Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New bone formation and trabecular bone microarchitecture of highly porous tantalum compared to titanium implant threads: A pilot canine study

Abstract Aim This study evaluated new bone formation activities and trabecular bone microarchitecture within the highly porous region of Trabecular Metal™ Dental Implants (TM) and between the threads of Tapered Screw‐Vent® Dental Implants (TSV) in fresh canine extraction sockets. Materials and methods Eight partially edentulated dogs received four implants (4.1 mmD × 13 mmL) bilaterally in mandibular fresh extraction sockets (32 TM, 32 TSV implants), and allowed to heal for 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Calcein was administered to label mineralizing bone at 11 and 4 days before euthanasia for dogs undergoing all four healing periods. Biopsies taken at each time interval were examined histologically. Histomorphometric assay was conducted for 64 unstained and 64 stained slides at the region of interest (ROI) (6 mm long × 0.35 mm deep) in the midsections of the implants. Topographical and chemical analyses were also performed. Results Histomorphometry revealed significantly more new bone in the TM than in the TSV implants at each healing time (p = .0014, .0084, .0218, and .0251). Calcein‐labeled data showed more newly mineralized bone in the TM group than in the TSV group at 2, 8, and 12 weeks (p = .045, .028, .002, respectively) but not at 4 weeks (p = .081). Histologically TM implants exhibited more bone growth and dominant new immature woven bone at an earlier time point than TSV implants. The parameters representing trabecular bone microarchitecture corroborated faster new bone formation in the TM implants when compared to the TSV implants. TM exhibited an irregular faceted topography compared to a relatively uniform microtextured surface for TSV. Chemical analysis showed peaks associated with each implant's composition material, and TSV also showed peaks reflecting the elements of the calcium phosphate blasting media. Conclusions and clinical implications Results suggest that the healing pathway associated with the highly porous midsection of TM dental implant could enable faster and stronger secondary implant stability than conventional osseointegration alone; however, prospective clinical studies are needed to confirm these potential benefits in patients with low bone density, compromised healing, or prior implant failure.
A neurokinin‐1 receptor antagonist that reduces intraabdominal adhesion formation increases peritoneal matrix metalloproteinase activity

Adhesions remain a significant complication of abdominal surgery. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that remodeling of peritoneal extracellular matrix by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is involved in adhesion formation. We have shown that administration of a specific neurokinin‐1 receptor (NK‐1R) antagonist (CJ‐12,255, Pfizer) to rats within 5 hours of surgery reduces intraabdominal adhesion formation. Because substance P (SP), the primary NK‐1R ligand, is known to augment tissue fibrosis, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of NK‐1R antagonist administration on peritoneal MMP expression and activity 24 hours after surgery in a rat adhesion model. Following laparotomy, four ischemic buttons were created on the peritoneum of rats that received either an intraperitoneal NK‐1R antagonist or a vehicle at surgery. Adhesion formation was assessed 7 days later. Peritoneal fluid and tissue were collected at 24 hours to assess total MMP activity, as well as MMP‐2, MMP‐8, and MMP‐9 activity. Specific MMP and tissue inhibitors of MMP mRNAs were measured, and the effects of SP on MMP‐3 expression were determined in Met‐5A cells, a human peritoneal mesothelial cell line. NK‐1R antagonist administration reduced adhesion formation by 47% (p<0.05) at 7 days and significantly increased the total MMP activity in peritoneal fluid at 24 hours. There was an accompanying increase (p<0.05) in MMP‐8 and MMP‐9 mRNA expression and activity in peritoneal tissue and fluid, respectively. MMP‐3 mRNA was also increased in the 24‐hour peritoneal tissue, and exposure of Met‐5A cells to SP reduced MMP‐3 expression and activity. These data support a role for MMPs, specifically MMP‐3, MMP‐8, and MMP‐9, in intraabdominal adhesion formation and suggest that the NK‐1R antagonist may reduce adhesions, in part, by increasing MMP activity in the peritoneum by 24 hours after surgery.
Casein Kinases I and 2α Phosphorylate Oryza Sativa Pseudo-Response Regulator 37 (OsPRR37) in Photoperiodic Flowering in Rice

Flowering time (or heading date) is controlled by intrinsic genetic programs in response to environmental cues, such as photoperiod and temperature. Rice, a facultative short-day (SD) plant, flowers early in SD and late in long-day (LD) conditions. Casein kinases (CKs) generally act as positive regulators in many signaling pathways in plants. In rice, Heading date 6 (Hd6) and Hd16 encode CK2α and CKI, respectively, and mainly function to delay flowering time. Additionally, the major LD-dependent floral repressors Hd2/Oryza sativa Pseudo-Response Regulator 37 (OsPRR37; hereafter PRR37) and Ghd7 also confer strong photoperiod sensitivity. In floral induction, Hd16 acts upstream of Ghd7 and CKI interacts with and phosphorylates Ghd7. In addition, Hd6 and Hd16 also act upstream of Hd2. However, whether CKI and CK2α directly regulate the function of PRR37 remains unclear. Here, we use in vitro pull-down and in vivo bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays to show that CKI and CK2α interact with PRR37. We further use in vitro kinase assays to show that CKI and CK2α phosphorylate different regions of PRR37. Our results indicate that direct posttranslational modification of PRR37 mediates the genetic interactions between these two protein kinases and PRR37. The significance of CK-mediated phosphorylation for PRR37 and Ghd7 function is discussed.
WAVELET BASED COLOR HISTOGRAM IMAGE RETRIEVAL

In various application domains such as education, crime prevention, commerce, and biomedicine, the volume of digital data is increasing rapidly. The problem appears when retrieving the information from the storage media. Content-based image retrieval systems aim to retrieve images from large image databases similar to the query image based on the similarity between image features. We present a CBIR system that uses the color feature as a visual feature to represent the images. We use the images from the WANG database that is widely used for CBIR performance evaluation. The database contains color images, so we use the RGB color space to represent the images. So we make use of the content based image retrieval, using features like texture and color, called WBCHIR (Wavelet Based Color Histogram Image Retrieval). The texture and color features are extracted through wavelet transformation and color histogram and the combination of these features is robust to scaling and translation of objects in an image. The proposed system has demonstrated a promising and faster retrieval method on a WANG image database containing 1000 general-purpose color images.
An analytical solution to dynamic quantization problem of nonlinear control systems

This paper addresses a problem of finding an optimal dynamic quantizer for nonlinear control subject to discrete-valued signal constraints. The quantizers to be studied are in the form of a nonlinear difference equation and are evaluated by the performance index expressing the difference between the resulting quantized system and the usual (unquantized) system. To solve the problem, we first derive lower and upper bounds of the optimal performance, which presents an optimal dynamic quantizer in a closed form. The performance of the proposed quantizer is demonstrated by numerical simulations.
Fast generation of adaptive quadrilateral meshes from range images

This paper proposes a fast technique for generating adaptive quadrilateral meshes from range images with no optimization. The obtained meshes adapt to the features of the input images by concentrating points in areas of high curvature and by dispersing them in low variation regions. This leads to more accurate approximations of the given range images than when uniform sampling with the same number of points is applied. Experimental results with real range images representing both free-form and polyhedral and cylindrical objects are presented.
Acceptability Ratings of Regular and Irregular Past-tense Forms: Evidence for a Dual-system Model of Language from Word Frequency and Phonological Neighbourhood Effects

What are the computational and representational bases of the mental lexicon of words, and of the rules of grammar which productively combine lexical forms into larger words, phrases and sentences? “Dual-system” theories posit that lexical forms with non-compositional (arbitrary) sound-meaning pairings are stored in memory, whereas compositional structures are subserved by a distinct rule-processing system. “Single-system” theories claim that lexicon and grammar are both subserved by a single associative memory. Investigations of English past tense may help to resolve this controversy. On the dual-system view, irregular past-tense forms (e.g. blowblew) are retrieved from memory, whereas regular past-tense forms (e.g. walk-walked) are produced by the application of an -ed -suffixation rule. On the single-system view, both types of past-tense forms are learned and computed in associative memory. To test these competing theories, acceptability ratings were elicited from native English-speaking adults for regu.
Modeling of forest above-ground biomass dynamics using multi-source data and incorporated models: A case study over the Qilian mountains

In this work, we present a strategy for obtaining the dynamics of forest above-ground biomass (AGB) at a fine spatial and temporal resolution. Our strategy rests on the assumption that combining estimates of both AGB and carbon fluxes results in a more accurate accounting for biomass than considering only one of the terms since the cumulative carbon flux should be consistent with AGB increments. We estimated forest AGB dynamics by combining two types of models driven by field, remote sensing, and auxiliary data. The strategy was successfully applied to the Qilian Mountains, a cold arid region located in northwest China. In the first step, we improved the efficiency of existing non-parametric methods for estimating forest AGB. We applied the Random Forest (RF) model in order to pre-select the most relevant remotely sensed features in Landsat Thematic Mapper 5 (TM) and ASTER GDEM V2 products (GDEM). These features were further used to construct an optimal configuration for the k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN). Validation using forest measurements from 159 plots and the leave-one-out (LOO) method indicated that the optimal k-NN configuration yielded satisfactory performance (R2 = 0.70 and RMSE = 24.52 tones ha−1). Hence, the k-NN configuration was used to generate a regional forest AGB basis map for 2009. In the second step, we obtained one seasonal cycles (2011) of carbon fluxes using the MODIS MOD_17 GPP (MOD_17) model that was driven by meteorological fields of a numerical weather prediction model (WRF) and calibrated to Eddy Covariance (EC) flux tower data. The calibrated model for 2010_well predicted GPP for 2011 (R2 = 0.88 and RMSE = 5.02 gC m−2 8d−1). In the third step, we calibrated the ecological process model (Biome-BioGeochemical Cycles (Biome-BGC)) to above GPP estimates (for 2011) for 30 representative forest plots over an ecological gradient in order to simulate AGB changes over time. The Biome-BGC outputs of GPP and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) were validated against EC data (R2 = 0.75 and RMSE = 1. 27 gC m−2 d−1 for GPP, and R2 = 0.61 and RMSE = 1.17 gC m−2 d−1 for NEE). We used Biome-BGC to produce a longer time series for net primary productivity (NPP), which, after conversion into AGB increments, were compared to dendrochronological measurements (R2 = 0.73 and RMSE = 46.65 g m−2 year−1). The calibrated Biome-BGC model provided estimates of forest carbon fluxes that were converted into interannual AGB increments according to site-calibrated coefficients. With combination of these increments with the AGB map of 2009, the modeling of forest AGB dynamics was accomplished.
Adaptive Inverse Dynamics 4-Channel Control of Uncertain Nonlinear Teleoperation Systems

Most of the methods to date on bilateral control of nonlinear teleoperation systems lead to nonlinear and coupled closed-loop dynamics even in the ideal case of perfect knowledge of the master, the slave, the human operator and the environment. Consequently, the transparency of these closed-loop systems is difficult to study. In comparison, inverse dynamics controllers can deal with the nonlinear terms in the dynamics in a way that, in the ideal case, the closed-loop systems become linear and decoupled. In this paper, for multi-DOF nonlinear teleoperation systems with uncertainties, adaptive inverse dynamics controllers are incorporated into the 4-channel bilateral teleoperation control framework. The resulting controllers do not need exact knowledge of the dynamics of the master, the slave, the human operator, or the environment. A Lyapunov analysis is presented to prove the transparency of the teleoperation system. Simulations are also presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Is intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) safe?

Can a drug be safe if an FDA warning has been issued for it? Can a drug for which a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning has been issued be safe? The question of safety using off-label intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin Genentech, South San Francisco, California, USA; Roche AG, Basle, Switzerland) is a concern among ophthalmologists around the globe. This is one of the key aspects of The international intravitreal bevacizumab safety survey: using the internet to assess drug safety worldwide published by A Fung et al 1 ( see page xxx ). Why else would 70 centres from 12 countries voluntarily report on >7000 injections in >5000 patients using an internet-based questionnaire within just 6 months? The safety survey reported no drug-related adverse events for intravitreal bevacizumab injections beyond the level of incidence rates seen in control groups of current anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) trials in ophthalmology. No single adverse event reported was above 0.21% over a mean follow-up of 3.5 months. On the one hand, a self-reported safety survey may have the risk of underestimating adverse events, which was discussed by the authors; on the other hand, hardly any prospective clinical trial would be able to obtain safety data from such a diversity of centres, using different techniques for preparing and injecting bevacizumab and for …
Scalpdex: a quality-of-life instrument for scalp dermatitis.

OBJECTIVE To develop a scalp dermatitis-specific quality-of-life instrument. METHODS Based on the results of directed focus sessions with 8 patients with scalp psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis, we conceptualized 3 major constructs that explain the way scalp dermatoses affect patient quality of life: symptoms, functioning, and emotions. We constructed a 23-item instrument, Scalpdex, and tested its reliability, responsiveness, and validity. RESULTS Fifty-two dermatology patients completed the study. We demonstrated construct validity by confirming that the factors derived by principal axes factor analyses with orthogonal rotation correlated to our hypothesized scales (r = 0.76-0.84) and that differences in symptom, functioning, and emotion scores differed among the varying levels of self-reported scalp severity more than would be expected by chance (P<.05 by analysis of variance). The instrument demonstrated reliability with internal consistency (Cronbach alpha, 0.62-0.80) and reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.90-0.97). The quality-of-life scores changed in the expected direction in our test for responsiveness (P<or=.05, by paired t test for functioning and emotion for those who improved). We ascertained the discriminant capability of Scalpdex compared with a dermatological generic quality-of-life tool, Skindex, by demonstrating superior responsiveness (P<or=.005 by paired t test in functioning and emotion) and improved overall sensitivity in individual items. CONCLUSIONS Scalpdex is, to our knowledge, the first quality-of-life instrument specifically for patients with scalp dermatitis that is reliable, valid, and responsive. Clinicians can use the instrument to determine which aspect of the disease most bothers the patient and to evaluate quality of life as one variable of responsiveness to the therapeutic intervention.
High-Power Dual-Interleaved ZVS Boost Converter with Interphase Transformer for Electric Vehicles

A dual-interleaved boost converter is presented with zero-voltage switching for applications in electric vehicle power trains. The topology has one input inductor and an interphase transformer (IPT) between the two channels. By using an appropriate differential inductance value for the IPT, the converter achieves transitions with zero-voltage switching in the devices. The circuit operation is described followed by design details for a 40 kW prototype. The design is validated by experimental testing.
Region Duplication Forgery Detection using Hybrid Wavelet Transforms

With the help of various image editing tools available, it has become easier to alter an image in such a way that it does not leave behind any clues. Copy –Move forgery or also known as Region Duplication Forgery is a type of image forgery in which a part of digital image is copied and pasted to another part of same image. Since the copied and pasted image comes from the same image, it becomes difficult to detect the forgery. Generally the intention behind Copy-Move forgery is to hide important objects in an image. In this paper, a hybrid wavelet transform based forgery detection method is proposed. Hybrid Wavelet transforms is generated from basic orthogonal transforms. Hybrid wavelet transforms combines other orthogonal transforms such as hybrid of Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Walsh Transform. Both DCT and Walsh transforms are orthogonal. They can be used to generate Hybrid Wavelet Transform. This paper proposes generating a Hybrid Wavelet Transform (DCT-Walsh Hybrid Wavelet Transform) from DCT and Walsh transforms and used to detect copy-move forgery. The image is divided into overlapping blocks. On each block, DCT-Walsh Hybrid wavelet transform is applied. From each block discriminative features are extracted from coefficients. These feature vectors are lexicographically sorted and block matching step is applied to find duplicated blocks.
Enhanced hippocampus‐dependent memory and reduced anxiety in mice over‐expressing human catalase in mitochondria

Oxidative stress (OS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a modulatory role in synaptic plasticity and signaling pathways. Mitochondria (MT), a major source of ROS because of their involvement in energy metabolism, are important for brain function. MT‐generated ROS are proposed to be responsible for a significant proportion of OS and are associated with developmental abnormalities and aspects of cellular aging. The role of ROS and MT function in cognition of healthy individuals is relatively understudied. In this study, we characterized behavioral and cognitive performance of 5‐ to 6‐month‐old mice over‐expressing mitochondrial catalase (MCAT). MCAT mice showed enhancements in hippocampus‐dependent spatial learning and memory in the water maze and contextual fear conditioning, and reduced measures of anxiety in the elevated zero maze. Catalase activity was elevated in MCAT mice in all brain regions examined. Measures of oxidative stress (glutathione, protein carbonyl content, lipid peroxidation, and 8‐hydroxyguanine) did not significantly differ between the groups. The lack of differences in these markers of oxidative stress suggests that the differences observed in this study may be due to altered redox signaling. Catalase over‐expression might be sufficient to enhance cognition and reduce measures of anxiety even in the absence of alteration in levels of OS.
Predicting atrial fibrillation recurrence with circulating inflammatory markers in patients in sinus rhythm at high risk for atrial fibrillation: data from the GISSI atrial fibrillation trial

Background Inflammation may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Objectives To examine the roles of three systemic inflammatory markers in predicting recurrent AF. Methods The association between the plasma concentrations of high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and pentraxin-3 (PTX3) with echocardiographic parameters and with the time to first recurrence of AF was tested in 382 patients with a history of AF but in sinus rhythm at randomisation, enrolled in the GISSI-AF biohumoral study. Results Baseline PTX3 was related to left atrial, but not to left ventricular chamber volume. During one year of follow-up, 204 patients (53.1%) had a recurrent AF. There were no significant differences in baseline median [Q1–Q3] plasma concentrations of IL-6, hsCRP and PTX3 among patients with (2.11 [1.47–3.74] pg/ml, 3.30 [1.40–6.80] mg/l and 4.66 [3.27–6.97] ng/ml, respectively) or without recurrent AF (2.09 [1.37–2.90] pg/ml, p=0.182; 3.00 [1.10–6.20] mg/l, p=0.333; 5.09 [3.22–7.98] ng/ml, p=0.637). At 6 and 12 months follow-up, AF patients had significantly higher concentrations of IL-6 and PTX3 than those in sinus rhythm, and those with most recent episodes of AF had higher hsCRP. Baseline levels of IL-6, hsCRP or PTX3 were not significantly associated with a higher risk of recurrence of AF. Conclusion In patients with a history of AF, but without significant left ventricular dysfunction or heart failure, inflammatory biomarkers may be raised but are, at best, weak predictors of the risk for first recurrence of AF.
Optimized Relative Transformation Matrix Using Bacterial Foraging Algorithm for Process Fault Detection

Fault diagnosis of an aluminum electrolysis cell has long been a challenging industrial issue due to its inherent difficulty in extracting meaningful features from numerous nonlinear and highly coupled parameters. To solve this problem, this paper presents optimized relative transformation matrix (RTM) using bacterial foraging algorithm (BFA-ORTM). In particular, the operator of relative transformation is introduced to change the original variables in the spatial distribution and eigenvalues of the covariance matrix in the feature space. Then, optimization objective function on the comprehensive index φ, the squared prediction error (SPE), and Hotelling's T-squared (T2) statistics are established. Furthermore, bacterial foraging algorithm is applied to obtain the optimized operator to facilitate extracting the representative principal components. Compared with traditional approaches, BFA-ORTM not only overcomes the drawback of losing feature after the normalization of nonlinear variables, but also improves the accuracy of fault diagnosis. Extensive experimental results on real-world aluminum electrolytic production process validated our proposed method's effectiveness.