Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative evaluation of platelet-rich fibrin and autogenous bone graft for the treatment of infrabony defects in chronic periodontitis: Clinical, radiological, and surgical reentry

Context: Both intraoral autogenous bone grafting (ABG) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) offer a useful treatment modality for periodontal regeneration of intrabony defects (IBDs). However, predictable regeneration in patients with severe attachment loss is a challenge to the practitioners. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of PRF with ABG for the treatment of IBDs in chronic periodontitis. Settings and Design: This is a randomized controlled trial. Materials and Methods: Twenty chronic periodontitis patients with IBDs were randomly treated by PRF or ABG. Probing pocket depth (PPD), relative attachment level (RAL), surgical reentry bone fill, and radiographic bone fill (RBF) were recorded at baseline, 3, 6, and 9 months postsurgery, respectively. Statistical Analysis: Student′s t-test was used for continuous variables. All means were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and proportions were expressed in percentage. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Both PRF and ABG sites produced a significant improvement from baseline to 9 months for all the parameters. However, there was no significant difference between the two treatment modalities in the reduction of PPD and RAL gain at 9 months. In addition, ABG showed significantly greater RBF (30.34%) as compared to PRF (20.22%). Similar findings were supported by surgical reentry, where a surgical reentry of 65.31% at ABG sites and 43.64% at PRF sites was seen. Conclusion: Both ABG and PRF can be used predictably to reconstruct lost periodontal structures as indicated by PPD reduction and RAL gain. However, in terms of osseous defect fill, ABG yields more definitive outcome than PRF.
Human Capital, Social Capital and Lifelong Learning: An editorial introduction

BAICE was delighted when colleagues at the University of Nottingham proposed that the 2002 BAICE conference address lifelong long learning from human and social capital perspectives. These are topically important constructs in social and educational analysis, and taken together they allow enquiry into all fields of learning at all stages of life, in ways that encourage focused examination of the social and economic dynamics of purposes, processes and effects. The six papers included in this issue of Compare were all presented to the 2002 Nottingham conference. John Morgan (its convenor) and his colleagues, Janet Hannah and Steven Drodge, selected the papers for Compare and undertook initial reviewing. In a welcome innovation, the Nottingham team has also produced a CD of the conference proceedings, which includes the text of all papers received by the end of 2002 [1]. About 150 people attended the conference, with 90 making presentations. Most positioned their work, more and less explicitly, in relation to selected aspects of the overall theme. Few attempted an overarching conceptualisation and perhaps, given the complexity of each of the issues and the links between them, this is inevitable. To present this conference issue of Compare, we introduce in the following paragraphs current thinking about human and social capital, and ways in which it is shaping lifelong learning debates.
Multiple-viewpoint Image Stitching

A wide view image can be generated from a collection of images. Its field of view can be expanded as much as to capture a 360◦ scene. Common approaches, like panorama, mosaic, assume all source images are taken at the same camera center by pure rotation. However, this assumption limits the quality and feasibility of the generated images. In this paper, the problem of generating a wide view image from multiple viewpoint images is formulated. A simple and novel way is proposed to loosen the single viewpoint constraint. A wide view image is generated by 1) transforming images from different viewpoints into a unified viewpoint using SIFT feature matching, etc; 2) stitching the transformed images together by overlapping. Test results demonstrate that the proposed method is an efficient way for stitching images from different viewpoints.
Immigrants and Human-Capital Investment

The following question is approached theoretically and empirically: Why do immigrants invest more in human capital than the native-born, and how do investment patterns vary by type of immigrant? It is found that greater immigrant human capital investment is due to the lower opportunity costs of investment by immigrants lacking US-specific skills and the role of untransferred human capital as a factor of production for destination-country skills, as well as the higher return to investment spending from the complementarity of foreign and US human capital. This theoretical insight is supported by direct evidence of human capital investment and by empirical analyses.
Informatics and Medicine

Summary Objectives: To clarify challenges and research topics for informatics in health and to describe new approaches for interdisciplinary collaboration and education. Methods: Research challenges and possible solutions were elaborated by scientists of two universities using an interdisciplinary approach, in a series of meetings over several months. Results and Conclusion: In order to translate scientific results from bench to bedside and further into an evidence-based and efficient health system, intensive collaboration is needed between experts from medicine, biology, informatics, engineering, public health, as well as social and economic sciences. Research challenges can be attributed to four areas: bioinformatics and systems biology, biomedical engineering and informatics, health informatics and individual healthcare, and public health informatics. In order to bridge existing gaps between different disciplines and cultures, we suggest focusing on interdisciplinary education, taking an integrative approach and starting interdisciplinary practice at early stages of education. * See more detailed authors´ affiliations at the end of the article.
The Effect of Specialisation on Banks' Efficiency: An International Comparison

Abstract This study analyses the effects of specialisation on the cost efficiency of a set of banking systems of the European Union over the period 1992–1998. Unlike in the established literature in which specialisation differences are not considered, in this paper cost inefficiencies are decomposed into two different components: the first is related to the inefficiency associated with the composition of specialisations in each banking system and the second is related to specific inefficiencies of banks within their specialisation. The results show the existence of high cost inefficiencies. However, the intra‐specialisation inefficiencies indicate that the inefficiencies of the European banking systems are much smaller when the effect of productive composition (specialisation) is discounted. This effect is much more evident in those banking systems specialised in the more costly types of business (retail banking) because their composition inefficiency is higher.
What drives information dissemination in continuous double auction markets ?

In this paper, we investigate further the way information disseminates from informed to uninformed traders in a market populated by heterogeneous boundedly rational agents. In order to achieve our goal, we construct a computer simulated market where only a small fraction of the population observe the risky asset's fundamental value with noise, while the rest of agents try to forecast the asset's price from past transaction data. The paper departs from previous studies in that the risky asset does not pay a dividend every period, so agents cannot learn from past transaction prices and subsequent dividend payments. Our main finding is that information can potentially disseminate in the market as long as: (1) informed investors' trades tilt transaction prices in the fundamental path direction; and (2) the median investor's expectation is very responsive to transaction prices. Otherwise, markets may display crashes or bubbles. We find that the first condition requires a minimal amount of informed investors, and is severely limited by short selling and borrowing constraints
Research opportunities in purchasing and supply management

Purchasing and supply management (PSM) are crucial for the effective and efficient operation of manufacturing firms, now more than ever. The PSM function has evolved from being routine and mechanical to a function that can deliver true competitive advantage. The trend toward increased globalisation and outsourcing, along with a focus on innovation- and capability-driven supply management, has led to an increased reliance on suppliers. This has significantly enhanced the importance of PSM for manufacturing companies. The heightened significance in practice has been paralleled by an increasing attention of researchers in developing theories and chronicling best practices. At the same time, the rapid rate of change represents both daunting challenges and exciting opportunities for research in PSM. It is the goal of this article to highlight such challenges and discuss ensuing opportunities in PSM research. This objective is accomplished via the nominal group technique involving a panel of leading scholars in the purchasing and supply management field. As such, the article presents a synthesis and discussion of important research themes, poses a set of intriguing research opportunities, and serves as a motivation for future investigation.
When Others Get Too Close: Immigrants, Class, and the Health Care Debate

This article is part of a project aimed at analyzing the long-standing resistance in the United States to universal health care coverage. “When Others Get Too Close” focuses on one genre of anti-immigrant rhetoric, describes some of the socio-economic factors underlying that rhetoric, and reviews the implications of that rhetoric for the debate about health care reform in the United States.More specifically, the article examines the relevance of America’s highly competitive class system to the nation’s responses to both health care reform and immigration reform. The opacity of the class system has intensified anxiety within the middle class about safeguarding its place in the nation’s socio-economic hierarchy. That anxiety undergirds both anti-immigrant narratives and opposition to a national system of universal health care coverage.In supporting its claims, the article analyzes a set of judicial and legislative responses to undocumented immigrants in need of health care. It focuses, in particular, on the troubling story of Luis Jimenez, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala who was deported to Guatemala at the initiative of the Florida hospital where he was being treated for injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
The Boulogne fish market: the social structure and the role of loyalty

We examine the Boulogne wholesale fish market, analysing the structure of the trading network between sellers and buyers. Differently from other works in the literature, our analysis indicates a significant amount of ‘bilateral loyalty’ seller–buyer. Loyalty is from buyers to a few sellers as well as from sellers to a few buyers. We also show that loyalty has an impact on prices, discriminating among agents.
Flexpad: a highly flexible handheld display

This video demonstrates Flexpad, a highly flexible display interface. Flexpad introduces a novel way of interacting with flexible displays by using detailed deformations. Using a Kinect camera and a projector, Flexpad transforms virtually any sheet of paper or foam into a flexible, highly deformable and spatially aware handheld display. It uses a novel approach for tracking deformed surfaces from depth images very robustly, in high detail and in real time. As a result, the display is considerably more deformable than previous work on flexible handheld displays, enabling novel applications that leverage the high expressiveness of detailed deformation. We illustrate these unique capabilities through three application examples: curved cross-cuts in volumetric images, deforming virtual paper characters, and slicing through time in videos.
Cdk9 phosphorylates Pirh2 protein and prevents degradation of p53 protein

Several reports have pointed to the negative involvement of p53 in transcriptional regulation of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long-terminal repeat (HIV-1 LTR). We recently demonstrated that through their physical interaction, cdk9 phosphorylates p53 on Ser-392, leading to p53 stability and accumulation. As a result, p53 stalled transcriptional elongation of the HIV-1 LTR and significantly reduced HIV-1 replication in primary microglia and astrocytes. Therefore, we sought to identify the mechanisms used by cdk9 to allow this p53 function. Using western blot analysis, we found that cdk9 promotes inhibition and phosphorylation of Mdm2 on Ser-395, thus preventing degradation of p53, a protein that is directly involved in promoting p53 ubiquitination. On the other hand, we showed that cdk9 phosphorylates Pirh2 on Ser-211 and Thr-217 residues through their physical interaction. Phosphorylation of Pirh2 renders it inactive and may contribute to p53-inhibition of transcriptional elongation of the HIV-1 LTR. Hence, we suggest that phosphorylation of Pirh2 may be a novel target for the inhibition of HIV-1 gene expression.
Cochlear implants and neuroplasticity: linking auditory exposure and practice

Abstract Hearing loss is primarily a brain issues, not an ear issue. Technology, e.g. cochlear implants and hearing aids are necessary to reach the brain of a child with hearing loss in order to create a neural structure for listening, language and literacy. The brain requires a great deal of auditory exposure and practice to develop the strong neural connections that serve as a platform for knowledge acquisition. By integrating research from multiple fields, this article links experience dependent plasticity with the amount of auditory practice that is necessary to generate and change neural pathways for children with hearing loss.
Social Media in Education: The Relationship between Past Use and Current Perceptions.

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between prior use of social media in education and the perception of social media use in education and for future careers. College agriculture students and instructors were surveyed to address the objectives. The descriptive measures showed that instructors had more positive perceptions of social media than students, though neither group was in favor of social media in education in general. Prior use of social media in education was positively correlated with more positive perceptions of social media in education, with the relationship being stronger for instructors than students. The results indicate prior use could be a prerequisite for improving perceptions of social media in education. It was recommended instructors be aware of the discrepant views of social media in education that students hold when introducing social media into classes to help navigate potential conflicts as effectively as possible. Instructors should also be aware that the relationship between prior use and perceptions of social media is not as strong between different social media types. Further research is needed to better understand the direction of the relationship between prior use and perceptions. Experimental or quasi-experimental designs could address this area of research.
The effects of beta(1)-blockade on oxidative metabolism and the metabolic cost of ventricular work in patients with left ventricular dysfunction: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, positron-emission tomography study.

BACKGROUND The mechanism for the beneficial effect of beta-blocker therapy in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is unclear, but it may relate to an energy-sparing effect that results in improved cardiac efficiency. C-11 acetate kinetics, measured using positron-emission tomography (PET), are a proven noninvasive marker of oxidative metabolism and myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO(2)). This approach can be used to measure the work-metabolic index, which is a noninvasive estimate of cardiac efficiency. METHODS AND RESULTS The aim of this study was to determine the effect of metoprolol on oxidative metabolism and the work-metabolic index in patients with LV dysfunction. Forty patients (29 with ischemic and 11 with nonischemic heart disease; LV ejection fraction <40%) were randomized to receive metoprolol or placebo in a treatment protocol of titration plus 3 months of stable therapy. Seven patients were not included in analysis because of withdrawal from the study, incomplete follow-up, or nonanalyzable PET data. The rate of oxidative metabolism (k) was measured using C-11-acetate PET, and stoke volume index (SVI) was measured using echocardiography. The work-metabolic index was calculated as follows: (systolic blood pressure x SVI x heart rate)/k. No significant change in oxidative metabolism occurred with placebo (k=0.061+/-0.022 to 0.054+/-0.012 per minute). Metoprolol reduced oxidative metabolism (k=0.062+/-0. 024 to 0.045+/-0.015 per minute; P:=0.002). The work-metabolic index did not change with placebo (from 5.29+/-2.46 x 10(6) to 5.14+/-2. 06 x 10(6) mm Hg. mL/m(2)), but it increased with metoprolol (from 5. 31+/-2.15 x 10(6) to 7.08+/-2.36 x 10(6) mm Hg. mL/m(2); P:<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Selective beta-blocker therapy with metoprolol leads to a reduction in oxidative metabolism and an improvement in cardiac efficiency in patients with LV dysfunction. It is likely that this energy-sparing effect contributes to the clinical benefits observed with beta-blocker therapy in this patient population.
Prebiotic Effect Of Fructo-Oligosaccharide Supplemented Term Infant Formula at Two Concentrations Compared with Unsupplemented Formula and Human Milk

Background: Human milk components, including oligosaccharides, affect the gastrointestinal flora of infants. Previous studies in adults have demonstrated that fructo-oligosaccharides increase potentially beneficial fecal bacteria, including bifidobacteria. The purpose of this study was to determine the prebiotic effect of infant formula supplemented with fructo-oligosaccharides. Methods: Healthy term infants 2 to 6 weeks of age were enrolled in a 5-week, prospective, randomized, crossover, single-site study with a nonrandomized human milk comparator group. Washout weeks preceded and followed a week of feeding with fructo-oligosaccharide-supplemented formula (1.5 or 3.0 g/L). Stool specimens were quantitatively cultured weekly for bacteroides, lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, clostridia and enterococci and were tested for Clostridium difficile toxin. Results: Seventy-two of 87 infants completed the trial; 58 were formula fed and 14 were human milk fed. Mean counts of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli were similar in all groups at entry and no group experienced a significant change in counts with fructo-oligosaccharide supplementation. After 7 days of fructo-oligosaccharide supplementation the bifidobacteria counts were greater in the 1.5 g/L fructo-oligosaccharide formula group than in the human milk fed or 3.0 g/L fructo-oligosaccharide formula groups. Formula-fed infants had higher counts of enterococci and bacteroides before fructo-oligosaccharide supplementation, and these counts did not change after supplementation. Clostridium counts increased 7 days after supplementation in the 1.5 g/L fructo-oligosaccharide formula group (P = 0.0356). No human milk fed infants had C. difficile toxin in stools. Fructo-oligosaccharide (3.0 g/L) supplementation resulted in more frequent and significantly softer stools. Conclusions: Infant formula supplemented with 1.5 or 3.0 g/L fructo-oligosaccharides was safe but had minimal effect on fecal flora and C. difficile toxin.
Corruption, Foreign Direct Investment and Growth in Ghana: An Empirical Analysis

The aim of the study therefore, was to examine the effects of corruption in the economic development of Ghana. The study investigated the effects of corruption on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in Ghana by using annual time series data for the period from 2004 to 2014, through the application of (ADF) unit root, Johansen’s co-integration test and Granger causality test. The results of the analysis affirmed the existence of autocorrelation and unit root with Granger causality showing that, FDI inflow is bi-directional with corruption. The study recommended strengthening and strictly enforcing anti-corruption laws and policies to help minimize or prevent the incidence of corruption in Ghana. Moreover, there is the need for more strategic and concerted efforts by both public and private opinion leaders in fighting corruption as a social and economic problem that serves as impediment to growth. Keywords: Foreign direct investment (FDI), corruption, economic growth, Ghana.
The Effects of Household Characteristics on Demand for Insurance: A Tobit Analysis

Tobit analysis is used to analyze the impact of household characteristics on demand for total insurance. This approach examines the marginal change in demand for insurance, as well as the change in the probability of purchasing insurance. Demand effects are dominated by the marginal impacts from existing purchasers of insurance. Although income and number of earners are both positively related to the demand for insurance, the marginal effect from an increase in income is greater for single-earner households than for multiearner households. Also, as either family size or age increases, the marginal increase in insurance expenditure diminishes.
Lysogenic conversion of Salmonella typhimurium bacteriophages A3 and A4 consists of O-acetylation of rhamnose of the repeating unit of the O-antigenic polysaccharide chain

Lysogenization of Salmonella typhimurium with either of the bacteriophages A3 and A4 results in O-acetylation of the L-rhamnose residues of the O-polysaccharide chain of the lipopolysaccharide of the bacterial cell envelope. The O-acetyl group is found on both O-2 and O-3 of the L-rhamnosyl residues. This lysogenic conversion prevents the adsorption of the A3 and A4 phages and also greatly reduces the rate of adsorption of phage P22 to the O-polysaccharide chain as measured by binding studies with whole bacteria. Isolated lipopolysaccharide from A3- and A4-lysogenized bacteria was also inefficient in inactivating these phages: the concentration required for 50% inactivation was 10,000-fold higher than that for lipopolysaccharide from S. typhimurium not lysogenized by any A phage. Binding of phages A3 and A4 is accompanied by hydrolysis of the alpha-1,3 linkage between rhamnose and galactose in the tetrasaccharide repeating unit of the O-polysaccharide. Phage hydrolysis generates saccharides of various lengths, the majority being dodecasaccharides, i.e., equivalent to three repeating units. It is surmised that O-acetylation of the rhamnosyl residue interferes with phage A3, A4, and P22 infection by preventing binding to and hydrolysis of the O-polysaccharide chain, the initial step in the phage infection cycle. The new O-acetyl-rhamnose entities did not elicit specific antibodies in rabbits in accordance with earlier experiences. The O-acetylation of O-2 and O-3 of rhamnose is a new, hitherto unknown, modification of the O-polysaccharide chain of S. typhimurium.