Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fluoride release from conventional, resin-modified and hybrid glass ionomer cements

Summary Introduction The aim of the study was to quantify and compare fluoride release from four different glass ionomer cement products (GICs). Materials and Methods Standardized disk-shaped samples (5x2mm; n=5/group) of GIC restorative materials: conventional (Fuji IX, GC Corp., Japan), resin-modified (Fuji II LC, GC) and hybrid glass ionomer cement (Equia Forte, GC) and a conventional GIC liner/base material (Alfagal, Galenika, Serbia) were tested for fluoride release up to 21 days postsetting. Each sample was immersed in 5 mL of fresh deionized water during each time interval. Universal microhybrid composite (Filtek Z250, 3M EPSE, USA) and adhesive (Adper Single Bond, 3M ESPE) were used as negative controls. Fluoride release was measured using an F-selective electrode (Cole-Parmer, USA) and an ion meter (Oakton 700, Cole-Parmer, USA). Data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA, regression and correlation analysis at 0.05. Results The highest total fluoride release was measured from Alfagal (386±61 ppm/g), and significantly less from Equia (188±29 ppm/g), Fuji IX (143±11 ppm/g) and Fuji II LC (104±14 ppm/g) (p < 0.05). All GICs showed the highest fluoride release during the first 24 hours post-setting. After 3 days, fluoride release slowed down reaching a plateau for all materials. Regression and Pearson correlation analysis showed significant inverse relationship between fluoride release and sample mass and density (p<0.001). Conclusion Of the three GICs indicated for use as restorative materials, Equia Forte released the highest fluoride concentration. Fluoride release was material and density dependent, with higher release occurring from lower density GICs.
“Guilt by Association” Is the Exception Rather Than the Rule in Gene Networks

Gene networks are commonly interpreted as encoding functional information in their connections. An extensively validated principle called guilt by association states that genes which are associated or interacting are more likely to share function. Guilt by association provides the central top-down principle for analyzing gene networks in functional terms or assessing their quality in encoding functional information. In this work, we show that functional information within gene networks is typically concentrated in only a very few interactions whose properties cannot be reliably related to the rest of the network. In effect, the apparent encoding of function within networks has been largely driven by outliers whose behaviour cannot even be generalized to individual genes, let alone to the network at large. While experimentalist-driven analysis of interactions may use prior expert knowledge to focus on the small fraction of critically important data, large-scale computational analyses have typically assumed that high-performance cross-validation in a network is due to a generalizable encoding of function. Because we find that gene function is not systemically encoded in networks, but dependent on specific and critical interactions, we conclude it is necessary to focus on the details of how networks encode function and what information computational analyses use to extract functional meaning. We explore a number of consequences of this and find that network structure itself provides clues as to which connections are critical and that systemic properties, such as scale-free-like behaviour, do not map onto the functional connectivity within networks.
Can Automatic Calculating Machines Be Said to Think

Trainable methodologies and the transistor have garnered profound interest from both steganographers and cyberinfo rmaticians in the last several years. Given the current statu s of compact technology, computational biologists particul arly desire the visualization of forward-error correction, whi ch embodies the essential principles of networking. Our focus in this paper is not on whether the infamous certifiable algorit hm for the refinement of thin clients by P. Jackson et al. [54], [5 8], [59], [62], [68], [68], [70], [95], [95], [99], [114], [114] , [128], [129], [148], [152], [168], [179], [188], [191] is recursiv ely enumerable, but rather on constructing a pervasive tool for evaluating Internet QoS (HolHoveling).
Memory Span on the Wechsler Scales

This study had two goals. One was to assess whether the WMS-III Spatial Span subtest operates as a visual analogue of Digit Span while the second was to determine whether backward span is a more sensitive measure of working memory than the forward span condition. Analyses based on the WAIS-III–WMS-III standardization and clinical group data revealed some important distinctions between Digit and Spatial Span. The two tasks exhibited differences in patterns of performance on the forward versus backward conditions, in their relationships with age, and in their methodology. Moreover, the backward conditions of both Digit and Spatial Span did not appear more affected by risk factors such as aging or pathology than the forward scores. This runs contrary to the widespread notion that backward span provides differential sensitivity regarding working memory processing.
Robust stabilization of a class of uncertain nonlinear switched systems with delayed control

In this paper, the robust asymptotically stabilization of a class of nonlinear switched systems with delayed control is investigated. First, a new approach to construct the Lyapunov function considering the jump phenomena at switching times is employed. Then under the assumption of convex hull constraints for nonlinear terms, some sufficient conditions are established which guarantee the class of systems is robust asymptotically stabilizable by using receding horizon method. Furthermore a certain delayed controller is designed. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the results obtained.
Structures of sequential open states in a symmetrical opening transition of the TolC exit duct

In bacterial drug resistance and virulence pumps, an inner membrane (IM) transporter and periplasmic adaptor recruit an outer membrane (OM) trimeric TolC exit duct that projects an α-helical tunnel across the periplasm. The TolC periplasmic entrance is closed by densely packed α-helical coiled coils, inner H7/H8, and outer H3/H4, constrained by a hydrogen bond network. On recruitment, these coiled coils must undergo transition to the open state. We present 2.9 Å resolution crystal structures of two sequential TolC open states in which the network is incrementally disrupted and channel conductances defined in lipid bilayers. Superimposition of TolCRS (370 pS) and TolCYFRS (1,000 pS) on the TolCWT closed state (80 pS) showed that in the initial open-state TolCRS, relaxation already causes approximately 14° twisting and expansion of helix H7 at the periplasmic tip, increasing interprotomer distances from 12.2 Å in TolCWT to 18.9 Å. However, in the crystal structure, the weakened Asp374 pore constriction was maintained at the closed state 11.3 Å2. In the advanced open-state TolCYFRS, there was little further expansion at the tip, to interprotomer 21.3 Å, but substantial movement of inner and outer coiled coils dilated the pore constriction. In particular, upon abolition of the TolCYFRS intraprotomer Tyr362–Asp153 link, a redirection of Tyr362 and “bulge” in H3 allowed a simple movement outward of H8, establishing a 50.3 Å2 opening. Root mean square deviations (rmsds) over the coiled coils of the three protomers of TolCRS and TolCYFRS illustrate that, whereas independent movement at the periplasmic tips may feature in the initial stages of opening, full dilation of the pore constriction is entirely symmetrical.
IFN-α and CD46 stimulation are associated with active lupus and skew natural T regulatory cell differentiation to type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cells

Immune suppressive activities exerted by regulatory T-cell subsets have several specific functions, including self-tolerance and regulation of adaptive immune reactions, and their dysfunction can lead to autoimmune diseases and contribute to AIDS and cancer. Two functionally distinct regulatory T-cell subsets are currently identified in peripheral tissues: thymus-developed natural T regulatory cells (nTregs) controlling self-tolerance and antiinflammatory IL-10–secreting type 1 regulatory T cells (Tr1) derived from Ag-stimulated T cells, which regulate inflammation-dependent adaptive immunity and minimize immunopathology. We establish herein that cell contact-mediated nTreg regulatory function is inhibited by inflammation, especially in the presence of the complement C3b receptor (CD46). Instead, as with other T-cell subsets, the latter inflammatory conditions of stimulation skew nTreg differentiation to Tr1 cells secreting IL-10, an effect potentiated by IFN-α. The clinical relevance of these findings was verified in a study of 152 lupus patients, in which we showed that lupus nTreg dysfunction is not due to intrinsic defects but is rather induced by C3b stimulation of CD46 and IFN-α and that these immune components of inflammation are directly associated with active lupus. These results provide a rationale for using anti–IFN-α Ab immunotherapy in lupus patients.
Incentives for Research Agents: Optimal Contracts and Implementation ∗

We study the agency problem between a firm and its research employees. In a multi-agent contracting setting, we show explicitly the way in which the optimal incentive regime is a function of how agents' efforts interact with one another: relative-performance evaluation is used when their efforts are substitutes whereas joint-performance evaluation is used when their efforts are complements. We also provide an implementation of the optimal contract, in which a primary component of the agents' compensation is a risky security. This implementation gives a theoretical justification for the wide-spread use of stock-based compensation by firms that rely on R&D.
Decline in invasive pneumococcal disease after the introduction of protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccine.

BACKGROUND In early 2000, a protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccine targeting seven pneumococcal serotypes was licensed in the United States for use in young children. METHODS We examined population-based data from the Active Bacterial Core Surveillance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to evaluate changes in the burden of invasive disease, defined by isolation of Streptococcus pneumoniae from a normally sterile site. Serotyping and susceptibility testing of isolates were performed. We assessed trends using data from seven geographic areas with continuous participation from 1998 through 2001 (population, 16 million). RESULTS The rate of invasive disease dropped from an average of 24.3 cases per 100,000 persons in 1998 and 1999 to 17.3 per 100,000 in 2001. The largest decline was in children under two years of age. In this group, the rate of disease was 69 percent lower in 2001 than the base-line rate (59.0 cases per 100,000 vs. 188.0 per 100,000, P<0.001); the rate of disease caused by vaccine and vaccine-related serotypes declined by 78 percent (P<0.001) and 50 percent (P<0.001), respectively. Disease rates also fell for adults; as compared with base line, the rate of disease in 2001 was 32 percent lower for adults 20 to 39 years of age (7.6 cases per 100,000 vs. 11.2 per 100,000, P<0.001), 8 percent lower for those 40 to 64 years of age (19.7 per 100,000 vs. 21.5 per 100,000, P=0.03), and 18 percent lower for those 65 years of age or more (49.5 per 100,000 vs. 60.1 per 100,000, P<0.001). The rate of disease caused by strains that were not susceptible to penicillin was 35 percent lower in 2001 than in 1999 (4.1 cases per 100,000 vs. 6.3 per 100,000, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The use of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is preventing disease in young children, for whom the vaccine is indicated, and may be reducing the rate of disease in adults. The vaccine provides an effective new tool for reducing disease caused by drug-resistant strains.
Improvement in VA/Q distributions during inhalation of nitric oxide in pigs with methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction.

Effects of nitric oxide (NO) and aerosolized terbutaline inhalation on ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) distributions were determined during methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in nine mechanically ventilated pigs. Animals inhaled, in random order, zero, 20, and 80 parts per million (ppm) of NO or aerosolized terbutaline. Inhalation of either 20 ppm NO or terbutaline produced similar reduction in pulmonary resistance and increase in lung compliance. Bronchodilation was most pronounced during inhalation of 80 ppm NO. NO inhalation increased PaO2 from 65 +/- 4 to 90 +/- 5 (20 ppm NO) and 104 +/- 6 mm Hg (80 ppm NO) (p < 0.05), and oxygen delivery (DO2) from 484 +/- 49 to 565 +/- 25 (20 ppm NO) and 619 +/- 43 ml/kg/min (80 ppm NO) (p < 0.05) compared with control. Aerosolized terbutaline did not increase PaO2 and DO2. NO inhalation accounted for a decrease in blood flow to shunt units (20 ppm NO: 14 +/- 1%, 80 ppm NO: 19 +/- 2%; p < 0.05) and an increase in the perfusion of normal VA/Q units (20 ppm NO: 12 +/- 1%, 80 ppm NO: 18 +/- 1%; p < 0.05). Perfusion of shunt and normal VA/Q units was similar in the absence of NO inhalation with and without aerosolized terbutaline. Pulmonary vascular resistance decreased from 510 +/- 55 to 332 +/- 22 dyn.s/cm5 with 20 ppm NO (p < 0.05) and to 329 +/- 41 dyn.s/cm5 with 80 ppm NO (p < 0.05) but did not change with terbutaline. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Direction of arrival estimation in the presence of correlated signals with non-ideal uniform circular arrays

The Davies transformation is a method to transform the steering vector of a uniform circular array (UCA) to a vector with Vandermonde form. As this form is similar to that of the steering vector of a uniform linear array (ULA), we can apply to UCAs the many tools that have been developed for ULAs. However, the Davies transformation can be highly sensitive to perturbations of the underlying ideal array model. In this paper, we present two different methods for deriving a more robust transformation. The main underlying idea is to trade off robustness against accuracy of the Vandermonde form. In particular, we consider its application to direction-of-arrival estimation in the presence of correlated signals using root Weighted Subspace Fitting (root-WSF). The effectiveness of these methods are illustrated through numerical examples. (Less)
eQTL of bronchial epithelial cells and bronchial alveolar lavage deciphers GWAS‐identified asthma genes

Genome‐wide association studies (GWASs) have identified various genes associated with asthma, yet, causal genes or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) remain elusive. We sought to dissect functional genes/SNPs for asthma by combining expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) and GWASs.
Globalized Newton-Krylov-Schwarz Algorithms and Software for Parallel Implicit CFD

Implicit solution methods are important in applications modeled by PDEs with disparate temporal and spatial scales. Because such applications require high resolution with reasonable turnaround, parallelization is essential. The pseudo-transient matrix-free Newton-Krylov-Schwarz (ψNKS) algorithmic framework is presented as a widely applicable answer. This article shows that for the classical problem of three-dimensional transonic Euler flow about an M6 wing, ψNKS can simultaneously deliver globalized, asymptotically rapid convergence through adaptive pseudo-transient continuation and Newton’s method; reasonable parallelizability for an implicit method through deferred synchronization and favorable communication-to-computation scaling in the Krylov linear solver; and high per processor performance through attention to distributed memory and cache locality, especially through the Schwarz preconditioner. Two discouraging features of ψNKS methods are their sensitivity to the coding of the underlying PDE discretization and the large number of parameters that must be selected to govern convergence. The authors therefore distill several recommendations from their experience and reading of the literature on various algorithmic components of ψNKS, and they describe a freely available MPI-based portable parallel software implementation of the solver employed here.
Cocaine-Induced Agitated Delirium

Cocaine use continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. Although many of the initial signs and symptoms of cocaine intoxication result from increased stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, this condition can present as a spectrum of acuity from hypertension and tachycardia to multiorgan system failure. Classic features of acute intoxication include tachycardia, arterial vasoconstriction, enhanced thrombus formation, mydriasis, psychomotor agitation, and altered level of consciousness. At the extreme end of this toxidrome is a rare condition known as cocaine-induced agitated delirium. This syndrome is characterized by severe cardiopulmonary dysfunction, hyperthermia, and acute neurologic changes frequently leading to death. We report a case of cocaine-induced agitated delirium in a man who presented to our institution in a paradoxical form of circulatory shock. Rapid evaluation, recognition, and proper management enabled our patient not only to survive but also to leave the hospital without neurologic sequelae.
Sorption in disordered porous media

The lattice-gas model of sorption in disordered porous media is studied for a variety of settings, using existing, updated and newly developed numerical techniques. Firstly, we construct an efficient algorithm to calculate the exact partition function for small lattice-gas systems. The exact partition function is used for detailed analysis of the core features exhibited by such systems. We proceed to develop an interactive Monte Carlo (MC) simulation engine, that simulates sorption in a porous media sample and provides real-time visual data of the state space projection and the 3d view of the sample among other parameters of interest, as the external fields are manipulated. The use of such tool provides a more intuitive understanding of the system behaviour. The MC simulations are employed to study sorption in several porous solids: silica aerogel, Vycor glass and soil. We investigate how the phenomena depend on the microstructure of the original samples, how the behaviour varies with the external conditions, and how it is reflected in the paths that the system takes across its state space. Secondly, we develop two methods for estimation of the relative degeneracy (the number of microstates that have the same value of some macroscopic variables) in the systems that are too large to be handled exactly. The methods, based on a restricted infinite temperature sampling, obtain equidegenerate surfaces and the degeneracy gradient across the state space. Combined with the knowledge of an internal energy of a microstate, it enables us to construct the free energy map and thus the equilibrium probability distribution for the studied projection of the state space. Thirdly, the jump-walking Monte-Carlo algorithm is revisited and updated to study the equilibrium properties of systems exhibiting quasi-ergodicity. It is designed for a single processing thread as opposed to currently predominant algorithms for large parallel processing systems. The updated algorithm is tested on the Ising model and applied to the lattice-gas model for sorption in aerogel and Vycor glass at low temperatures, when dynamics of the system is significantly slowed down. It is demonstrated that the updated jump-walking simulations are able to produce equilibrium isotherms which are typically hidden by the hysteresis effect characteristic of the standard single-flip simulations. As a result, we answer the long standing question about the existence of the first-order phase transitions in Vycor. Finally, we investigate sorption in several distinct topology network representations of soil and aerogel samples and demonstrate that the recently developed analytical techniques for random networks can be used to achieve a qualitative understanding of the phenomena in real materials. List of Publications
Cardiovascular diseases in patients with high levels of plasma high density lipoprotein: association with increased plasma oxidative state.

BACKGROUND Increased levels of high density lipoprotein (over 60 mg/dl) are considered to be a negative risk factor for ischemic heart disease. However, some patients with high HDL still develop cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVE To explore why patients with very high HDL still suffer from cardiovascular diseases. METHODS We analyzed several risk factors, such as increased lipid peroxidation, hyperhomocysteinemia and increased release of inflammatory molecules, that could be related to the development of vascular disease in patients with high serum HDL levels. Patients with HDL cholesterol levels above 75 mg/dl were selected for this study and were separated into two groups based on the presence of atherosclerotic vascular disease, i.e., those with vascular disease (patients) and those without (controls). RESULTS Plasma isolated from the patient group exhibited significantly increased lipid peroxidation by 21% and decreased total antioxidant status by 17%, but there were no differences regarding their serum or their paraoxonase activity. Moreover, both groups exhibited similar levels of serum C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and homocysteine, enabling us to eliminate these risk factors in the etiology of cardiovascular disease in the patient group. CONCLUSION Increased oxidative stress could be one of the factors leading to cardiovascular diseases in patients with high serum HDL levels.
Cultural values and secondary prevention of breast cancer in african american women.

BACKGROUND Improving mammography initiation and maintenance among African American women has been suggested as a strategy for reducing breast cancer mortality in this population. METHODS We examined cultural values in relation to self-reported breast cancer screening among 572 low-income, urban, African American women. Cultural values examined included time orientation, family authority, employment aspirations, value of past vs modern life, and reliance on medical professionals. Also, implications for continued development of culturally tailored health interventions and opportunities for the consideration of cultural values in health communication are discussed. RESULTS Bivariate analyses showed that more traditional values were associated with worse screening histories and lower intentions for future screening. In multivariate analyses, two interactions were observed between cultural values and age: for younger women, more traditional values were associated with lower odds of having ever received a mammogram, and for older women, more traditional values were associated with lower odds of intentions to receive a mammogram in the next 2 years. CONCLUSIONS This study adds to the evidence that cultural constructs, such as values, are associated with secondary prevention of breast cancer and supports the consideration of cultural constructs as important in increasing mammography and reducing breast cancer disparities for African American women.