Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New perspectives on the relationship between mandibular and statural growth.

BACKGROUND Condylar and somatic growth have similar growth curves. The aim of this study was to compare both growth curves in untreated subjects at different ages and investigate if a correlation factor (CF) could be established. MATERIAL AND METHODS Semi-longitudinal records (cephalograms and body height) of 418 untreated, healthy children (193 girls and 225 boys) from a craniofacial growth study were analyzed. Incremental changes of three mandibular measurements from articulare and three from condylion were compared to statural growth changes separately. Based on the assumption that mandibular and somatic growth both follow a parallel line, a CF was postulated and checked for validity and reliability. RESULTS Mandibular growth spurt could be observed in all six different mandibular measurements, but distances from condylion were more informative. Gonial measurements were not as indicative as symphyseal distances. Mandibular growth did not coincide with somatic growth precisely, and condylar peak velocity preceded statural peak velocity in boys and was slightly delayed in girls. CF was close to the value of 0.4, and its validity could be ascertained when using the condylion-gnathion distance for all ages in girls and up to the age of 12 in boys. Reliability, however, proved to be poor owing to heterogeneity of the sample. CONCLUSIONS Although the relationship between mandibular and statural growth increments can be expressed as a CF with some degree of adequacy, the variance rendered CF unreliable. When evaluating growth-related changes, condylion should be preferred as condylar reference, and symphyseal landmarks should be favoured over gonion.
ALSUntangled 38: L-serine

Some, though not all, investigators believe that certain cases of sporadic ALS may be caused by exposure to a chemical called BMAA (B-methylamino-L-alanine, 4). This was first proposed as an explanation for the ALS Parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS/PDC) of Guam and supported when the chemical was found in autopsies of affected Chamorros (original studies reviewed in 4). It was later extended more broadly when BMAA was found in autopsies of people outside Guam who died from ALS (reviewed in 4). Proponents of the hypotheses point out that BMAA can be incorporated into proteins in place of L-serine, resulting in proteins that misfold, aggregate, and are ultimately neurotoxic (5). In cell cultures (5), flies (6,7) and vervets (8), application of L-serine can block incorporation of BMAA into proteins, limiting protein misfolding, aggregation, and neurotoxicity. The BMAA ALS hypothesis has been criticised, mainly for 2 reasons. First, some studies have failed to find BMAA in autopsies of Chamorros who died from ALS/PDC (9), or from people outside Guam living with or having died from ALS (10). Proponents of the hypothesis questioned the sensitivity of the methods used in some of these studies (reviewed in 4). Second, it has been pointed out that BMAA induced ‘‘neurotoxicity’’ would not explain the long latency between exposure and ALS onset, especially cases where exposure to the toxin may not even be present anymore when the disease begins (11,12). Based on this information, ALSUntangled assigns a TOE ‘‘Mechanism’’ grade of B (Table 1).
The Coexistence of Coping Resources and Specific Coping Styles in Stress: Evidence from Full Information Item Bifactor Analysis

Background Knowledge of coping styles is useful in clinical diagnosis and suggesting specific therapeutic interventions. However, the latent structures and relationships between different aspects of coping styles have not been fully clarified. A full information item bifactor model will be beneficial to future research. Objective One goal of this study is identification of the best fit statistical model of coping styles. A second goal is entails extended analyses of latent relationships among different coping styles. In general, such research should offer greater understanding of the mechanisms of coping styles and provide insights into coping with stress. Methods Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ) and Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) were administrated to officers suffering from military stress. Confirmatory Factor Analyses was performed to indentify the best fit model. A hierarchical item response model (bifactor model) was adopted to analyze the data. Additionally, correlations among coping styles and self-efficacy were compared using both original and bifactor models. Results Results showed a bifactor model best fit the data. Item loadings on general and specific factors varied among different coping styles. All items loaded significantly on the general factor, and most items also had moderate to large loadings on specific factors. The correlation between coping styles and self-efficacy and the correlation among different coping styles changed significantly after extracting the general factor of coping stress using bifactor analysis. This was seen in changes from positive (r = 0.714, p<0.01) correlation to negative (r = −0.335, p<0.01) and also from negative (r = −0.296, p<0.01) to positive (r = 0.331, p<0.01). Conclusion Our results reveal that coping styles have a bifactor structure. They also provide direct evidence of coexisting coping resources and styles. This further clarifies that dimensions of coping styles should include coping resources and specific coping styles. This finding has implications for measurement of coping mechanisms, health maintenance, and stress reduction.
Proximal Predictors of Alcohol Use among Japanese College Students

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives: This study investigated how negative social interactions (e.g., disagreeing with a friend) predicted subsequent drinking behaviors among Japanese college students. Because of social influences on drinking, and cultural norms for maintaining social harmony and making amends in response to social transgressions in Japanese culture, the authors hypothesized that students would consume more alcohol socially following increases in negative social interactions. Drinking refusal self-efficacy and social self-efficacy were also studied as moderators of social drinking. Methods: Fifty-five college students (79% women) of legal drinking age completed a once-daily Internet survey for 30 days, providing 1195 daily reports of drinking and social interaction. Prior to the daily survey, participants reported on Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy and Social Self-Efficacy in an initial Internet-based assessment. Results: Students drank more socially in the evening following daytime increases in negative social interactions, relative to evenings following fewer such exchanges (b = .23, p < .001). At the between-person level, students who reported stronger confidence in refusing to drink drank less socially compared to those who reported less confidence in drinking refusal (b = −.53, p < .001). Yet, those with higher social self-efficacy, which is typically a health-protective factor, drank more socially compared to their counterparts (b = .32, p < .05). Conclusions and Importance: Japanese college students increased their social drinking in response to daily negative social interactions, consistent with the notion that this drinking pattern represents efforts to make amends to others. Interventions targeted toward increasing students' confidence in refusing to drink may be beneficial in reducing social drinking in this population.
TURNING STUDIES OF DEEP CRYOGENIC TREATED P-40 TUNGSTEN CARBIDE CUTTING TOOL INSERTS – TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

In the present work, coated tungsten carbide tool inserts of ISO P-40 grade were subjected to deep cryogenic treatment at −176°C. Turning studies were conducted on AISI 1040 workpieces using both untreated and deep cryogenic treated tungsten carbide cutting tool inserts. The turning performance was evaluated in terms of flank wear of the cutting tool inserts, main cutting force and surface finish of the machined workpieces. The flank wear of deep cryogenic treated carbide tools was observed to be lower than that of untreated carbide tools in machining of AISI 1040 steel. The cutting force during machining of AISI 1040 steel was lower with the deep cryogenic treated carbide tools when compared with the untreated carbide tools. The surface finish produced on machined AISI 1040 steel workpieces was superior with the deep cryogenic treated carbide tools as compared to the untreated carbide tools.
Photoacoustic thermal flowmetry with a single light source

Abstract. We report a photoacoustic thermal flowmetry based on optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) using a single laser source for both thermal tagging and photoacoustic excitation. When an optically absorbing medium is flowing across the optical focal zone of OR-PAM, a small volume of the medium within the optical focus is repeatedly illuminated and heated by a train of laser pulses with a high repetition rate. The average temperature of the heated volume at each laser pulse is indicated by the photoacoustic signal excited by the same laser pulse due to the well-established linear relationship between the Grueneisen coefficient and the local temperature. The thermal dynamics of the heated medium volume, which are closely related to the flow speed, can therefore be measured from the time course of the detected photoacoustic signals. Here, we have developed a lumped mathematical model to describe the time course of the photoacoustic signals as a function of the medium’s flow speed. We conclude that the rising time constant of the photoacoustic signals is linearly dependent on the flow speed. Thus, the flow speed can be quantified by fitting the measured photoacoustic signals using the derived mathematical model. We first performed proof-of-concept experiments using defibrinated bovine blood flowing in a plastic tube. The experiment results have demonstrated that the proposed method has high accuracy (∼±6%) and a wide range of measurable flow speeds. We further validated the method by measuring the blood flow speeds of the microvasculature in a mouse ear in vivo.
General Pediatrician-Staffed Behavioral/Developmental Access Clinic Decreases Time to Evaluation of Early Childhood Developmental Disorders

Objective: To describe and evaluate the effectiveness of a quality improvement project to decrease wait time to evaluation for children referred to Developmental Behavioral Pediatricians (DBPs). Methods: The authors created a Behavioral/Developmental Access Clinic (BDAC) staffed by a general pediatrician (GP) and pediatric psychologist. Clinicians in the BDAC provided comprehensive developmental evaluations for children in a discrete age range (<5 yr old). We describe the establishment of the BDAC along with referrals, diagnoses, and recommended follow-up for patients seen by the GP. We used 2-tailed t tests to compare the mean time with initial evaluation for patients seen in BDAC versus a DBP. Results: Sixty-three children were seen in BDAC over 6 months. Referrals from the BDAC included: physical/occupational/speech therapy (71%), psychology (35%), audiology (25%), genetics (14%), and neurology (8%). Five patients (8%) were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Compared with time to appointment with a DBP (327 d), mean time to developmental assessment was shorter for the 45 patients who accepted earlier appointments in the BDAC (159 d), and for the 18 children seen in the BDAC as new referrals (11 d), p < . 001. Follow-up with a DBP was recommended for 9 (50%) of the new patient referrals evaluated in BDAC. Conclusion: The BDAC allowed for earlier developmental assessment of young children, with potential for earlier diagnosis and treatment of developmental disorders, including ASD. Opportunity for initial evaluation in BDAC decreased the number of patients requiring evaluation by DBPs, improving access to this subspecialty in our institution.
Influence of longitudinal steel on ductility of square columns under axial load

Evidences from many tests show that longitudinal steels have a great influence on ductility of reinforced concrete columns under concentric load. Ductility of columns can be improved steadily by increasing the amount of longitudinal steel. Ductility ratio can be predicted also by prescribing the quantity of longitudinal steel proportionally to lateral steel and the strength of concrete.
Presence of a Haloarchaeal Halorhodopsin-Like Cl− Pump in Marine Bacteria

Light-driven ion-pumping rhodopsins are widely distributed among bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes in the euphotic zone of the aquatic environment. H+-pumping rhodopsin (proteorhodopsin: PR), Na+-pumping rhodopsin (NaR), and Cl−-pumping rhodopsin (ClR) have been found in marine bacteria, which suggests that these genes evolved independently in the ocean. Putative microbial rhodopsin genes were identified in the genome sequences of marine Cytophagia. In the present study, one of these genes was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli cells and the rhodopsin protein named Rubricoccus marinus halorhodopsin (RmHR) was identified as a light-driven inward Cl− pump. Spectroscopic assays showed that the estimated dissociation constant (Kd,int.) of this rhodopsin was similar to that of haloarchaeal halorhodopsin (HR), while the Cl−-transporting photoreaction mechanism of this rhodopsin was similar to that of HR, but different to that of the already-known marine bacterial ClR. This amino acid sequence similarity also suggested that this rhodopsin is similar to haloarchaeal HR and cyanobacterial HRs (e.g., SyHR and MrHR). Additionally, a phylogenetic analysis revealed that retinal biosynthesis pathway genes (blh and crtY) belong to a phylogenetic lineage of haloarchaea, indicating that these marine Cytophagia acquired rhodopsin-related genes from haloarchaea by lateral gene transfer. Based on these results, we concluded that inward Cl−-pumping rhodopsin is present in genera of the class Cytophagia and may have the same evolutionary origins as haloarchaeal HR.
Developmental Stability in Gender-Typed Preferences Between Infancy and Preschool Age

Infants exhibit visual preferences for gender-typed objects (e.g., dolls, toy vehicles) that parallel the gender-typed play preferences of preschool-aged children, but the developmental stability of individual differences in early emerging gender-typed preferences has not yet been characterized. In the present study, we examined the longitudinal association between infants’ (N = 51) performance on an object-preference task, administered between 6 and 13 months of age, and their play preferences at 4 years of age. Greater visual interest in a toy truck relative to a doll in infancy predicted significantly greater male-typical toy and activity preferences (e.g., play with vehicles, videogames) at age 4. These findings suggest that gender-typed object preferences present during the 1st year of life may represent the developmental precursors of gender-typed play preferences observed later in childhood.
Analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region of Ascaris suum and Ascaris lumbricoides derived from free range Tibetan pigs

Abstract Ascaris suum (A. suum) is the most commonly occurring worldwide internal parasite of pigs; however, little is known about this organism in Tibetan pigs in China. A study was carried to isolate and identify the characteristics of internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) gene of A. suum derived from Tibetan pigs. Adult nematodes were collected from Tibetan pigs in 2015–2016. Total genomic DNA of the extracted parasites was performed and a fragment of the ITS of mitochondrial (mt) gene was amplified. The amplicons were cloned into PGEM®-T Easy Vector (Promega, WI) and the positive clones were sequenced by ABI 3730 × 1 sequencer. The sequence and phylogenetic analysis were performed by ClustalWVer. 1.4 and MEGA 6.0 software, respectively. Results indicated that the identity of A. suum isolates was 98.4%–99.9% with previously reported pig isolates, and 99.4%–99.7% with A. lumbricoides isolates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the characteristics of ITS gene of A. suum derived from the Tibetan pigs from high and remote areas depicting high identity with the isolates of both A. suum and A. lumbricoides.
Fabrication of metallic nanomesh: Pt nano-mesh as a proof of concept for stretchable and transparent electrodes

Two-dimensional ordered arrays of honeycomb morphology of platinum are fabricated by using anodized aluminum oxide template and metal sputtering methods. The resulting metal films are highly conductible (71 Ω/sq), stretchable (16.8%), and transparent (75.2% at 550 nm). The presented synthetic strategy is scalable to large area without noticeable defects by incorporating the deposition of a thin layer of silver. In addition, both the pore size and wall thickness of platinum nanomesh films are straightforwardly controlled with sputtering time. As a proof of concept, the metal nanomesh films using AAO template suggest a new concept of synthesizing transparent and stretchable metal electrodes for future electronic devices.
Drug-eluting implants for the suppression of metastatic bone disease: current insights

ABSTRACT Introduction: The fixation of impending or pathologic fractures is challenging and their successful management can have a favourable impact on the quality of life of the patient. The progression of the metastatic bone disease can cause significant pain and disability but also could result in the loosening and subsequent failure of the implants. To prevent the additional local growth, postoperative radiotherapy is often recommended, and many patients receive endocrine or chemotherapy Areas covered: Several reports support the antineoplastic drugs to bone cement as an adjuvant to improve implant stability as well as to prevent local cancer progression and failure of reconstructive devices used to treat patients with pathologic fractures. The aim of the present review is to present our current understanding on the effect of local delivery of antineoplastic drugs at the bone site. Expert commentary: Encouraging evidence support the application of bone cement loaded with antineoplastic drugs to fill defects and strengthen the fixation of orthopaedic implants. This is an inexpensive and safe method that can improve implant stability, prevent local cancer progression and failure of reconstructive devices. To fully evaluate its clinical effectiveness randomized clinical studies are needed.
Electrodermal activity analysis during affective haptic elicitation

This paper investigates how the autonomic nervous system dynamics, quantified through the analysis of the electrodermal activity (EDA), is modulated according to affective haptic stimuli. Specifically, a haptic display able to convey caress-like stimuli is presented to 32 healthy subjects (16 female). Each stimulus is changed according to six combinations of three velocities and two forces levels of two motors stretching a strip of fabric. Subjects were also asked to score each stimulus in terms of arousal (high/low activation) and valence (pleasant/unpleasant), in agreement with the circumplex model of affect. EDA was processed using a deconvolutive method, separating tonic and phasic components. A statistical analysis was performed in order to identify significant differences in EDA features among force and velocity levels, as well as in their valence and arousal scores. Results show that the simulated caress induced by the haptic display significantly affects the EDA. In detail, the phasic component seems to be inversely related to the valence score. This finding is new and promising, since it can be used, e.g., as an additional cue for haptics design.
Effect of silhouetting and inversion on view invariance in the monkey inferotemporal cortex

We easily recognize objects across changes in viewpoint, but the underlying features are unknown. Here, we show that view invariance in monkey inferotemporal cortex is driven mainly by external object contours and is not specialized for object orientation. We also find that the responses to natural objects match with that of their silhouettes early in the response, and with inverted versions later in the response—indicative of a coarse-to-fine processing sequence in the brain.
The Pervasive Role of Rank in the Health of U.S. Veterans

The following article tests the hypothesis that veterans have better health if they were officers when they were in the U.S. military than if they served in the enlisted ranks. It examines this hypothesis by presenting results from logistic regressions that are based on four surveys: the National Survey of Veterans, the Survey of Retired Military, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. In all four of these surveys, the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that military rank is associated with health, particularly among veterans who served longer. It also suggests that the health gradient by rank is independent of similar gradients by education and income as well as health differences by race. These findings indicate that health may be influenced not just by differences in civilian society but also by those in the military.
Diet Therapy for Cancer Prevention and Treatment Based on Traditional Persian Medicine

ABSTRACT Cancer is the second leading cause of death with profound socio-economic consequences worldwide. Growing evidence suggests the crucial role of diet on cancer prevention and treatment. In Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) there is a major focus on contribution of special diet and foods to cancer management. In the present article, the cytotoxic and antitumor activities of several food items including plants and animal products recommended by TPM as anticancer agents are discussed. Strong evidence supports the anticancer effects of beetroot (Beta vulgris) and its major compound betanin, cinnamon and cinnamaldehyde, barley (H. vulgare) and its products, extra-virgin olive oil, black pepper (P. nigrum) and its piperine, grapes (V. vinifera) and its compound resveratrol, ginger and its compound 6-gingerol, whey protein, fish, and honey. However, additional pharmacological studies and clinical trials are needed to elucidate their molecular and cellular mechanisms of actions, frequency, and amount of consumption, possible adverse effects, and optimum preparation methods. Moreover, studying mechanisms of actions of the bioactive compounds present in the discussed food items can be helpful in identifying and development of new anticancer agents.