Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The confidence of undergraduate dental students when performing root canal treatment and their perception of the quality of endodontic education.

AIM This article aims to gain understanding into the perception of undergraduate dental students in terms of their confidence and competence at performing root canal treatment and their perception of the quality of endodontic education. METHODS An online questionnaire was distributed to all 3rd, 4th and 5th year dental students at Cardiff University via their academic e-mail addresses. The questionnaire utilised both scaled response and open questions to gain an insight into undergraduate opinion. RESULTS Out of a possible 208 students, 98 responses were obtained (response rate = 47%). Perception of competence and confidence were significantly greater amongst the more senior year groups (P < 0.01). However, 49% (n = 38) of participants did not feel competent performing root canal treatment on anterior, single-rooted teeth, whilst 74% (n = 70) did not feel competent performing root canal treatment on posterior, multirooted teeth. Free comments from participants indicated that this was due to a lack of clinical experience. Approximately, 80% of participants ranked education in endodontics at Cardiff University as ≤5 on a Likert scale (1 = inadequate to 10 = good), indicating that improvement was required. Improvements that were suggested by the students included the provision of further information within lectures, a broader range of lecturers, an increased number of shorter, more organised practical sessions, additional training equipment, greater supervision and online reference guides to root canal treatment. CONCLUSION Enhancing undergraduate education in endodontics is necessary to increase students' perception of their confidence and competence when performing root canal treatment.
Job Demands, Burnout, and Teamwork in Healthcare Professionals Working in a General Hospital that Was Analysed At Two Points in Time

AIM: The purpose of the paper was to assess job demands, burnout, and teamwork in healthcare professionals (HPs) working in a general hospital that was analysed at two points in time with a time lag of three years. METHODS: Time 1 respondents (N = 325) were HPs who participated during the first wave of data collection (2011). Time 2 respondents (N = 197) were HPs from the same hospital who responded at Time 2 (2014). Job demands, burnout, and teamwork were measured with Hospital Experience Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, respectively. RESULTS: Significantly higher scores of emotional exhaustion (21.03 vs. 15.37, t = 5.1, p < 0.001), depersonalization (4.48 vs. 2.75, t = 3.8, p < 0.001), as well as organizational (2.51 vs. 2.34, t = 2.38, p = 0.017), emotional (2.46 vs. 2.25, t = 3.68, p < 0.001), and cognitive (2.82 vs. 2.64, t = 2.68, p = 0.008) job demands were found at Time 2. Teamwork levels were similar at both points in time (Time 1 = 3.84 vs. Time 2 = 3.84, t = 0.043, p = 0.97). CONCLUSION: Actual longitudinal study revealed significantly higher mean values of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization in 2014 that could be explained by significantly increased job demands between analysed points in time.
Melatonin modifies basal and stimulated insulin secretion via NADPH oxidase.

Melatonin is a hormone synthesized in the pineal gland, which modulates several functions within the organism, including the synchronization of glucose metabolism and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Melatonin can mediate different signaling pathways in pancreatic islets through two membrane receptors and via antioxidant or pro-oxidant enzymes modulation. NADPH oxidase (NOX) is a pro-oxidant enzyme responsible for the production of the reactive oxygen specie (ROS) superoxide, generated from molecular oxygen. In pancreatic islets, NOX-derived ROS can modulate glucose metabolism and regulate insulin secretion. Considering the roles of both melatonin and NOX in islets, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association of NOX and ROS production on glucose metabolism, basal and GSIS in pinealectomized rats (PINX) and in melatonin-treated isolated pancreatic islets. Our results showed that ROS content derived from NOX activity was increased in PINX at baseline (2.8 mM glucose), which was followed by a reduction in glucose metabolism and basal insulin secretion in this group. Under 16.7 mM glucose, an increase in both glucose metabolism and GSIS was observed in PINX islets, without changes in ROS content. In isolated pancreatic islets from control animals incubated with 2.8 mM glucose, melatonin treatment reduced ROS content, whereas in 16.7 mM glucose, melatonin reduced ROS and GSIS. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that both basal and stimulated insulin secretion can be regulated by melatonin through the maintenance of ROS homeostasis in pancreatic islets.
Taking the Lab to the Field: Experimental Tests of Alternative Mechanisms to Procure Multiple Contracts

The first part of the paper reports the results from a sequence of laboratory experiments comparing the bidding behavior for multiple contracts in three different sealed bid auction mechanisms; first-price simultaneous, first-price sequential and first-price combinatorial bidding. The design of the experiment is based on experiences from a public procurement auction of road markings in Sweden. Bidders are asymmetric in their cost functions; some exhibit decreasing average costs of winning more than one contract, whereas other bidders have increasing average cost functions. The combinatorial bidding mechanism is demonstrated to be most efficient. The second part of the paper describes how the lab experiment was followed up by a field test of a combinatorial procurement auction of road markings.
Rationing in a Durable Goods Monopoly

We offer a new explanation of equilibrium rationing. As is well known, a monopolist selling a durable good and not able to commit to a price sequence has an incentive to lower the price once the consumers with the greatest willingness to pay have bought, but this induces consumers to postpone purchases. We show that rationing reduces the incentive to lower future prices and may allow the monopolist to increase his discounted profit.
Transitioning from Bipolar II to Bipolar I Disorder in Late Life: Implications for Practice

277 Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice ¦ Volume 9 ¦ Issue 2 ¦ April-June 2018 soft bipolar subtypes with their onset in the fifth decade of life may also eventually convert to BD‐I, and second, this conversion may happen even after two decades of illness onset. Some authors have elaborated on the role of behavioral approach system (BAS) which represents a behavioral‐motivation system that regulates approach to a range of rewards and safety cues. Individuals with BD, in this model, are believed to be hypersensitive to reward relevant cues, and this has been confirmed in many self‐report and behavioral task‐based studies. [7] However, it remains to be established whether the BAS sensitivity theory may identify individuals likely to convert to more severe bipolar variants with time. We hope this report spurs further research on the construct validity of a diagnosis of BD‐II.
Metaphit‐Induced Audiogenic Seizures in Mice: I. Pharmacologic Characterization

Summary: Metaphit [an analogue of phencyclidine (PCP) with an acylating isothiocyanate group] induced audiogenie clonic to clonic‐tonic seizures in mice exposed to audio stimulation 24 h after metaphit administration. The incidence of seizures was reduced by treatment 30 min before audio stimulation with specific PCP‐like compounds [5‐methyl‐10, ll‐dihydro‐5H‐dibenzo(a, d)cyclohepten‐5,10‐imine maleate (MK‐801), and PCP itself], competitive N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate antagonists 2‐amino‐5‐ phosphonopentanoic acid (AP‐5 and NPC‐12626), antiepileptic drugs [phenobarbital (PB), phenytoin (PHT)], and γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonists (muscimol and diazepam). In contrast, when given in conjunction with metaphit, most of these drugs were ineffective in protecting animals from audiogenic seizures 24 h later. Only compounds with long half‐lives (t½) such as MK‐801, PB, and PHT had a protective effect. High‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of [3H]MK‐801 showed its long‐term presence in the brain after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of [3H]MK‐801. Audiogenic seizures observed 24 h after metaphit administration were potentiated by administration of the GABA antagonist picrotoxin 15 min before audio stimulation, and picrotoxin‐induced spontaneous seizures were enhanced by pretreatment (24 h earlier) with a dose of metaphit that in itself did not produce spontaneous seizures at the time of the picrotoxin test. Similar observations were made with N‐methyl d‐aspartic acid (NMDA) instead of picrotoxin. Thus, an interplay exists between excitatory glutaminergic and inhibitory GABAergic circuitries in the metaphit seizure model.
Viral Diseases of the Central Nervous System

Viral diseases of the central nervous system encompass a wide range of different processes, mainly inflammation affecting the brain (encephalitis), the meninges (meningitis), or a combined meningoencephalitis. The spinal cord can be affected as well (myelitis). Another group of viral-related disorders, sometimes without a clear pathophysiological mechanism disclosed, include post-viral illnesses. All of these groups of diseases are discussed in this article, with an emphasis on their imaging presentation, using magnetic resonance imaging.
Home ownership, mortgages and psychological distress

Although many studies have established that owning a home is associated with a variety of health benefits (lower mortality and morbidity rates), important gaps in our understanding of the relationship between housing tenure and health remain. In particular, previous research has tended to rely upon single, binary measures of housing tenure (home owners versus renters). These broad categories do not capture the heterogeneity that exists within housing tenure classifications. This paper uses an expanded measure to differentiate home owners with mortgages, from those who do not have mortgages and from those who live in rental accommodation. The results reveal a gradient in housing tenure and psychological distress; individuals in rental situations report the highest levels of distress, home owners without mortgages the lowest levels. Moreover, housing tenure modifies the impact of stress on distress in these data. The findings are interpreted in the context of changes to housing policy in Canada, and the economic climate during the period in which these data were collected. Future research directions are discussed.
The realism of yield management

The realism of yield management ispresented in the terms of historicaldevelopment, preconditions, ingredients,decision-making variables and boundaries.From this realism the yield segmentationprocess (YSP) emerges. The YSP is a `handson style' of capacity management that suitsthe organisational style and culture of thesmaller and medium sized hotels. The YSP isdescribed as a process rather than a ®xedmethod, a frame of reference that is describedas logical incrementalism. The YSP does notreplace the practises of hotel management,but strengthens existing systems andprocedures. The YSP process is broader thanprescribed methods but is ¯exible as adecision-making support tool for modernhotel management. The YSP provides asequential and comprehensive framework toensure that yield management adds value tomanaging capacity. This, however, presents achallenge to software manufactures whotraditionally have used rate structures andpotential incremental revenue as a basis fordecision-making within yield management.
Use of autonomous maximal smile to evaluate dental and gingival exposure

Objective This study was performed to validate the autonomous maximal smile (AMS) as a new reference for evaluating dental and gingival exposure. Methods Digital video clips of 100 volunteers showing posed smiles and AMS at different verbal directives were recorded for evaluation a total of three times at 1-week intervals. Lip-teeth relationship width (LTRW) and buccal corridor width (BCW) were measured. LTRW represented the vertical distance between the inferior border of the upper vermilion and the edge of the maxillary central incisors. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for reproducibility, and the m-value (minimum number of repeated measurements required for an ICC level over 0.75), were calculated. Results LTRW and BCW of the AMS were 1.41 and 2.04 mm, respectively, greater than those of the posed smile (p < 0.05), indicating significantly larger dental and gingival exposure in the AMS. The reproducibility of the AMS (0.74 to 0.77) was excellent, and higher than that of the posed smile (0.62 to 0.65), which had fair-to-good reproducibility. Moreover, the m-value of the AMS (0.88 to 1.05) was lower than that of the posed smile (1.59 to 1.85). Conclusions Compared to the posed smile, the AMS shows significantly larger LTRW and BCW, with significantly higher reproducibility. The AMS might serve as an adjunctive reference, in addition to the posed smile, in orthodontic and other dentomaxillofacial treatments.
Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase 5 in the Cerebrospinal Fluid-Contacting Nucleus Contributes to Neuropathic Pain in Rats.

BACKGROUND The activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) have been observed in synaptic plasticity processes of learning and memory in neuropathic pain. Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting nucleus (CSF-CN) has been identified with the onset and persistence of neuropathic pain. However, whether extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 5 (ERK5), a member of MAPKs, in CSF-CN participates in neuropathic pain has not been studied yet. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to identify the role of ERK5 in CSF-CN on the formation and development of neuropathic pain, and to investigate its possible mechanism. STUDY DESIGN Controlled animal study. SETTING University laboratory. METHODS After a chronic constriction injury (CCI) model was produced, BIX02188 was dissolved in 1% DMSO and injected into the lateral ventricles LV in a volume of 3 μl with different doses (0.1 μg, 1 μg, 10 μg). Mechanical allodynia and thermal hypersensitivity behavioral test, immunofluorescence, and western blot technique were used in this research. RESULT Following CCI, mechanical allodynia and thermal hypersensitivity were developed within a day, peaked at 14 days, and persisted for 21 days. ERK5 was remarkably activated by CCI in CSF-CN. Moreover, selective inhibiting of p-ERK5 expression in CSF-CN by BIX02188 could significantly relieve CCI-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hypersensitivity, accompanying with the decreased phosphorylation of cAMP response-element binding protein (CREB) in CSF-CN. LIMITATIONS More underlying mechanism(s) of the role of ERK5 in CSF-CN on the formation and development of neuropathic pain will be needed to explore in future research. CONCLUSION These findings suggest activation of ERK5 in CSF-CN might contribute to the onset and development of neuropathic pain and its role might be partly accomplished by p-CREB.
Objective quality assessment of JPEG distorted stereoscopic image

This paper presents a new metric for the quality assessment of stereoscopic image. Quality assessment of stereoscopic image has different from 2D image, since stereoscopic image contains depth information. We combine depth saliency map with MSSIM algorithm to assessment JPEG distorted stereoscopic image quality. The experimental results show that the proposed method could accurate and objective evaluation of stereoscopic images quality.
Forestry Education, Training and Professional Development in Africa

SUMMARY It is widely acknowledged that support for classical forestry education worldwide is declining and that new forestry-related programmes are developing. It is difficult to be precise about the fundamental causes of this situation as there are no direct cause-effect relationships, but it appears that there is a complex interplay of forces at global and local scales that make classical forestry education appear obsolete. Classical forestry education treated forests as distinct entities defined in time and space (minimum tree/canopy density in an area) and forest science has been built around the ecological, biological and economic importance of that ‘entity’. However as the social, cultural and environmental aspects of forestry grow in importance, particularly in Africa and much of the tropical developing world, they are re-defining forests and extending the bounds of forestry to include trees in different landscapes, including even non-wooded landscapes. This requires foresters to ‘think outside the box’, but learning to deal with forestry issues ‘outside the forest’ is one challenge that is yet to be fully integrated into forestry education. This paper relates Africa's experiences in order to initiate discussions about the way forward.
Training Autoencoders in Sparse Domain

Autoencoders (AE) are essential in learning representation of large data (like images) for dimensionality reduction. Images are converted to sparse domain using transforms like Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) or Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) where information that requires encoding is minimal. By optimally selecting the feature-rich frequencies, we are able to learn the latent vectors more robustly. We successfully show enhanced performance of autoencoders in sparse domain for images.
Manufacturing Strategic Planning

This article reviews the existing literature on manufacturing strategy, explores its strengths and weaknesses, and proposes a new, more dynamic, planning framework. The new approach is based on the concept of strategic manufacturing initiatives (SMIs). SMIs are major manufacturing efforts that seek improvement over a specified time period; they include both quantitative goals and specific milestones. The article describes a planning process that managers can use to develop an effective mix of SMIs for their organizations. It begins with the overall business strategy and progresses through four stages of distillation or filtering. The article concludes with recommendations on how best to link SMIs with long-term planning.
SAT-FLOW: Multi-Strategy Flow Table Management for Software Defined Satellite Networks

Software-defined satellite network (SDSN) is a novel framework, which brings software-defined network technologies in the satellite networks. It has great potential to achieve effective and flexible management in the satellite networks. There are two burning issues to be solved for the flow table management in SDSN. First, the ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) space is limited on satellites and the flow table size should be reduced. Second, the frequent handovers will lead to an increase in the flow table size in SDSN. Due to the limited flow table space, a lot of flows will be dropped if the flow table is full during the handover. To address these issues, we first give a description of our focused flow table management problems. Then, we propose <italic>SAT-FLOW</italic>, a multi-strategy flow table management method for SDSN. <italic>SAT-FLOW</italic> considers three key points, limited TCAM space, classified traffic, and handover. <italic>SAT-FLOW</italic> contains two heuristic algorithms, named dynamic classified timeout (<italic>DCT</italic>) algorithm and timeout strategy-based mobility management (<italic>TSMM</italic>) algorithm. <italic>DCT</italic> aims to reduce the flow table size and <italic>TSMM</italic> aims to reduce the drop flows during the handover. We implement <italic>SAT-FLOW</italic> and conduct contrast experiments. The experimental results verify the good performance in terms of transmission quality, <italic>idle_timeout</italic> values distribution, a 15.27%–24.34% decrease in flow table size, an 8.2%–10.4% decrease in drop-flow rate, and a 4.92%–5.7% decrease in table misses for the high priority traffic during the handover.
Consumer Willingness to Pay for Cue Attribute: The Value Beyond Its Own

Using Certified U.S. Product as a product cue, we show that consumer willingness to pay for other identifiable search and experience attributes change. Certified U.S. Product serves as a substitute for Guaranteed Tender and a complement of Guaranteed Lean. Results have important implications for policymakers and food companies interested in food labeling programs in the presence of cue attributes such as Certified U.S. Product. The substitute effects of a cue attribute on other product attributes may contribute to deteriorating product quality and the complement effects of a cue attribute could improve product quality in the market.
The Choice of Employment Arrangement in the Market for Hospitalist Services

Hospitalists specialize in the management of patients who are hospitalized. Despite a uniformity of work sites, educational backgrounds, and tasks, however, newly available survey data from the American Hospital Association and the Society of Hospital Medicine reveal substantial diversity in employment arrangements. We reconcile these observations by noting that the two principal players on the health care continuum—primary care physicians who refer their patients and hospitals who admit them—have strong but differing motives for using hospitalists. We show how strategic interaction between the two players may give rise to multiple equilibria in which either the primary care physician group or the hospital ends up being the sole employer of hospitalists in a given market. Over time, the growing infrequency of hospitalization and variation in the cost of setting up a hospitalist program may explain the shifting predominance of different employment arrangements.
Size Limits for Focusing of Two-Dimensional Photonic Quasicrystal Lenses

The circular main channels of a photon stream in a two-dimensional photonic quasicrystal lens are strictly defined. Both the critical state width range for unstable focusing and the width limit for stable focusing are deduced. Furthermore, the critical state width range and the width limit can be different for varying thicknesses of lens. A relationship between the wavelength of a point source and the minimum size of such lenses is proposed for double-photon-stream-beam interference focusing.
From local to global HRM: interviews with HR heads in emerging Indian multinationals

Since the opening up of the Indian economy in early 1990s, Indian firms in general have made big strides in increasing their global competitiveness, both at home and abroad. The speed and scale of their internationalisation in the last decade are particularly note-worthy as they increase their foreign direct investment (FDI) in both the developed and developing markets. The availability and management of talent are seen to be one of their key competitive advantages. In this paper, the heads of human resources (HR) in four emerging Indian multinationals, in automotive, information technology (IT) services, bio-pharmaceutical, and conglomerates in multiple business segments, are interviewed on three main themes, namely, the evolution of HRM, the role of HRM in managing global operations/workforce and the future outlook and challenges for HRM. The interviews provide valuable insights into the state of HRM in multinationals from emerging economies and stress the need for both Western and emerging economy multinationals to learn from each other in a multi-polar world.