Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Herpesviral–bacterial interactions in periodontal diseases

Periodontitis is one of the most complex infectious diseases of the human body. Individual periodontal lesions may harbor millions of genomic copies of herpesviruses (179) as well as papillomaviruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T-lymphotropic virus type 1, torquetenovirus, and hepatitis B and C viruses (190). Herpesvirus-infected periodontal sites tend to exhibit more breakdown than herpesvirus-free sites, and a herpesviral active infection is associated with an elevated risk of progressive periodontal disease (189). Furthermore, the oral cavity supports more than 700 bacterial species, and the periodontal pocket area harbors more than 400 bacterial species (148). Periodontopathic bacteria, such as Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia, possess virulence factors involved in colonizing periodontal sites, neutralizing local host defenses and destroying periodontal tissues (78, 192). The host immune response attempts to control both pathogenic viruses and bacteria in periodontal sites. However, it is unclear if various immune mediators, such as certain cytokines and chemokines, exert primarily a protective or a destructive role in periodontal disease. Also, some immune mechanisms that are active against viruses may diminish antibacterial immune responses, and vice versa. It may be that periodontitis is the result of extensive and partly opposing immune responses against viral– bacterial combined infections (179). Major advances in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of periodontitis probably depend upon a better understanding of the pathogenic infections and the associated host responses. This review article presents evidence that viruses and bacteria in aggregate produce a greater pathogenic effect than the sum of the individual agents, and discusses how the concept of a herpesviral– bacterial combined infection may change our understanding of the pathogenesis, and possibly the management, of destructive periodontal disease. Emphasis is placed on synergistic interactions between periodontal Epstein–Barr virus and cytomegalovirus, and major suspected periodontopathic bacteria.
Medical and patient attitude towards vaginal atrophy: the AGATA study

Abstract Objectives: To provide data on current management of vaginal atrophy (VA) in a nationwide setting. Methods: A cross-sectional, multicenter study was made in 913 postmenopausal women consulting 22 gynecological outpatient services. VA was diagnosed with a combination of subjective symptoms and objective evaluations. Women with a previous diagnosis and those with a new diagnosis of VA filled additional questionnaires regarding modalities of VA management and reasons for missing diagnosis, respectively. Results: 730/913 (80%) women had ever had a diagnosis of VA. In 274 (37.5%), the diagnosis was made prior to, and in 456 (62.5%) during the investigation. Of women with a new VA diagnosis, 81.1% had never discussed their symptoms with the health-care practitioner (HCP), and 78.7% (n = 359) had never been questioned by an HCP. Of women with a previous VA diagnosis, 90.2% had been treated with systemic (10.1%), local hormonal (49.4%) or local non-hormonal (30.5%) therapy. At the time of investigation, 61.9% of these women had stopped treatment, with only 3.3% having been successfully cured. Conclusions: VA is highly prevalent in postmenopausal women. Its current management and treatment seem to be highly unsatisfactory and can be improved by medical sensitization and patient education.
Air-coupled Ultrasound for Monitoring the Production of PUR Sandwich Structures

Abstract Polyurethane sandwich structures are very useful in construction because of their excellent thermal insulating properties. Even though the chemicophysical processes occurring inside the production line crucially affect the quality of the final product, up to now, they are not monitored at all. Thus, the aim of this paper is to present a new fundamental approach for non-invasively monitoring these processes online by using air-coupled, low-frequency ultrasonic plate waves (“Lamb waves”). Hereby, a foaming cell incorporating the ultrasonic unit was constructed on a laboratory scale. Then, sandwich structures were fabricated with polyurethane consisting of various ratios of the educts di-isocyanate and polyol. Air, instead of liquid was used as the coupling medium to transport the ultrasonic waves that were subsequently monitored. For comparison, tensile strength and microscopic images were analyzed. Most importantly, various wave amplitudes and phases were recorded depending on the actual chemical properties of the polyurethane and its physical state. Consequently, this technique permits the direct and non-invasive tracking of the foaming process thereby avoiding expensive panel replacements.
Effect of Calcitriol on Bone Turnover and Osteocalcin in Recent-Onset Type 1 Diabetes

Background Vitamin D supplementation in childhood improves the achievement of peak bone mass. We investigated the effect of supplementation with calcitriol on bone turnover in recent-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D). Moreover, the association between osteocalcin and parameters of β-cell function and metabolic control was examined. Methodology/Principal Findings We conducted a post-hoc analysis of a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of calcitriol supplementation to preserve β-cell function. 27 recent-onset T1D subjects, mean age 22 years, were randomized to 0.25 µg calcitriol per day or placebo (1∶1) and followed up for one year. Changes in bone formation (osteoclacin) and resorption (beta-CrossLaps) markers, and differences between placebo and calcitriol-treated group were evaluated. At baseline, osteocalcin levels were significantly lower in female than in male patients (P<0.01) while no other metabolic parameters as HbA1c and C-peptide differed between gender. No significant correlations were found in relation to HbA1c, insulin requirement and C-peptide. At 1 year follow-up, no significant differences were observed between calcitriol and placebo groups for osteocalcin and β-CrossLaps. In the placebo group osteocalcin levels were unrelated with parameters of metabolic control, such as C-peptide, insulin requirement or HbA1c. Changes of C-peptide, insulin requirement and HbA1c were not related to osteocalcin levels. Conclusions Supplementation with 0.25 µg calcitriol per day to patients with new-onset T1D does not affect circulating markers of bone turnover. OC levels were unrelated to β-cell function and other metabolic parameters suggesting that OC is ineffective to control pancreatic function in presence of aggressive autoimmune destruction.
The anatomy of neglect without hemianopia: a key role for parietal–frontal disconnection?

We investigated the anatomical correlates of chronic unilateral neglect in right brain damaged patients with no visual field defects. Independently from basal ganglia or thalamus involvement, neglect patients had a subcortical area of maximal lesion overlap (maxov) in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Neglect patients without lesion of subcortical nuclei had an additional maxov area in the rostralmost limit of the supramarginal gyrus (SmG). Patients without neglect showed a maxov area in the corticospinal tract with no involvement of the SLF or SmG. These findings call attention to the role of parietal–frontal disconnection in the pathogenesis of neglect. This disconnection can make neglect generalised and enduring also in patients suffering only partial damage of the parietal–temporal cortex, and who would otherwise show more selective attentional impairments.
Endogenous Protein Interactome of Human UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases Exposed by Untargeted Proteomics

The conjugative metabolism mediated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase enzymes (UGTs) significantly influences the bioavailability and biological responses of endogenous molecule substrates and xenobiotics including drugs. UGTs participate in the regulation of cellular homeostasis by limiting stress induced by toxic molecules, and by controlling hormonal signaling networks. Glucuronidation is highly regulated at genomic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational levels. However, the UGT protein interaction network, which is likely to influence glucuronidation, has received little attention. We investigated the endogenous protein interactome of human UGT1A enzymes in main drug metabolizing non-malignant tissues where UGT expression is most prevalent, using an unbiased proteomics approach. Mass spectrometry analysis of affinity-purified UGT1A enzymes and associated protein complexes in liver, kidney and intestine tissues revealed an intricate interactome linking UGT1A enzymes to multiple metabolic pathways. Several proteins of pharmacological importance such as transferases (including UGT2 enzymes), transporters and dehydrogenases were identified, upholding a potential coordinated cellular response to small lipophilic molecules and drugs. Furthermore, a significant cluster of functionally related enzymes involved in fatty acid β-oxidation, as well as in the glycolysis and glycogenolysis pathways were enriched in UGT1A enzymes complexes. Several partnerships were confirmed by co-immunoprecipitations and co-localization by confocal microscopy. An enhanced accumulation of lipid droplets in a kidney cell model overexpressing the UGT1A9 enzyme supported the presence of a functional interplay. Our work provides unprecedented evidence for a functional interaction between glucuronidation and bioenergetic metabolism.
A Dissipative Connector for CLT Buildings: Concept, Design and Testing

This paper deals with the conception and characterization of an innovative connection for cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. The connection is designed to provide an adequate level of dissipative capacity to CLT structures also when realized with large horizontal panels and therefore prone to fragile shear sliding failure. The connector, named X-bracket, has been theorized and designed by means of numerical parametric analyses. Furthermore, its cyclic behavior has been verified with experimental tests and compared to that of traditional connectors. Numerical simulations of cyclic tests of different CLT walls anchored to the foundation with X-brackets were also performed to assess their improved seismic performances. Finally, the analysis of the response of a 6 m × 3 m squat wall demonstrates that the developed connection provides good ductility and dissipation capacities also to shear walls realized with a single CLT panel.
Significant contribution of spleen cells in mediating the lethal effects of endotoxin in vivo

Two closely related, histocompatible mouse strains that have marked differences in both in vitro and in vivo responses to endotoxin were used to evaluate the contribution of lymphoid cells to the lethal effect of endotoxin. C3H/HeJ mice are endotoxin resistant, whereas C3H/HeN mice are endotoxin sensitive. In vitro spleen cell mitogenic responses to endotoxin were similar in untreated mice and in mice that received sublethal irradiation (450 R) followed by reconstitution with autologous spleen cells. Reconstitution with spleen cells from the related strain produced chimeric animals with spleen cell mitogenic activity like that of the donor strain. When chimeric animals were subjected to a lethal challenge of endotoxin, their response was markedly altered by the transferred lymphoid cells. C3H/HeJ animals reconstituted with C3H/HeN cells became more endotoxin sensitive, whereas C3H/HeJ cells became more endotoxin resistant. These results indicate that spleen cells play a significant, detrimental role in endotoxin-induced lethality.
De nability and Unde nability with Real Order at the Background

A formula (X) with one free monadic predicate variable de nes the set of predicates (or family of point-sets) on A that satisfy (X). This family is said to be de nable by (X) in A: Suppose that A is a subchain of B = hB; <i. With a formula (X; A) we associate the following family of point-sets (or set of predicates) fP : P A and (P;A) holds in Bg on A: This family is said to be de nable by in A with B at the background.
Cursive Character Challenge : a New Benchmark for Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition Algorithms

Cursive character recognition is a challenging task due to high variability and intrinsic ambiguity of cursive letters. This paper presents C-Cube (Cursive Character Challenge), a new public-domain cursive character database. CCube contains 57293 cursive characters manually extracted from cursive handwritten words, including both upper and lower case versions of each letter. The database can be downoloaded from the web and it provides predefined experimental protocols in order to compare rigorously the results obtained by different researchers.
On Exploring Complex Relationships of Correlation Clusters

In high dimensional data, clusters often only exist in arbitrarily oriented subspaces of the feature space. In addition, these so-called correlation clusters may have complex relationships between each other. For example, a correlation cluster in a 1-D subspace (forming a line) may be enclosed within one or even several correlation clusters in 2-D superspaces (forming planes). In general, such relationships can be seen as a complex hierarchy that allows multiple inclusions, i.e. clusters may be embedded in several super-clusters rather than only in one. Obviously, uncovering the hierarchical relationships between the detected correlation clusters is an important information gain. Since existing approaches cannot detect such complex hierarchical relationships among correlation clusters, we propose the algorithm ERiC to tackle this problem and to visualize the result by means of a graph-based representation. In our experimental evaluation, we show that ERiC finds more information than state-of-the-art correlation clustering methods and outperforms existing competitors in terms of efficiency.
Bartenders' respiratory health after establishment of smoke-free bars and taverns.

CONTEXT The association between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and respiratory symptoms has not been well established in adults. OBJECTIVE To study the respiratory health of bartenders before and after legislative prohibition of smoking in all bars and taverns by the state of California. DESIGN Cohort of bartenders interviewed before and after smoking prohibition. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Bartenders at a random sample of bars and taverns in San Francisco. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Interviews assessed respiratory symptoms, sensory irritation symptoms, ETS exposure, personal smoking, and recent upper respiratory tract infections. Spirometric assessment included forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) measurements. RESULTS Fifty-three of 67 eligible bartenders were interviewed. At baseline, all 53 bartenders reported workplace ETS exposure. After the smoking ban, self-reported ETS exposure at work declined from a median of 28 to 2 hours per week (P<.001). Thirty-nine bartenders (74%) initially reported respiratory symptoms. Of those symptomatic at baseline, 23 (59%) no longer had symptoms at follow-up (P<.001). Forty-one bartenders (77%) initially reported sensory irritation symptoms. At follow-up, 32 (78%) of these subjects had resolution of symptoms (P<.001). After prohibition of workplace smoking, we observed improvement in mean FVC (0.189 L; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.082-0.296 L; 4.2% change) and, to a lesser extent, mean FEV1 (0.039 L; 95% CI, -0.030 to 0.107 L; 1.2% change). Complete cessation of workplace ETS exposure (compared with continued exposure) was associated with improved mean FVC (0.287 L; 95% CI, 0.088-0.486; 6.8% change) and mean FEV1 (0.142 L; 95% CI, 0.020-0.264 L; 4.5% change), after controlling for personal smoking and recent upper respiratory tract infections. CONCLUSION Establishment of smoke-free bars and taverns was associated with a rapid improvement of respiratory health.
IP layer restoration and network planning based on virtual protection cycles

We describe a novel restoration strategy called virtual protection cycles (p-cycles, patents pending) for extremely fast restoration in IP networks. Originally conceived for use in WDM and Sonet transport networks, we outline the adaption of the p-cycle concept to an IP environment. In an IP router-based network, p-cycles are implemented with virtual circuits techniques (such as an MPLS label switched path, or other means) to form closed logical loops that protect a number of IP links, or a node. In the event of failure, packets which would normally have been lost are encapsulated with a p-cycle IP address and reenter the routing table, which diverts them onto a protection cycle. They travel by normal forwarding or label switching along the p-cycle until they reach a node where the continuing route cost to the original destination is lower than that at the p-cycle entry node. Diverted packets are deencapsulated (dropped from the p-cycle) at that node and follow a normal (existing) route from there to their destination. Conventional routing protocols such as OSPF remain in place and operate as they do today, to develop a longer term global update to routing tables. Diversionary flows on the p-cycle inherently cease when the global routing update takes effect in response to the failed link or node. The p-cycle thus provides an immediate real-time detour, preventing packet loss, until conventional global routing reconvergence occurs. The aim of the paper is to explain the basic p-cycle concept and its adaptation to both link and node restoration in the IP transport layer, and to outline certain initial results on the problem of optimized design of p-cycle based IP networks.
Spatial Heterogeneity of Users in Wireless Cellular Networks Based on Open Urban Maps

Wireless cellular network planning benefits from accurate and realistic, yet relatively simple and manageable, spatial traffic models. User locations in cellular networks are often modeled as homogeneous (uniform) Poisson point processes (PPPs). However, the real user distributions are seldom purely homogeneous. Network users are usually concentrated at social attractors such as residential and office buildings, shopping malls, and bus stations. Wireless spectral efficiency depends significantly on the users’ spatial heterogeneity, and thus relevant spatial traffic generators and models are important. In future (5G) networks, for which device-to-device (D2D), millimeterwave (mmWave), and small-cell deployments in Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets), are promising technologies, it will become more important to have spatial traffic models which can represent the broad possibilities from completely homogeneous cases (e.g., a deterministic lattice) to extremely heterogeneous cases (e.g., highly clustered scenarios). In this paper, we use maps of Paris, France, obtained from OpenStreetMaps, to study the spatial traffic heterogeneity of outdoor users in the denser areas of the city center. Specifically, we investigate a second-order statistic, the Coefficient of Variation (CoV), of two spatial metrics: the Voronoi cell area and the Delaunay cell edge length. The expected value of the CoV of these metrics allows us to study how the heterogeneity increases with the density of users. Moreover, we find that the statistical distribution of both metrics is close to Weibull. The results illustrate that the topology of the buildings in the city imposes a significant degree of heterogeneity on the spatial distribution of the wireless traffic.
Controlled Lagrangian Systems with Gyroscopic Forcing and Dissipation

This paper describes a procedure for incorporating artificial gyroscopic forces and physical dissipation in the method of controlled Lagrangians. Energy-conserving gyroscopic forces provide additional freedom to expand the basin of stability and tune closed-loop system performance. We also study the effect of physical dissipation on the closed-loop dynamics and discuss conditions for stability in the presence of natural damping. We apply the technique to the inverted pendulum on a cart,a case study from previous papers. We develop a controller that asymptotically stabilizes the inverted equilibrium at a specific cart position for the conservative dynamic model. The region of attraction contains all states for which the pendulum is elevated above the horizontal plane. We also develop conditions for asymptotic stability in the presence of linear damping.
Stability and Preference Alignment in Matching and Coalition Formation

We study frictionless matching and coalition formation environments. Agents have preferences over coalitions, and these preferences vary with an underlying, and commonly known, state of nature. Assuming that there is substantial variability of preferences, we show that there exists a core stable coalition structure in every state of nature if, and only if, agents’ preferences are pairwise-aligned in every state of nature. In particular, we establish that there is a stable coalition structure if agents’ preferences are generated by Nash bargaining over coalitional outputs. Looking at all stability-inducing rules for sharing outputs, we show that all of them may be represented by a profile of agents’ bargaining functions, and that agents match assortatively with respect to these bargaining functions. We thus show that assortativeness is inherently related to stability, rather than being driven by particular modeling choices of agents’ sharing of output. The framework allows us to show that the presence of complementarities and peer effects – two important phenomena whose analysis was missing from prior theoretical work on matching – overturns some of the well-known comparative statics of many-to-one matching.
Liver Kinase B1 Is Required for Thromboxane Receptor-Dependent Nuclear Factor-&kgr;B Activation and Inflammatory Responses

Objective—Thromboxane A2 receptor (TPr) has been reported to trigger vascular inflammation. Nuclear factor &kgr; B (NF-&kgr;B) is a known transcription factor. The aims of the present study were to determine the contributions of NF-&kgr;B activation to TPr-triggered vascular inflammation and elucidate the mechanism(s) underlying TPr activation of NF-&kgr;B. Approach and Results—The effects of TPr activators, [1S-[1alpha,2alpha(Z),3beta(1E,3S*), 4alpha]]-7-[3-[3-hydroxy-4-(4-iodophenoxy)-1-butenyl]-7-oxabicyclo[2.2. 1]hept-2-yl]-5-heptenoic acid (I-BOP) and U46619, on NF-&kgr;B activation, phosphorylation of rhoA/rho-associated kinases and liver kinase B1, cell adhesion and migration, proliferation, and endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation were assayed in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells, human monocytes, or isolated mouse aortas. Exposure of human umbilical vein endothelial cells to TPr agonists I-BOP and U46619 induced dose-dependent and time-dependent phosphorylation of inhibitor of &kgr;B &agr; in parallel with aberrant expression of inflammatory markers cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Inhibition of NF-&kgr;B by pharmacological or genetic means abolished TPr-triggered expression of inflammatory markers. Consistently, exposure of human umbilical vein endothelial cells to either I-BOP or U46619 significantly increased phosphorylation of inhibitor of &kgr;B &agr;, IkappaB kinase, rhoA, rho-associated kinases, and liver kinase B1. Pretreatment of human umbilical vein endothelial cells with the TPr antagonist SQ29548 or rho-associated kinases inhibitor Y27632 or silencing of the LKB1 blocked TPr-enhanced phosphorylation of inhibitor of &kgr;B &agr; and its upstream kinase, IkappaB kinase. Finally, exposure of isolated mouse aortas to either U46619 or I-BOP enhanced NF-&kgr;B activation and vascular inflammation in parallel with reduced endothelium-dependent relaxation in intact vessels. Conclusions—TPr stimulation instigates aberrant inflammation and endothelial dysfunction via rho-associated kinases/liver kinase B1/IkappaB kinase-dependent NF-&kgr;B activation in vascular endothelial cells.