Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An in sita Model for Simultaneous Assessment of Inhibition of Demineralization and Enhancement of Remineralization

In situ models to assess the ability of oral care products or food components to enhance remineralization and/or inhibit demineralization of tooth enamel or roots must be very carefully designed to minimize the confounding effects of the many variables involved. Controlling these variables as closely as possible is essential if meaningful answers are to be obtained from the models. We have developed an in situ model which combines the experience of several groups. Detailed screening of subjects is essential. Selection criteria should include good general health, good dental health, mandibular partial denture, at least eight natural teeth, no active caries lesions, known fluoride history, normal salivary function, and no medications that affect salivary function. Each subject carries a sound enamel slab and an enamel slab with a pre-formed caries-like lesion (demineralized in vitro) in his/her denture on each side of the mouth for test periods of two or four weeks. The demineralization challenge is controlled by extra-oral immersion of the appliances in sucrose daily. Daily product exposure or daily food component exposure is used as desired. Compliance indicators and a diet diary are included. Whole saliva flow rate (unstimulated), plaque acidogenicity, and salivary fluoride are monitored during the test periods. At the end of the test period, the test slabs are assessed for mineral change, after being sectioned, by means of cross-sectional microhardness or microradiography. The mineral loss or gain (ΔM, μm × vol%), compared with adjacent control sections retained in the lab, is calculated as change in ΔZ (μm × vol%), namely, ΔM = ΔZTEST - ΔZ. CONTROL. In this model, demineralization occurs in sound enamel and in the pre-formed lesions in the absence of fluoride or other protective agents. The model has the potential to be able to differentiate among fluoride delivery systems and to assess the caries-protective effects of agents other than fluoride by use of small groups of subjects.
Finite Automata Inspired Model for Dominant Point Detection: A Non-Parametric Approach

In this paper a novel non-parametric method of detecting dominant points on a digital curve is proposed. The proposed method estimates the curvature at every point on the curve by computing the reciprocal of the angle made at that point due to the left and right arms of the point. The points that bear local maxima curvature are selected as true dominant points. A novel method for determining a region of support of a point useful for its curvature estimation is also presented. Unlike other methods, the proposed method determines a region of support which is not necessarily symmetric. A finite automaton is devised to determine an adaptive region of support of a point. An extensive experiment has been conducted to reveal the robustness of the proposed method on various shapes with different parameters and is shown to be superior to several other existing methods
Teacher morale.

When reading the PDF, you can see how the author is very reliable in using the words to create sentences. It will be also the ways how the author creates the diction to influence many people. But, it's not nonsense, it is something. Something that will lead you is thought to be better. Something that will make your feel so better. And something that will give you new things. This is it, the teacher morale.
Metformin – the gold standard in type 2 diabetes: what does the evidence tell us?

Metformin is a cornerstone of oral antidiabetic treatment. Recent joint American and European guidelines recommend instituting metformin therapy along with lifestyle modification at the time type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is diagnosed. Metformin acts to reduce hepatic gluconeogenesis and improve glucose uptake, and it may exert protective effects on pancreatic islet cells. Although metformin therapy produces substantial reductions in HbA1c, it does not produce body weight gain, is not associated with substantial risk for hypoglycaemia and has neutral to positive effects on lipids and blood pressure. The major adverse events associated with metformin are gastrointestinal. T2DM progresses even with initially effective monotherapy, and most patients will therefore receive combination therapy. When selecting agents to coadminister with metformin, a physician must consider efficacy in glycaemic control, safety, tolerability and any effects that may compromise overall efficacy (e.g. effects on body weight, lipids or blood pressure). In this regard, incretin‐based therapies have characteristics that make them particularly suitable for add‐on therapy with metformin.
Metrics for Feature-Aided Track Association

Track fusion over a network of sensors requires association of the tracks before the state estimates can be combined. Track association generally involves two steps: evaluating an association metric to score each track-to-track association hypothesis, and selecting the best assignment between two sets of tracks. In many applications feature-aided track association can provide better performance than association with only kinematic data (e.g., position and velocity) when the target density is high. This paper develops a general association metric to support feature-aided track association that considers similarity in both the feature and kinematic domains. The association metric is based upon the maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) approach and can be used for general target and sensor models. Special forms of the association metric are given for some common situations. Numerical results illustrate the performance of different feature association metrics
Increasing reconfigurability with memristive interconnects

The design of on-chip interconnects is largely governed by the size and power of the devices being connected. While large components like memory controllers, video decode accelerators, and cores can afford the overhead of a large packet switching NoC router, smaller components like adders or other ALUs cannot. Instead, they are typically connected via simple wires, limiting their runtime reconfigurability. The notable exception - FPGAs - use an interconnect which allows extreme reconfigurability, but the FPGA pays for it in area, power, and latency costs. Less costly reconfigurable interconnects, therefore, could allow hardware designers to expose more reconfigurability while limiting area and power costs. This paper presents the design of a high-radix circuit switching crossbar design using memristors. This design utilizes Phase Change Memory (PCM), overcoming some of its limitations such as leakage power and low voltage operation. The very small size of memristors shrinks the area, power, and latency of crossbars by up to 16x, 4.4x, and 2.4x, respectively, leaving little interconnect overhead but wiring overhead. As a tool for designers, memristive interconnects offer significant potential to increase runtime design flexibility.
A Protein Kinase C Site Highly Conserved in P2X Subunits Controls the Desensitization Kinetics of P2X2 ATP-gated Channels*

P2X receptors are nonselective cation channels gated by extracellular ATP. Recombinant mammalian P2X subunits assemble in homomeric ionotropic ATP receptors that differ by their agonist sensitivity and desensitization rate in heterologous expression systems. Using site-directed mutagenesis and voltage clamp recording inXenopus oocytes, we identified the highly conserved protein kinase C site TX(K/R) located in the intracellular N terminus of P2X subunits as a critical determinant of kinetics in slowly desensitizing (time constant, >1 min) rat P2X2receptors. Mutant receptors P2X2T18A, T18N, and K20T devoid of this consensus site exhibited quickly desensitizing properties (time constant, <1 s). In contrast with wild-type receptors, mutant P2X2 receptors with truncated C terminus exhibited variable cell-specific kinetics with quickly desensitizing currents converted to slowly desensitizing currents by phorbol ester-mediated stimulation of protein kinase C. Phosphorylation of Thr18 was demonstrated directly by immunodetection using specific monoclonal antibodies directed against the phosphothreonine-proline motif. Our data indicate that both phosphorylation of the conserved threonine residue in the N-terminal domain by protein kinase C and interaction between the two cytoplasmic domains of P2X2 subunits are necessary for the full expression of slowly desensitizing ATP-gated channels.
Natural Resistance to Infection with Intracellular Pathogens: The Nramp1 Protein Is Recruited to the Membrane of the Phagosome

The Nramp1 (natural-resistance-associated macrophage protein 1) locus (Bcg, Ity, Lsh) controls the innate resistance or susceptibility of mice to infection with a group of unrelated intracellular parasites which includes Salmonella, Leishmania, and Mycobacterium. Nramp1 is expressed exclusively in professional phagocytes and encodes an integral membrane protein that shares structural characteristics with ion channels and transporters. Its function and mechanism of action remain unknown. The intracellular localization of the Nramp1 protein was analyzed in control 129/sv and mutant Nramp1− /− macrophages by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy and by biochemical fractionation. In colocalization studies with a specific anti-Nramp1 antiserum and a panel of control antibodies directed against known cellular structures, Nramp1 was found not to be expressed at the plasma membrane but rather localized to the late endocytic compartments (late endosome/lysosome) of resting macrophages in a Lamp1 (lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1)-positive compartment. Double immunofluorescence studies and direct purification of latex bead–containing phagosomes demonstrated that upon phagocytosis, Nramp1 is recruited to the membrane of the phagosome and remains associated with this structure during its maturation to phagolysosome. After phagocytosis, Nramp1 is acquired by the phagosomal membrane with time kinetics similar to Lamp1, but clearly distinct from those of the early endosomal marker Rab5. The targeting of Nramp1 from endocytic vesicles to the phagosomal membrane supports the hypothesis that Nramp1 controls the replication of intracellular parasites by altering the intravacuolar environment of the microbe-containing phagosome.
Analyzing auto-scaling issues in cloud environments

Cloud computing is becoming increasingly widespread and sophisticated. A key feature of cloud computing is elasticity, which allows the provisioning and de-provisioning of computing resources on demand, via auto-scaling. Auto-scaling techniques are diverse, and involve various components at the infrastructure, platform and software levels. Auto-scaling also overlaps with other quality attributes, thereby contributing to service level agreements, and often applies modeling and control techniques to make the auto-scaling process adaptive. A study of auto-scaling architectures, existing techniques and open issues provides a comprehensive understanding to identify future research solutions. In this paper, we present a survey that explores definitions of related concepts of auto-scaling and a taxonomy of auto-scaling techniques. Based on the survey results, we then outline open issues and future research directions for this important subject in cloud computing.
Network-aware service placement in a distributed cloud environment

We consider a system of compute and storage resources geographically distributed over a large number of locations connected via a wide-area network. By distributing the resources, latency to users can be decreased, bandwidth costs reduced and availablility increased. The challenge is to distribute services with varying characteristics among the data centers optimally. Some services are very latency sensitive, others need vast amounts of storage, and yet others are computationally complex but do not require hard deadlines on execution. We propose efficient algorithms for the placement of services to get the maximum benefit from a distributed cloud systems. The algorithms need input on the status of the network, compute resources and data resources, which are matched to application requirements. This demonstration shows how a network-aware cloud can combine all three resource types - computation, storage, and network connectivity - in distributed cloud environments. Our dynamic service placement algorithm monitors the network and data center resources in real-time. Our prototype uses the information gathered to place or migrate services to provide the best user experience for a service.
Risk Factors Associated with Noncontact Injury of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Background: The causes of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury remain an enigma. Purpose: To prospectively evaluate risk factors for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries in a large population of young athletic people. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: In 1995, 1198 new United States Military Academy cadets underwent detailed testing and many parameters were documented. During their 4-year tenure, all anterior cruciate ligament injuries that occurred were identified. Statistical analyses were used to identify the factors that may have predisposed the cadets to noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Results: Among the 895 cadets who completed the entire 4-year study, there were 24 noncontact anterior cruciate ligament tears (16 in men, 8 in women). Significant risk factors included small femoral notch width, generalized joint laxity, and, in women, higher than normal body mass index and KT-2000 arthrometer values that were 1 standard deviation or more above the mean. The presence of more than one of these risk factors greatly increased the relative risk of injury. All female cadets who had some combination of risk factors sustained noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries, indicating that some combinations of factors are especially perilous to the female knee. Conclusion: Several risk factors may predispose young athletes to noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Channel estimation and equalization for GSM with multiple antennas

We present a complete space-time demodulation scheme for the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) assuming two antennas at the receiver. The scheme includes multipath channel estimation using a blind method (cross-relation (CR) with maximum in-band energy (MIE) method), two semi-blind methods (combination of the training sequence with either the CR method alone or the CR with MIE method), and a method based on the training sequence alone. For the equalization we apply a zero-forcing equalizer, which equalizes only over the band of the Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) signal. The demodulation of the equalized GMSK signal is done by an implementation of the Viterbi algorithm employing decision metrics based on the amplitude of the equalized signal. The simulation results show that the semi-blind scheme which is based on the maximum in-band energy method is superior to the other three methods and therefore outperforms the approach of solely exploiting the training sequence. The success of these methods shows that it is not necessary to apply the linear approximation of the GMSK signal in the case of multiple antennas to effect blind and semi-blind channel identification. Thus, these multiple antenna based algorithms are applicable to non-linear modulation schemes as well as standard linear modulation schemes.
TinyCubus: A Flexible and Adaptive Cross-Layer Framework for Sensor Networks

With the proliferation of sensor networks and sensor network applications during the last few years, the overall complexity of such systems is continuously increasing. Sensor networks are now heterogeneous in terms of their hardware characteristics and application requirements even within a single network. In addition, the requirements of current applications are expected to change over time. All of this makes developing, deploying, and optimizing sensor network applications an extremely difficult task. In the TinyCubus project we research a necessary infrastructure to support the complexity of such systems. TinyCubus consists of a data management framework, a cross-layer framework, and a configuration engine. The data management framework allows the dynamic selection and adaptation of system and data management components. The cross-layer framework supports data sharing and other forms of interaction between components in order to achieve cross-layer optimizations. The configuration engine allows code to be distributed reliably and efficiently by taking into account the topology of sensors and their assigned functionality.
An opportunistic routing for real-time data in Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, we propose an opportunistic real-time data dissemination protocol in order to solve the transmission failure problem in error-prone WSNs. Retransmission is wellknown for recovery of transmission failure, however, this may cause the severe time delay possibly to violate the real-time requirement. To solve the problem, our protocol exploits both broadcasting nature and temporal opportunity concept. In a radio-range of a sensor node, there may be multiple neighbor nodes to satisfy the real-time requirement. By broadcasting property, all neighbors can receive a data from a node, and only each satisfying neighbor decides its relay toward the destination by using temporal selection function. The temporal function is related to the tolerable time period to be able to satisfy the realtime requirement. By giving the priority to the node with smaller tolerable time, we have more opportunities to forward toward the destination. That is, even if a node with a long tolerable time waits for the longer period of time, it still has a chance to forward with the real-time requirement. In summary, the proposed protocol attains the high reliability and real-time requirement by removing data retransmission and multiple opportunities with temporal consideration. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol is superior to the existing real-time protocols in terms of real-time data dissemination and energy consumption.
Association between blood lead level and subsequent Alzheimer’s disease mortality

Background: Previous studies suggest that cumulative lead exposure is associated with cognitive decline, but its relation with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the longitudinal association between blood lead level (BLL) and AD mortality. Methods: This study included 8,080 elders (60 years or older) with BLL data from the 1999 to 2008 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Mortality was determined from linked 1999–2014 National Death Index data. A causal diagram presented causal assumptions and identified a sufficient set of confounders: age, sex, poverty, race/ethnicity, and smoking. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the association between BLL and subsequent AD mortality. Impacts of competing risks and design effect were also assessed. Adjusted hazard rate ratio (HRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported. Results: Follow-up ranged from <1 to 152 months (median, 74). Eighty-one participants died from AD over 632,075 total person-months at risk. An increase in BLL was associated with an increase in AD mortality after adjusting for identified confounders. We estimated that those with BLL of 1.5 and 5 μg/dl had 1.2 (95% CI = 0.70, 2.1) and 1.4 (95% CI = 0.54, 3.8) times the rate of AD mortality compared to those with BLL of 0.3 μg/dl, respectively, after accounting for competing risks. Adjusted HRRs were 1.5 (95% CI = 0.81, 2.9) and 2.1 (95% CI = 0.70, 6.3), respectively, after considering design effect. Conclusions: This longitudinal study demonstrated a positive, albeit not statistically significant, association between BLL and AD mortality after adjustment for competing risks or design effect.
Exploratory Analysis of the Distribution of Lignin and Cellulose in Woods by Raman Imaging and Chemometrics

The determinations of cellulose and lignin are important in wood analysis from both perspectives: chemistry composition, commercial and industrial application of woods. In this context, Raman image spectroscopy was applied in the determination of cellulose and lignin distribution in wood surfaces of Swietenia macrophylla King (Mahogany) and Eucalyptus hybrid (E. urophylla × E. camaldulensis). The relative concentration maps were obtained by applying a multivariate curve resolution procedure. The estimated Raman spectra for cellulose and lignin agrees with the ones available in the literature. The cellulose concentration maps showed similar variations for both studied species with an average value of nearly 85% as obtained by the reference method. The lignin concentration maps were somewhat different. The Eucalyptus hybrid presents a broader distribution (20 to 45%) while for Mahogany it is nearly constant, around 25%, with localized regions presenting contents of 45 to 65% of lignin. The reference method showed that the mean lignin content of both species is 27%. The cellulose and lignin concentration maps agree with the biological functions of the anatomic structures observed in the images.