We first formally derive a kinetic model for the fiber and cross-links distribution functions. We then consider the fast linking/unlinking regime in which the model can be reduced to the fiber distribution function only and investigate its diffusion limit. The resulting macroscopic model consists of a system of nonlinear diffusion equations for the fiber density and mean orientation. In the case of a homogeneous fiber density, we show that the model is elliptic.
Calibration of the torsional and lateral spring constants of cantilever sensors

A method suitable for the calibration of the spring constants of all torsional and lateral eigenmodes of micro- and nanocantilever sensors is described. Such sensors enable nanomechanical measurements and the characterization of nanomaterials, for example with atomic force microscopy. The method presented involves the interaction of a flow of fluid from a microchannel with the cantilever beam. Forces imparted by the flow cause the cantilever to bend and induce a measurable change of the torsional and lateral resonance frequencies. From the frequency shifts the cantilever spring constants can be determined. The method does not involve physical contact between the cantilever or its tip and a hard surface. As such it is non-invasive and does not risk damage to the cantilever. Experimental data is presented for two rectangular microcantilevers with fundamental flexural spring constants of 0.046 and 0.154 N m−1. The experimentally determined torsional stiffness values are compared with those obtained by the Sader method. We demonstrate that the torsional spring constants can be readily calibrated using the method with an accuracy of around 15%.
On the uplink-downlink duality for Gaussian vector channels with colored noise and applications to CDMA transmitter adaptation

In this paper we study the uplink-downlink duality for Gaussian vector channels with colored noise, and we derive the duality transformations (downlink-to-uplink and vice versa) that imply transmit co-variance matrices for which user rates in uplink and downlink are identical. These transformations are then applied for transmitter adaptation in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems to obtain an ensemble of downlink CDMA codewords from an optimal ensemble of uplink codewords.
Market Perception of Consolidations in the European Defense Industry from 2001 to 2009 a Case of Event Studies

Abstract : The purpose of this research is to examine and analyze whether or not there was a statistically significant reaction in financial markets to the announcements of European defense manufacturers' consolidations for the time period from 2001 to 2009. The research focuses on the top four European contractors which are BAE Systems, EADS, THALES and Finmeccanica. The analysis will be accomplished with the use of a series of event studies, using the arithmetic stock returns of the companies' against the index of the intimate stock exchange market. The project will also examine whether the financial markets responded in the same manner in different consolidations and in different stock markets.
Optimum beamformer strategy for detecting signals in clutter noise

We apply the Neyman-Pearson (NP) test to obtain optimum detection of a region with fully developed speckle in clutter noise. The NP- test gives maximum detection probability, with a given clutter level. Assuming Gaussian signals with known covariance matrix for signal and noise, a sufficient statistics is found as a quadratic form of the element signals, with weight-matrix given by the signal and noise covariance matrices. Several beamforming methods, including standard beamsum (BS), and short lag spatial coherence (SLSC) can be expressed in the same way as a quadratic form, with different weight-matrices. By eigenvalue decomposition of the weight-matrix, the beamformer output can be written as a square sum of standard beamsum terms, with the eigenfunctions as apodization windows. The receive beamprofile can be calculated as the square sum of the Fourier transform of the eigenfunctions. In this way the weight-matrix can be optimized both for detection and spatial resolution/side lobe level. A simulation experiment was performed: a circular-shaped uniform speckle region was set in band-pass filtered white noise, with SNR= 9 dB. The NP-test showed the best detection performance, but slightly higher sidelobe level than BS. SLSC showed poorer detection performance than the two other methods, as well as higher sidelobes.
Using Big Data to Study Psychological Constructs: Nostalgia on Facebook

Nostalgia, reflecting on the past, has many aspects. At times, we refer to it as a state of mind as in, I’m nostalgic. At times, as a feeling – I’m feeling nostalgic. We sometimes use nostalgia as a way to deal with “in the present” emotions or feelings. For instance, we reminisce about past holidays to feel better about the present [1]. Nostalgia can be internally or externally activated. Internally, an individual can evoke feelings of nostalgia. On the other hand, external stimuli can evoke nostalgia, such as a song, an ad, or a brand [2-5].
Angiotensin-converting Enzyme Is a Modifier of Hypertensive End Organ Damage*

Severe forms of hypertension are characterized by high blood pressure combined with end organ damage. Through the development and refinement of a transgenic rat model of malignant hypertension incorporating the mouse renin gene, we previously identified a quantitative trait locus on chromosome 10, which affects malignant hypertension severity and morbidity. We next generated an inducible malignant hypertensive model where the timing, severity, and duration of hypertension was placed under the control of the researcher, allowing development of and recovery from end organ damage to be investigated. We have now generated novel consomic Lewis and Fischer rat strains with inducible hypertension and additional strains that are reciprocally congenic for the refined chromosome 10 quantitative trait locus. We have captured a modifier of end organ damage within the congenic region and, using a range of bioinformatic, biochemical and molecular biological techniques, have identified angiotensin-converting enzyme as the modifier of hypertension-induced tissue microvascular injury. Reciprocal differences between angiotensin-converting enzyme and the anti-inflammatory tetrapeptide, N-acetyl-Ser-Asp-Lys-Pro in the kidney, a tissue susceptible to end organ damage, suggest a mechanism for the amelioration of hypertension-dependent damage.