Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of sealing abilitiy of mineral trioxide aggregate mixed with propylene glycol as a root canal sealer: A in vitro study

Background: Sealing ability is one of the most important features of endodontic sealers. The main goal of the present study was to compare sealing ability of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA)-propylene glycol (PG) with two commonly used resin-based and MTA-based sealers. Materials and Methods: In This in vitro study Seventy extracted single-root teeth were used. Canal preparation was carried out using hand and RaCe rotary files. Ten teeth were used as control. The root canals in positive and negative control groups were left empty. Remaining 60 teeth were randomly divided into following four groups (n = 15): In Group 1, the canals were dried using paper cones and obturated using MTA-PG sealer. In Group 2, saline was removed from canal using a syring, but paper cones were not used. Obturation was done using MTA-PG sealer. In Groups 3 and 4, the canals were dried using paper cones and obturated with AH26 and MTA Fillapex, respectively. Two-chamber method was used to evaluate bacterial leakage using Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212). Turbidity of the lower chambers was checked every day during 90 days. Chi-square, Kaplan–Meier analysis, and logrank tests were used to compare groups regarding leaked samples at the end of the study. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: There was no significant difference among groups regarding rate of leakage throughout the study. However, at the end of the study, the groups were statistically different regarding leaked samples (P = 0.034). MTA Fillapex and MTA-PG in dry canal showed the most and least leaked samples at the end of the study, respectively (P < 0.05). Conclusion: MTA mixed with PG has superior sealing ability than MTA Fillapex.
Robustness issues in fault-tolerant control

Provides a perspective on the state of the art in robust approaches to fault-tolerant control and gives some indication of ways in which the research may best proceed. Key themes are the individual robustness properties of fault detection, fault isolation and controllers used as elements in a fault-tolerant system. Comparisons between active and passive approaches are made and emphasis is placed on the overall robustness properties of the fault-tolerant control system. < >
Associations and effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cognitive function and mood in healthy adults: a protocol for a systematic review of observational and interventional studies

Introduction The association between long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), brain health, cognitive function and mood has been the subject of intensive research. Marine-derived omega-3 PUFAs, such as docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, are highly concentrated in neuronal membranes and affect brain function. Many studies have found that consumption of omega-3 PUFAs is associated with lower risk of cognitive or mood dysfunction. However, other studies have demonstrated no beneficial effects. There appears to be inconsistent findings from both epidemiological and randomised controlled trial (RCT) studies. The aim of this review is to compile the previous literature and establish the efficacy of omega-3 PUFAs in enhancing cognitive performance and mood in healthy adults. Methods and analysis Prospective cohort studies, RCTs, controlled clinical trials, controlled before and after studies, interrupted time series with a minimum of 3 months duration will be eligible for inclusion. Studies on healthy adults over the age of 18, where the intervention/exposure of interest is omega-3 PUFAs will be included. The outcomes of interest are cognition and mood. Studies will be eligible for inclusion if they measure changes in cognitive function or mood, or the risk of developing cognitive or mood disorders using validated tools and assessments. Relevant search terms and keywords will be used to generate a systematic search in Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, Scopus and the grey literature. Two independent reviewers will screen studies for eligibility. Risk of bias in cohort and non-randomised studies will be assessed using the ROBINS-I tool. The Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials will be used for RCTs. If there are sufficient data, a meta-analysis will be conducted. Ethics and dissemination This systematic review does not involve primary data collection and therefore formal ethical approval is not required. Results will be disseminated through peer reviewed publications, conference presentations and the popular press. PROSPERO registration number CRD42018080800.
‘No one ever asked us’: a feasibility study assessing the co-creation of a physical activity programme with adolescent girls

Background: Globally, the poor activity level of adolescent girls is a public health concern. Little research has involved adolescents in the design of interventions. This study assessed the feasibility of involving girls in the co-creation of an activity programme. Methods: Thirty-one students (15–17 years old) were recruited from a post-primary school. The Behaviour Change Wheel guided intervention design, providing insights into participants’ capability, opportunity and motivation for change. Step counts and self-reported physical activity levels were recorded pre- and post-intervention. Feasibility benchmarks assessed recruitment, data collection, acceptability and adherence. Results: Activity and educational sessions were delivered for six weeks during physical education class. Average attendance was 87% (benchmark = 80%). Eligibility was 61% (benchmark = 60%). There was a 100% retention rate (benchmark = 90%). All participants (n = 31) completed baseline measures and 71% (n = 22) completed post-measures. 54% (n = 17) of students completed pedometer measurements, with 32% (n = 10) having complete data. Average daily steps were 13,121 pre-intervention and 14,128 post-intervention (p > 0.05). Data collection was feasible, receiving a mean score > 4/5 (benchmark > 3.5/5). Conclusions: The Behaviour Change Wheel can be used to co-create an activity programme with adolescent girls. Predetermined benchmarks, except for pedometer recordings, were reached or exceeded, providing evidence for the need of a randomised controlled trial to test effectiveness.
A Single Ketamine Infusion Combined With Mindfulness-Based Behavioral Modification to Treat Cocaine Dependence: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE Research has suggested that subanesthetic doses of ketamine may work to improve cocaine-related vulnerabilities and facilitate efforts at behavioral modification. The purpose of this trial was to test whether a single ketamine infusion improved treatment outcomes in cocaine-dependent adults engaged in mindfulness-based relapse prevention. METHODS Fifty-five cocaine-dependent individuals were randomly assigned to receive a 40-minute intravenous infusion of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) or midazolam (the control condition) during a 5-day inpatient stay, during which they also initiated a 5-week course of mindfulness-based relapse prevention. Cocaine use was assessed through self-report and urine toxicology. The primary outcomes were end-of-study abstinence and time to relapse (defined as first use or dropout). RESULTS Overall, 48.2% of individuals in the ketamine group maintained abstinence over the last 2 weeks of the trial, compared with 10.7% in the midazolam group (intent-to-treat analysis). The ketamine group was 53% less likely (hazard ratio=0.47; 95% CI=0.24, 0.92) to relapse (dropout or use cocaine) compared with the midazolam group, and craving scores were 58.1% lower in the ketamine group throughout the trial (95% CI=18.6, 78.6); both differences were statistically significant. Infusions were well tolerated, and no participants were removed from the study as a result of adverse events. CONCLUSIONS A single ketamine infusion improved a range of important treatment outcomes in cocaine-dependent adults engaged in mindfulness-based behavioral modification, including promoting abstinence, diminishing craving, and reducing risk of relapse. Further research is needed to replicate these promising results in a larger sample.
Efficacy and Safety of Long‐Term Baricitinib With and Without Methotrexate for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Experience With Baricitinib Monotherapy Continuation or After Switching From Methotrexate Monotherapy or Baricitinib Plus Methotrexate

To evaluate the long‐term efficacy and safety of maintaining baricitinib monotherapy in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) originally treated with baricitinib monotherapy or switched from methotrexate (MTX) or the combination of baricitinib plus MTX to baricitinib monotherapy.
Genes on the edge: A framework to detect genetic diversity imperiled by climate change

Ongoing global warming is disrupting several ecological and evolutionary processes, spanning different levels of biological organization. Species are expected to shift their ranges as a response to climate change, with relevant implications to peripheral populations at the trailing and leading edges. Several studies have analyzed the exposure of species to climate change but few have explored exposure at the intraspecific level. We introduce a framework to forecast exposure to climate change at the intraspecific level. We build on existing methods by combining correlative species distribution models, a model of species range dynamics, and a model of phylogeographic interpolation. We demonstrate the framework by applying it to 20 Iberian amphibian and reptile species. Our aims were to: (a) identify which species and intraspecific lineages will be most exposed to future climate change; (b) test if nucleotide diversity at the edges of species ranges are significantly higher or lower than on the overall range; and (c) analyze if areas of higher species gain, loss, and turnover coincide with those predicted for lineages richness and nucleotide diversity. We found that about 80% of the studied species are predicted to contract their range. Within each species, some lineages were predicted to contract their range, while others were predicted to maintain or expand it. Therefore, estimating the impacts of climate change at the species level only can underestimate losses at the intraspecific level. Some species had significant high amount of nucleotide at the trailing or leading edge, or both, but we did not find a consistent pattern across species. Spatial patterns of species richness, gain, loss, and turnover were fairly concurrent with lineages richness and nucleotide diversity. Our results support the need for increased attention to intraspecific diversity regarding monitoring and conservation strategies under climate change.
Exercise-induced enhancement of synaptic function triggered by the inverse BAR protein, Mtss1L

Exercise is a potent enhancer of learning and memory, yet we know little of the underlying mechanisms that likely include alterations in synaptic efficacy in the hippocampus. To address this issue, we exposed mice to a single episode of voluntary exercise, and permanently marked mature hippocampal dentate granule cells that were specifically activated during exercise using conditional Fos-TRAP mice. Only a few dentate granule cells were active at baseline, but two hours of voluntary exercise markedly increased the number of activated neurons. Activated neurons (Fos-TRAPed) showed an input-selective increase in dendritic spines and excitatory postsynaptic currents at 3 days post-exercise, indicative of exercise-induced structural plasticity. Laser-capture microdissection and RNASeq of activated neurons revealed that the most highly induced transcript was Mtss1L, a little-studied gene in the adult brain. Overexpression of Mtss1L in neurons increased spine density, leading us to hypothesize that its I-BAR domain initiated membrane curvature and dendritic spine formation. shRNA-mediated Mtss1L knockdown in vivo prevented the exercise-induced increases in spines and excitatory postsynaptic currents. Our results link short-term effects of exercise to activity-dependent expression of Mtss1L, which we propose as a novel effector of activity-dependent rearrangement of synapses. One Sentence Summary Single episodes of voluntary exercise induced a functional increase in hippocampal synapses mediated by activity-dependent expression of the BAR protein Mtss1L, acting as a novel early effector of synapse formation.
A comparison of flap reconstruction vs the laying open technique or excision and direct suture for pilonidal sinus disease: A meta‐analysis of randomised studies

Many treatments have been described for pilonidal disease, but recurrence cannot be completely eliminated. The aim of this study was to perform a meta‐analysis of randomised, controlled trials comparing flap repair vs the laying open technique and/or excision and direct closure techniques in the treatment of chronic pilonidal sinus disease. The primary outcome measure was the recurrence rate. Secondary outcomes were complete wound‐healing time, duration of the incapacity to work, quality of life and patient satisfaction, postoperative pain, wound infection, bleeding or haematoma, skin wound complications, and duration of hospital stay. Seventeen studies were included. The meta‐analysis demonstrated a lower risk of recurrence, a shorter duration of incapacity to work, a lower risk of wound infections, a lower risk of skin wound complications, and a shorter duration of hospitalisation in favour of flap vs direct closure. A shorter time to complete wound healing and a shorter duration of incapacity to work for flap vs the laying open technique were observed.
Analysing Geo-linguistic Dynamics of the World Wide Web: The Use of Cartograms and Network Analysis to Understand Linguistic Development in Wikipedia

Abstract This article discusses the usefulness of geo-linguistic analysis for Internet studies by presenting two techniques to frame and visualize the linguistic development of the World Wide Web, in particular the geo-linguistic development amongst different language versions of Wikipedia. An emergent research agenda has been set to explore the multilingual aspects of the Internet using, for example, a global perspective on Wikipedia research. And yet, there is a lack of theoretical and methodological tools for understanding the distribution and diffusion of linguistic materials online. The idea of geo-linguistic factors is introduced in this article to address these shortcomings and to respond to the study of a wide range of issues such as linguistic pluralism on the Internet or, more generally, the diffusion of innovation. Cartograms and network analysis are presented as two techniques that showcase the potential uses of geo-linguistic analysis. These two techniques of measurement and visualization indicate certain geographic and linguistic affiliations among languages. It is argued that although certain more developed language versions such as English and German may have central positions in connecting all languages, there exists another pattern that can best be explained by geo-linguistic factors. Finally, the limitations and implications of such findings and techniques are discussed, not only for research on Wikipedia but for Internet studies in general.
Piriformospora indica-induced phytohormone changes and root colonization strategies are highly host-specific

ABSTRACT Piriformospora indica, an endophytic fungus of Sebacinales, has a wide host range and promotes the performance of mono- and eudicot plants. Here, we compare the interaction of P. indica with the roots of seven host plants (Anthurium andraeanum, Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica campestris, Lycopersicon esculentum, Oncidium orchid, Oryza sativa, and Zea mays). Microscopical analyses showed that the colonization time and the mode of hyphal invasion into the roots differ in the symbiotic interactions. Substantial differences between the species were also observed for the levels and accumulation of jasmonate (JA) and gibberellin (GA) and the transcript levels for genes involved in their syntheses. No obvious correlation could be detected between the endogenous JA and/or GA levels and the time point of root colonization in a given plant species. Our results suggest that root colonization strategies and changes in the two phytohormone levels are highly host-specific.
Parallel sorting of large arrays on the MasPar MP-1

The problem of sorting a collection of values on a mesh-connected, distributed-memory, SIMD (single-instruction-stream, multiple-data-stream) computer using variants of Batcher's bitonic sort algorithm is considered for the case in which the number of values exceeds the number of processors in the machine. In this setting the number of comparisons can be reduced asymptotically if the processors have addressing autonomy (locally indirect addressing), and communication costs can be reduced by judicious domain decomposition. The implementation of several related adaptations of bitonic sort on a MasPar MP-1 is reported. Performance is analyzed in relation to the virtualization ratio VPR. It is concluded that the most reasonable large-array sort for this machine will combine hypercube virtualization with the processor axes transposed dynamically within an xnet embedding. <<ETX>>
Six versus eight weeks of antibiotics for small Mycobacteriumulcerans lesions in Australian Patients.

BACKGROUND Antibiotics are highly effective in curing M. ulcerans lesions, but are associated with significant toxicity. In those not undergoing surgery, we compared six weeks with the currently recommended eight weeks combination antibiotic therapy for small M. ulcerans lesions. METHODS M. ulcerans cases from an observational cohort at Barwon Health, Victoria, treated with antibiotics alone from 1/10/10-31/3/18 were included. The six-week antibiotic group received ≥ 28 days and ≤ 42 days of antibiotic therapy and the 8-week antibiotic group received ≥ 56 days of antibiotic therapy. Only WHO category 1 lesions were included. RESULTS 207 patients were included; fifty-three (25.6%) in the six-week group and 154 (74.4%) in the eight-week group. The median age of patients was 53 years (IQR 33-69 years) and 100 (48.3%) were female. Lesions were ≤ 900 mm2 in size in 79.7% of patients and 93.2% of lesions were ulcerative.Fifty-three patients (100%) achieved treatment cure in the six-week group compared with 154 (99.4%) in the eight-week group (p=0.56). No patients died or were lost to follow-up during the study. Median time to heal was 70 days (IQR 60-96 days) in the six-week group compared with 128 days (IQR 95-173 days) in the eight-week group (p<0.001). Two (3.8%) patients in the six-week group experienced a paradoxical reaction compared 39 (25.7%) patients in the eight-week group (p=<0.001). CONCLUSION For small M. ulcerans lesions, six weeks may be as effective as the currently recommended eight weeks of combined antibiotic therapy in curing lesions without surgery.
PhenoScanner V2: an expanded tool for searching human genotype–phenotype associations

Abstract Summary PhenoScanner is a curated database of publicly available results from large-scale genetic association studies in humans. This online tool facilitates ‘phenome scans’, where genetic variants are cross-referenced for association with many phenotypes of different types. Here we present a major update of PhenoScanner (‘PhenoScanner V2’), including over 150 million genetic variants and more than 65 billion associations (compared to 350 million associations in PhenoScanner V1) with diseases and traits, gene expression, metabolite and protein levels, and epigenetic markers. The query options have been extended to include searches by genes, genomic regions and phenotypes, as well as for genetic variants. All variants are positionally annotated using the Variant Effect Predictor and the phenotypes are mapped to Experimental Factor Ontology terms. Linkage disequilibrium statistics from the 1000 Genomes project can be used to search for phenotype associations with proxy variants. Availability and implementation PhenoScanner V2 is available at www.phenoscanner. medschl.cam. ac.uk.
Intermediate metabolites of the pyrimidine metabolism pathway extend the lifespan of C. elegans through regulating reproductive signals

The pyrimidine metabolism pathway has important biological functions; it not only maintains appropriate pyrimidine pools but also produces bioactive intermediate metabolites. In a previous study, we identified that the pyrimidine metabolism pathway is associated with aging regulation. However, the molecular mechanism by which the pyrimidine metabolism pathway regulates aging remains unclear. Here, we investigated the longevity effect of pyrimidine intermediates on Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Our results demonstrated that the supplementation of some pyrimidine intermediates could extend the lifespan of C. elegans. In addition, the RNAi knockdown of essential enzymes involved in pyrimidine metabolism could also significantly affect lifespan. We further investigated the molecular mechanism by which a representative intermediate metabolite, thymine, extends the lifespan of worms and found that thymine-induced longevity required the nuclear receptors DAF-12 and NHR-49, and the transcription factor DAF-16/FOXO. Further pathway analysis revealed that the longevity effect of thymine depended on the inhibition of reproductive signals. Additionally, we found that other pyrimidine intermediates functioned in a manner similar to thymine to prolong lifespan in C. elegans. Taken together, our results revealed that pyrimidine intermediates increased lifespan by inhibiting reproductive signals and subsequently inducing the function of DAF-12, NHR-49 and DAF-16 in C. elegans.
T1ρ‐based dynamic glucose‐enhanced (DGEρ) MRI at 3 T: method development and early clinical experience in the human brain

The aim of this study was to translate the T1ρ‐based dynamic glucose‐enhanced (DGEρ) experiment from ultrahigh magnetic field strengths to a clinical field strength of 3 T. Although the protocol would seem to be as simple as gadolinium‐enhanced imaging, several obstacles had to be addressed, including signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), robustness of contrast, and postprocessing, especially motion correction.
Validating Gaussian process models in computer experiments

In this thesis we present a methodology for validating Gaussian process models: Gaussian process emulators and simulator discrepancy models. A Gaussian process emulator is a representation of our beliefs about a mathematical model implemented in a computer program known as a simulator. By ``simulator discrepancy'', we mean the difference between a simulator's output and the corresponding physical process. We present a set of diagnostics to validate and assess the adequacy of Gaussian process models. These diagnostics are based on comparisons between real observations and model predictions for some test data, known as validation data, defined by a sample of real observations not used to build the model. The validation data are chosen according to designs that we have developed for such purposes. The diagnostics for Gaussian process emulators and discrepancy models are useful tools during the modelling procedure. Based on the result of the diagnostics, we can identify problems such as underconfidence, overconfidence, poor estimation of some unknown parameters, which if not identified might compromise analyses using the Gaussian process models. After we identify a problem, the diagnostics may provide information on where we should collect more data in order to make the predictive model a better representation of our beliefs.