Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Color evaluation of a dielectric mirror coating using porcine tissue and prosthetic gingival material: a comparison of two models.

AIM The aim of this study was to firstly evaluate the esthetics of a dielectric multilayer coating on titanium below porcine tissue (in vitro porcine model). Secondly, a polymer model was used to investigate the same samples to compare the models to each other and discuss their validity for optical assessment of esthetic coatings for implant applications. MATERIALS & METHODS A dielectric mirror coating was deposited on titanium substrates (Ti- Bragg) and tested below porcine tissue and polymer platelets of three test thicknesses (1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm). Titanium without coating (Ti) was used as a negative control. Furthermore, the substrates were subjected to three different surface treatments (polished, machined and sand-blasted). The color difference values ΔL, Δa, Δb and ΔE were calculated for each sample. In total, six samples were tested in both models. Statistical analysis of the data (one sample Wilcoxon test, Kruskal-Wallis with Bonferroni-Holm corrected Mann-Whitney post hoc tests for multiple testing) was conducted for each sample in both evaluation methods. RESULTS In the in vitro porcine model, sand-blasted Ti-Bragg and Ti samples showed ΔE values significantly above the threshold value of 3.70, indicating a dark appearance of the 1 mm thick covering tissue. As the test thickness increased, polished and machined Ti-Bragg samples were significantly invisible (ΔE < 3.70 with P < 0.05). Excessive brightening effects from Ti-Bragg samples were not observed from the in vitro porcine model, but below polymer platelets the samples exhibited significantly high ΔL values, which also resulted in a significant and visible color change (ΔE >> 3.70 with P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Ti-Bragg was suggested to be an appropriate coating system for dental implants to improve the soft tissue esthetics. The design of this coating system can be adjusted by varying different parameters to satisfy the requirements of an esthetic coating. The polymer model is valid for test thicknesses of 2 and 3 mm, however, one might have to increase the thickness to 1.5 mm or alter the composition of the resin for 1 mm thick platelets to increase the opacity and therefore adapt to the soft tissue situation.
An international civilization? Empire, internationalism and the crisis of the mid-twentieth century

This article explores the notion of an international civilization in nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century thinking on international relations and the state system. This idea was fundamental to Victorian thinking about relations between Europe and the rest of the world, and was particularly important in reconciling the universal claims of liberal thought with the spread of European imperial control in Africa and Asia. Between the First and Second World Wars, however, the collapse of liberalism and the rise of ideological conflict within Europe led to the gradual retreat from eurocentric claims to civilizational predominance. The emergence of a genuinely global international order after 1945 through the United Nations occurred simultaneously with the collapse of the idea of an international civilization.
RAPID - a video rate object tracker

Three-dimensional (3D) Model-Based Vision enables observed image features to be used to determine the pose (ie. position and attitude) of a known 3D object with respect to the camera (or alternatively, the viewpoint of the camera with respect to the model) [1]. The knowledge concerning the object that is used to perform Model-Based Vision is the 3D locations of salient and easily observed object features, such as corners and high-contrast edges (eg. surface marking sand crease edges).
On Optimal Gene‐Based Analysis of Genome Scans

Univariate analysis of markers has modest power when there are multiple causal variants within a gene. Under this scenario, combining the effects of all variants from a gene in a gene‐wide statistic is thought to increase power. However, it is not really clear (1) what is the performance of most commonly used gene‐wide methods for whole genome scans and (2) how scalable these methods are for more computationally intensive analyses, e.g. analysis of genome‐wide sequence data. We attempt to answer these questions by using realistic simulations to assess the performance of a range of gene‐based methods: (1) commonly used, e.g. VEGAS and GATES; (2) less commonly used, e.g. Simes, adaptive sum (aSUM), and kernel methods; and (3) a combination of univariate and multivariate tests we proposed for the analysis of markers in linkage disequilibrium. Simes is the fastest method and has good power for single causal variant models. aSUM method has good power for multiple causal variant models, especially at lower gene lengths. Our proposed statistic yields good power for all causal models. Given the extreme data volumes coming from sequencing studies, we recommend a two step analysis of genome scans. The initial step uses the very fast Simes procedure to flag possibly interesting genes. The second step refines interesting signals by using more computationally intensive methods, e.g. (1) aSUM for shorter and (2) VEGAS for larger gene lengths. Alternatively, genome scans can be analyzed using only our proposed method while sacrificing only a modest amount of power. Genet. Epidemiol. 36:333–339, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Avaliação de políticas públicas de turismo: uma análise bibliométrica dos periódicos de turismo

Este trabajo tiene por objetivo hacer un levante de los articulos que versan sobre evaluacion de politicas publicas en turismo en los periodicos especializados, evaluados y clasificados por la Coordinacion de Mejora de personal de Nivel Superior - CAPES con conceptos iguales o superiores a B4. Cuanto la metodologia fueron seleccionados articulos cuyos temas presentaron una o mas palabras-claves referentes la evaluacion de politicas publicas de turismo en lo periodo de 2003-2010. La finalidad fue de elucidar la frecuencia de la produccion academica sobre evaluacion, autores e instituciones, los objetos de los estudios, procedimientos metodologicos y citaciones de la bibliografia especializada. Por lo tanto, se utiliza la tecnica de analisis de contenido. Los resultados mostraban que es irrelevante el sitio o el espacio ocupado por la evaluacion de politicas publicas de turismo en los principales periodicos de turismo. Se detecto la diversidad de autores e instituciones y poca utilizacion de la bibliografia especializada, tanto sobre evaluacion cuanto sobre turismo. La conclusion se destaco por la falta de claridad cuanto la metodologia usada en los articulos, principalmente en relacion a las categorias analiticas e indicadores, lo que comprometio parte de los analisis y de las principales finalizaciones.
A New Gene Selection Technique Based on Hybrid Methods for Cancer Classification Using Microarrays

Classificat ion is one of the most important data mining techniques especially in the area of bioinformatics. This can be clearly seen in cancer classification which is recently addressed by many researchers specially after emerging of microarrays. This technology opens the area for computer researchers to classify cancer samples without any previous biological knowledge. Microarrays high dimensionality problem forces scientists to design gene selection techniques as a preceding step to the implemented classifier. Gene selection techniques behavior varies according to the combined classifier. In this paper we are proposing a new gene selection technique which combines F-score and entropy-based methods. The output of the combined gene selection technique is fed into two different classifiers resulting in two hybrid cancer classification systems. The proposed systems achieved reliable classification accuracies when tested on two different microarray datasets. This validates the success of the proposed gene selection technique as it efficiently reduced the original number of genes by 71.29%. Index Terms—Bioinformatics, Classification, Data mining, Gene selection, Microarrays.
Inducible Nitric-oxide Synthase and Nitric Oxide Production in Human Fetal Astrocytes and Microglia

The understanding of the induction and regulation of inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) in human cells may be important in developing therapeutic interventions for inflammatory diseases. In the present study, we not only demonstrated that human fetal mixed glial cultures, as well as enriched microglial cultures, synthesize iNOS and nitric oxide (NO) in response to cytokine stimulation, but also assessed the kinetics of iNOS and NO synthesis in human fetal mixed glial cultures. The iNOS mRNA was expressed within 2 h after stimulation and decreased to base line by 2 days. Significant levels of iNOS protein appeared within 24 h after stimulation and remained elevated during the culture period. A dramatic increase in NO production and NO-mediated events, such as the induction of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), NADPH diaphorase activity, and nitrotyrosine occurred 3 days after stimulation, a delay of 48 h from the time of the first expression of iNOS enzyme. This delay of NO production was altered by the addition of tetrahydrobiopterin, but not by the addition of L-arginine, heme, flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), flavin mononucleotide (FMN), or NADPH. These findings suggest that a post-translational regulatory event might be involved in iNOS-mediated NO production in human glia.
Structural Covariates of Violent Crime Rates in Germany: Exploratory Spatial Analyses of Kreise

This research applies the techniques of exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and spatial regression modeling to explain variation in robbery and assault rates across 413 districts or “Kreise” in Germany. The findings from ESDA reveal a distinct clustering of low rates in southern Germany, especially for robbery. The results of the spatial regression analyses indicate that for the nation at large, Kreise with high robbery and assault rates tend to be those with comparatively high levels of socioeconomic deprivation and a more urbanized environment, findings consistent with those commonly reported with data for areal units in the USA. We also observe net regional effects for the south in the regression models that pose puzzles for further inquiry into the German case, and “null effects” of the eastern region that have implications for more general debates of the potentially criminogenic consequences of the transition to market economies.
[BWS-mobility in patients with an impingement syndrome compared to healthy subjects--an inclinometric study].

AIM The aim of this study was to analyse the relation between the mobility of the thoracic spine and an impingement syndrome of the shoulder. METHOD In a prospective study, 50 patients with an impingement syndrome and 50 healthy test subjects were examined for the mobility of their thoracic spines. All patients and test subjects were examined according to a standardized protocol. The experiments were carried out in the biomechanical laboratory of our clinic with the Plurimetercompass and the Inclinometer of Rippstein. RESULTS In 23 patients a tendinosis calcarea was diagnosed radiologically, 27 patients suffered from a plain impingement without calcification, hence both groups were analyzed separately. The mobility of the thoracic spine in the sagittal and frontal planes and in rotation was significantly different between the three groups. The highest mobility was found in the healthy test subjects, the lowest in patients with a plain impingement. No differences were found concerning the initial posture of the thoracic spine. CONCLUSION There is a relation between mobility of the thoracic spine and an impingement syndrome. This should be respected in diagnosis and therapy.
What mental retardation teaches us about typical development: The examples of sequences, rates, and cross-domain relations

Abstract The developmental approach toward mental retardation historically has examined whether retarded individuals behave as do nonretarded individuals. An alternative approach involves using data from handicapped populations as “experiments of nature” to provide information about typical developmental processes. Three examples of this use of mental retardation findings include examinations of sequences, rates, and cross-domain relations. Certain instances of universal sequences appear to have been replicated by findings from children with mental retardation, but in other cases mentally retarded children help illustrate the extremes to which certain individual styles of development can be taken. Changing rates of development in different types of retarded children sometimes appear due to changes in the developmental tasks facing the child, sometimes to changes in neurobiologic factors related to chronological age. Cross-domain findings from children of diverse etiologies suggest the necessity of certain, specific connections among seemingly disparate behaviors in development. The article concludes with a discussion of mental retardation research as an experiment of nature that serves to replicate and amplify existing findings as well as to spur new extensions of developmental theory.
Optimal Relay Location in Multi-Hop Cellular Systems

Relay stations (RSs) are usually used to enhance the signal strength for the users close to the cell boundary. However, transmission through a relay station needs two transmission phases, i.e., one is from the base station to the relay station and the other is from relay station to mobile stations. Thus, relay may also decrease system capacity if two-phase transmission time is considered. As a result, whether or not data are transmitted by one-hop or two-hop transmission should be determined based on both signal strength and throughput. In this paper, we investigate the optimal relay location aiming to maximize system capacity. We consider two relay selection rules for determining whether a two-hop transmission is necessary: signal strength-oriented and throughput-oriented. We find that the signal strength-oriented two-hop transmission may yield even lower system capacity than the one-hop transmission. Based on the throughput-oriented rule, we find that the throughput in the two-hop transmission can be higher than that in the one-hop transmission at some locations. We also identify the optimal relay location that can achieve the highest system capacity.
Gender Differences in Food Choice: Effects of Superior Temporal Sulcus Stimulation

The easy availability of food has caused a shift from eating for survival to hedonic eating. Women, compared to men, have shown to respond differently to food cues in the environment on a behavioral and a neural level, in particular to energy rich (compared to low energy) foods. It has been demonstrated that the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is the only region exhibiting greater activation for high vs. low calorie food choices. In order to test for a possible causal role of STS in food choice, we applied high frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) on STS assuming a different response pattern between males and females. Our participants (18 females, 17 males) performed a forced choice task between food pairs matched for individual liking but differed in calorie, during the left STS, right STS stimulation and sham condition. Male participants showed a general preference for low calorie (LC) foods compared to females. In addition, we observed in males, but not in females, an increase of high calorie (HC) food choice during right STS tRNS compared to sham condition and left STS tRNS. Finally, we found an increase of missed choices during right STS stimulation compared to sham condition and left STS stimulation. In conclusion, thanks to tRNS evidence, we both confirm the involvement and suggest a causal role of right posterior STS in feeding behavior. Moreover, we suggest that gender differences exist in STS mechanisms underlying food choice.
Teachers’ Preparation to Teach Reading and Their Experiences and Practices in the First Three Years of Teaching

The study reported in this article focused on the preparation of elementary preservice teachers to teach reading and on their first 3 years of teaching in schools. Graduates of 8 programs judged as “excellent” by an expert review panel participated in this study. The research was guided by 2 questions: (1) What effects do participation in and completion of an excellent reading teacher education program have on the experiences of teachers as they enter schools? and (2) How does teachers’ preparation relate to their teaching practices? We used quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore these questions. The research design was quasi‐experimental, with the teacher education program considered as the intervening variable. Comparison groups for graduates of the excellent programs included same‐school, highly experienced teachers as well as same‐school, same‐years experienced teachers. Data were collected over 3 years. Results suggested that participation in a high‐quality teacher preparation program had a positive influence on the transition of teachers entering the profession and on the adoption of effective teaching practices by these teachers. Graduates of the excellent programs were more effective than teachers in the comparison groups in creating and engaging their students with a high‐quality literacy environment.
Expectant Times: Rural education in Russia

Education in rural Russia has always played a significant role in ameliorating the life of rural communities and enhancing the agrarian sector of the economy. Rural schools constitute 68.8% of all Russia's primary and secondary schools. Unfortunately, it is the rural school that has been badly affected by the current socio-economic crisis. Among a myriad of factors, the efficacy of rural education is largely dependent on teacher preparation. The paper concentrates on the contemporary condition of rural schools, some issues of rural teacher preparation and requirements of the teacher whose mission is to promote quality education in Russia's rural educational institutions.
Powerformers: A breakthrough of high-voltage power generators

This article deals with the powerformer, a new generator that can be directly connected to the transmission network without the need for a step-up transformer. Due to the powerformer's ability to generate electricity at transmission voltage levels, it offers considerable gains with respect to reactive power production and plant efficiency. Hence, a powerformer both facilitates network stability and decreases the exploitation of natural resources. The upper limit for the output voltage from the powerformer is set by state-of-the-art XLPE power-cable technology. Therefore, powerformers revolutionize the age of old power generation technology and signal a quantum leap in electrical engineering.
The Role of Transformation Narratives in Desistance Among Released Lifers

Research on desistance emphasizes the importance of the transformation narrative, in which the individual has replaced his old, criminal self with a new, law-abiding self. Key elements of the transformation narrative are generative motivations, the core self, and a sense of agency. Thus far, it is not known what role these elements play in desistance among released lifers. To fill this caveat, we conducted in-depth life interviews with 67 individuals who had served a life sentence. Almost all interviewees presented a transformation narrative that included a good core self and generative motivations, including those who persisted in criminal behavior. We found that individual agency was a key factor distinguishing the paroled lifers from the re-incarcerated lifers. Findings suggest that rather than learning to present a transformation narrative focused on reflecting a good core self and generative motivations, (post-)prison programs should focus on restoring agency to ensure successful re-entry.
Appropriately Handled Prosodic Breaks Help PCFG Parsing

This paper investigates using prosodic information in the form of ToBI break indexes for parsing spontaneous speech. We revisit two previously studied approaches, one that hurt parsing performance and one that achieved minor improvements, and propose a new method that aims to better integrate prosodic breaks into parsing. Although these approaches can improve the performance of basic probabilistic context free grammar (PCFG) parsers, they all fail to produce fine-grained PCFG models with latent annotations (PCFG-LA) (Matsuzaki et al., 2005; Petrov and Klein, 2007) that perform significantly better than the baseline PCFG-LA model that does not use break indexes, partially due to mis-alignments between automatic prosodic breaks and true phrase boundaries. We propose two alternative ways to restrict the search space of the prosodically enriched parser models to the n-best parses from the baseline PCFG-LA parser to avoid egregious parses caused by incorrect breaks. Our experiments show that all of the prosodically enriched parser models can then achieve significant improvement over the baseline PCFG-LA parser.
Social Media Tools Adoption and Use by SMES: An Empirical Study

Despite the recent increase in the adoption and use of social media tools to support firm operations, very little empirical research focusing on small-and medium-sized enterprises SMEs has been conducted to-date. The aim of this study is to fill this knowledge gap by investigating SME adoption of social media tools. In particular, we assess the impact of organizational, manager and environmental characteristics on SME utilization of the Facebook Events Page. To test our proposed research model, we administered a survey to 453 SME managers. Results of a hierarchical logistic regression indicate that firm innovativeness, firm size, manager's age and industry sector all have a significant impact on social media adoption. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Differential transcriptome profiling identifies Plasmodium genes encoding pre‐erythrocytic stage‐specific proteins

Invasive sporozoite and merozoite stages of malaria parasites that infect mammals enter and subsequently reside in hepatocytes and red blood cells respectively. Each invasive stage may exhibit unique adaptations that allow it to interact with and survive in its distinct host cell environment, and these adaptations are likely to be controlled by differential gene expression. We used suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) of Plasmodium yoelii salivary gland sporozoites versus merozoites to identify stage‐specific pre‐erythrocytic transcripts. Sequencing of the SSH library and matching the cDNA sequences to the P. yoelii genome yielded 25 redundantly tagged genes including the only two previously characterized sporozoite‐specific genes encoding the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and thrombospondin‐related anonymous protein (TRAP). Twelve novel genes encode predicted proteins with signal peptides, indicating that they enter the secretory pathway of the sporozoite. We show that one novel protein bearing a thrombospondin type 1 repeat (TSR) exhibits an expression pattern that suggests localization in the sporozoite secretory rhoptry organelles. In addition, we identified a group of four genes encoding putative low‐molecular‐mass proteins. Two proteins in this group exhibit an expression pattern similar to TRAP, and thus possibly localize in the sporozoite secretory micronemes. Proteins encoded by the differentially expressed genes identified here probably mediate specific interactions of the sporozoite with the mosquito vector salivary glands or the mammalian host hepatocyte and are not used during merozoite–red blood cell interactions.