Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Histochemical Analysis of Lesions in Incipient Dental Caries. II. Sulfhydryl and Disulfide Radicals

In a previous report' a number of histochemical changes preceding cavitation were shown to occur in the dentin just beneath the dentinoenamel junction. These included a cessation of oxidation reduction, an increased stainability of carbohydrate and protein, the presence of a silver nitrate-reducing agent, and the loss of some mineral. The present paper extends these observations to a consideration of the possible presence of sulfhydryl and disulfide radicals in the dentinal tubules under normal and pathologic conditions. The number of histochemical techniques which may be applied to sections as prepared' is limited. Those reactions which require an acid medium, in general, will not work because the tooth structure cannot be kept at an acid pH until decalcification is almost complete. Unstable compounds may not withstand such treatment. Furthermore, the action of acid upon the structure under study may alter the structure to such an extent as to make valid conclusions impossible.
A Linear, Millimetre Displacement-to-Frequency Transducer

The paper presents a novel linear, high-fidelity millimetre displacement-to-frequency transducer, based on the resistive conversion of displacement into a proportional voltage, and then frequency. The derivation of the nonlinearity, fidelity and sensitivity of the transducer is presented. Experimental results confirm that a displacement of 0–100 mm is converted into a frequency range of 0–100 kHz, with a normalised fidelity factor of 99.91%, and a worst-case nonlinearity of less than 0.08%. Tests using laboratory standards show that a displacement of 10 mm is transduced with an accuracy of ±0.6%, and a standard deviation of 530 Hz. Estimates included in the paper show that the transducer could cost less than 1% of existing systems for millimeter displacement measurement.
Encounters between Dynamic Cortical Microtubules Promote Ordering of the Cortical Array through Angle-Dependent Modifications of Microtubule Behaviorw⃞

Ordered cortical microtubule arrays are essential for normal plant morphogenesis, but how these arrays form is unclear. The dynamics of individual cortical microtubules are stochastic and cannot fully account for the observed order; however, using tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells expressing either the MBD-DsRed (microtubule binding domain of the mammalian MAP4 fused to the Discosoma sp red fluorescent protein) or YFP-TUA6 (yellow fluorescent protein fused to the Arabidopsis α-tubulin 6 isoform) microtubule markers, we identified intermicrotubule interactions that modify their stochastic behaviors. The intermicrotubule interactions occur when the growing plus-ends of cortical microtubules encounter previously existing cortical microtubules. Importantly, the outcome of such encounters depends on the angle at which they occur: steep-angle collisions are characterized by approximately sevenfold shorter microtubule contact times compared with shallow-angle encounters, and steep-angle collisions are twice as likely to result in microtubule depolymerization. Hence, steep-angle collisions promote microtubule destabilization, whereas shallow-angle encounters promote both microtubule stabilization and coalignment. Monte Carlo modeling of the behavior of simulated microtubules, according to the observed behavior of transverse and longitudinally oriented cortical microtubules in cells, reveals that these simple rules for intermicrotubule interactions are necessary and sufficient to facilitate the self-organization of dynamic microtubules into a parallel configuration.
Differential Regulation of Macropinocytosis by Abi1/Hssh3bp1 Isoforms

Background Macropinocytosis, which is a constitutive cellular process of fluid and macromolecule uptake, is regulated by actin cytoskeleton rearrangements near the plasma membrane. Activation of Rac1, which is proposed to act upstream of the actin polymerization regulatory Wave 2 complex, has been found to correlate with enhanced macropinocytosis. One of the components of the Wave 2 complex is Abi1. Multiple, alternatively spliced isoforms of Abi1 are expressed in mammalian cells, but the functional significance of the various isoforms is unknown. Principal Findings Here, using flow cytometric assay analysis for Alexa Fluor 647, we demonstrate that Abi1 isoforms 2 and 3 differentially regulate macropinocytosis. LNCaP cells expressing isoform 3 had increased macropinocytic uptake that correlated with enhanced cell spreading and higher Rac1 activation in comparison to cells expressing isoform 2. Isoform 2 expressing cells had decreased macropinocytic uptake, but demonstrated greater sensitivity to Rac1 activation. Moreover, more isoform 2 was localized within the cytoplasm in comparison to isoform 3, which was more associated with the plasma membrane. Activated Rac1 was found to specifically bind to a site in exon 10 of isoform 2 in vitro. Because of alternative mRNA splicing, exon 10 is absent from isoform 3, precluding similar binding of activated Rac1. Both isoforms, however, bound to inactive Rac1 through the same non-exon 10 site. Thus, Abi1 isoform 3-containing Wave 2 complex exhibited a differential binding to activated vs. inactive Rac1, whereas isoform 2-containing Wave 2 complex bound activated or inactive Rac1 comparably. Conclusion Based on these observations, we postulate that Abi1 isoforms differentially regulate macropinocytosis as a consequence of their different relative affinities for activated Rac1 in Wave 2 complex. These findings also raise the possibility that isoform-specific roles occur in other Abi1 functions.
Tail-Biting Trellises of Block Codes: Trellis Complexity and Viterbi Decoding Complexity (Special Section on Information Theory and Its Applications)

SUMMARY Tail-biting trellises of linear and nonlinear block codes are addressed. We refine the information-theoretic approach of a previous work on conventional trellis representation, and show that the same ideas carryover to tail-biting trellises. We present lower bounds on the state and branch complexity profiles of these representations. These bounds are expressed in terms of mutual information between different portions of the code, and theyintroduce the notions of superstates and superbranches. For linear block codes, our bounds implythat the total number of superstates, and respectivelysuperbranches, of a tail-biting trellis of the code cannot be smaller than the total number of states, and respectivelybranches, of the corresponding minimal conventional trellis, though the total number of states and branches of a tail-biting trellis is usuallysmaller than that of the conventional trellis. We also develop some improved lower bounds on the state complexityof a tail-biting trellis for two classes of codes: the first-order Reed-Muller codes and cyclic codes. We show that the superstates and superbranches determine the Viterbi decoding complexityof a tail-biting trellis. Thus, the computational complexityof the maximum-likelihood decoding of linear block codes on a tail-biting trellis, using the Viterbi algorithm, is not smaller than that of the conventional trellis of the code. However, tail-biting trellises are beneficial for suboptimal and iterative decoding techniques.
Comparative Petrology of Pedogenic Carbonates from Quaternary Deposits of Kashmir and Rajasthan

The purpose of this study is to compare pedogenic carbonates which have accumulated in varying climatic conditions in Quaternary deposits of North India. The pedogenic horizons sampled for the purpose are from the dunal/interdunal tract of parts of Rajasthan and from the Upper Karewa sub-Group of Kashmir valley. These pedogenic carbonates reveal an overall preponderance of micrite in both the situations. Similarity in the form of presence of voids and floating textures is also observed. The pedogenic carbonates of the Upper Karewa SUb-Group show a greater degree of corrosion and replacement indicating a more reactive microchemical environment. The presence of ferroan calcite in the pedogenic carbonates of Kashmir and its absence in those of Rajasthan further bears out the reducing character of the palaeoenvironment of the carbonate layer underlying the loess in the Kashmir valley.
Fast probabilisitic estimation of egomotion from image intensities

This paper proposes a real-time probabilistic solution to the problem of camera motion estimation in a video sequence. Instead of using explicit tracking of features, it only uses instantaneous image intensity variations without prior estimation of optical flow. We represent the camera motion as a probability density which is constructed from the individual motion densities, estimated from spatio-temporal derivatives, of each pixel of the image. The density is formed by accumulating the contribution of each pixel, making it very robust to local perturbations in the image. A fast algorithm is proposed and experimental results show how real-time motion estimation is possible directly from the image stream with good precision.
Prognostic Value of Baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT Functional Parameters in Patients with Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma Stratified by EGFR Mutation Status

The study objective was to retrospectively analyze the metabolic variables derived from 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) as predictors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in advanced lung adenocarcinoma stratified by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status. A total of 176 patients (91, EGFR mutation; 85, wild-type EGFR) who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT before treatment were enrolled. The main 18F-FDG PET/CT-derived variables: primary tumor maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmaxT), primary tumor total lesion glycolysis (TLGT), the maximum SUVmax of all selected lesions in whole body determined using the Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 criteria (SUVmaxWBR), and whole-body total TLG determined using the RECIST 1.1 criteria (TLGWBR) were measured. Survival analysis regarding TLGWBR, and other factors in advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients stratified using EGFR mutation status, were evaluated. The results indicated that high TLGWBR (≥259.85), EGFR wild-type, and high serum LDH were independent predictors of worse PFS and OS in all patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma. Among patients with wild-type EGFR, only TLGWBR retained significance as an independent predictor of both PFS and OS. Among patients with the EGFR mutation, high serum LDH level was an independent predictor of worse PFS and OS, and high TLGWBR (≥259.85) was an independent predictor of worse PFS but not worse OS. In conclusion, TLGWBR is a promising parameter for prognostic stratification of patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma and EGFR status; however, it cannot be used to further stratify the risk of worse OS for patients with the EGFR mutation. Further prospective studies are needed to validate our findings.
Quickest Flows Over Time

Flows over time (also called dynamic flows) generalize standard network flows by introducing an element of time. They naturally model problems where travel and transmission are not instantaneous. Traditionally, flows over time are solved in time-expanded networks that contain one copy of the original network for each discrete time step. While this method makes available the whole algorithmic toolbox developed for static flows, its main and often fatal drawback is the enormous size of the time-expanded network. We present several approaches for coping with this difficulty. First, inspired by the work of Ford and Fulkerson on maximal $s$-$t$-flows over time (or “maximal dynamic $s$-$t$-flows”), we show that static length-bounded flows lead to provably good multicommodity flows over time. Second, we investigate “condensed” time-expanded networks which rely on a rougher discretization of time. We prove that a solution of arbitrary precision can be computed in polynomial time through an appropriate discretization leading to a condensed time-expanded network of polynomial size. In particular, our approach yields fully polynomial-time approximation schemes for the NP-hard quickest min-cost and multicommodity flow problems. For single commodity problems, we show that storage of flow at intermediate nodes is unnecessary, and our approximation schemes do not use any.
Costs of mastitis: facts and perception

A model to calculate the economic losses of mastitis on an average Dutch dairy farm was developed and used as base for a tool for farmers and advisors to calculate farm-specific economic losses of mastitis. The economic losses of a clinical case in a default situation were calculated as €210, varying from €164 to €235 depending on the month of lactation. The total economic losses of mastitis (subclinical and clinical) per cow present in a default situation varied between €65 and €182/cow per year depending on the bulk tank somatic cell count. The tool was used to measure perception of the total economic losses of mastitis on the farm and the farmers' assessment of the cost factors of mastitis on 78 dairy farms, of which 64 were used for further analyses. Most farmers (72%) expected their economic losses to be lower than those revealed by our calculation made with their farm information. Underestimating the economic losses of mastitis can be regarded as a general problem in the dairy sector. The average economic losses assessed by the farmers were €78/cow per year, but a large variation was given, €17–198/cow per year. Although the average assessment of the farmers of the different cost factors is close to the default value, there is much variation. To improve the adoption rate of advice and lower the incidence of mastitis, it is important to show the farmers the economic losses of mastitis on their farm. The tool described in this paper can play a role in that process.
Fracture properties of bone cements

This paper is aimed at evaluation of problems of fracture properties of bone cements. We studied the fracture surface of bone cement SMARTSET HV. The part of this work is the procedure for preparing samples of bone cement SMARTSET HV. Prepared specimens were used for impact test and bending test. The porosity of bone cements on the fracture surfaces was evaluated. All the experiments were performed on the device Dynstat. To assess the fracture surface of bone cement the SEM microscope was used.
Detecting similar Java classes using tree algorithms

Similarity analysis of source code is helpful during development to provide, for instance, better support for code reuse. Consider a development environment that analyzes code while typing and that suggests similar code examples or existing implementations from a source code repository. Mining software repositories by means of similarity measures enables and enforces reusing existing code and reduces the developing effort needed by creating a shared knowledge base of code fragments. In information retrieval similarity measures are often used to find documents similar to a given query document. This paper extends this idea to source code repositories. It introduces our approach to detect similar Java classes in software projects using tree similarity algorithms. We show how our approach allows to find similar Java classes based on an evaluation of three tree-based similarity measures in the context of five user-defined test cases as well as a preliminary software evolution analysis of a medium-sized Java project. Initial results of our technique indicate that it (1) is indeed useful to identify similar Java classes, (2)successfully identifies the ex ante and ex post versions of refactored classes, and (3) provides some interesting insights into within-version and between-version dependencies of classes within a Java project.
Pulmonary Hypertension in Hemodialysis Patients Following Repeated Endovascular Thrombectomy.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of pulmonary hypertension is unusually high in Taiwanese patients with end-stage renal disease. Thrombosis of hemodialysis grafts is common and pulmonary embolism has been reported after endovascular thrombectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between pulmonary hypertension and endovascular thrombectomy of hemodialysis grafts. METHODS One hundred and ten patients on hemodialysis via arteriovenous grafts were enrolled in our study. The mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) was measured by right heart catheterization. Clinical information was collected by review of medical records. Comorbid cardiopulmonary disease was evaluated by echocardiography and chest X-ray. The history of patient vascular access thrombosis was reviewed from database, hemodialysis records, and interviews with staff at hemodialysis centers. RESULTS Fifty-two participants (47%) had pulmonary hypertension diagnosed by right heart catheterization. There was no difference in the number of thrombectomy procedures between patients with and without pulmonary hypertension. Based on multivariate analysis, the number of prior endovascular thrombectomy procedures did not correlate with mean PAP (F-value = 1.10, p = 0.30) nor was it associated with pulmonary hypertension (odds ratio = 0.92, p = 0.17). CONCLUSIONS Prior endovascular arteriovenous graft thrombectomies were not associated with pulmonary hypertension or increased mean PAP in end-stage renal disease patients on maintenance hemodialysis.
Coordinated User Scheduling and Power Control for Weighted Sum Throughput Maximization of Multicell Network

In this paper, we consider the weighted sum throughput maximization (WSTM) problem of multicell network with full spectral reuse. The WSTM problem is a nonconvex combinatorial problem, and difficult to tackle in practice. Thus, we present and discuss three low-complexity suboptimal algorithms, which solve the WSTM problem via joint user scheduling and power control (USPC) among a set of coordinating cells. Extensive system level simulations show that all the proposed algorithms have close weighted sum throughput (WST) performances to that of exhaustive search (ES). Furthermore, the proposed distributed iterative (DI) algorithm, which enjoys both distributed operation and fast convergence, is the most attractive one in practical systems.
Long‐term control of food intake and body weight by hydrodynamics‐based delivery of plasmid DNA encoding leptin or CNTF

Obesity contributes to many common diseases, including cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, and stroke. Leptin and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), two members of the cytokine family, play important roles in controlling food intake and body weight in rodents. Here, we used the hydrodynamics‐based gene delivery technique to introduce leptin and CNTF expression plasmids, pCAGGS‐leptin and pCAGGS‐CNTF, into mice and to assess whether they could induce high expression of leptin or CNTF and reduce food intake and body weight in the mice.
An ambulant porcine model of acid reflux used to evaluate endoscopic gastroplasty

BACKGROUND There is a lack of suitable models for testing of therapeutic procedures for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Endoscopic sewing methods might allow the development of a new less invasive surgical approach to treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. AIMS To develop an animal model of gastro-oesophageal reflux for testing the efficacy of a new antireflux procedure, endoscopic gastroplasty, performed at flexible endoscopy without laparotomy or laparoscopy. METHODS At endoscopy a pH sensitive radiotelemetry capsule was sewn to the oesophageal wall, 5 cm above the lower oesophageal sphincter, in six large white pigs. Ambulant pH recordings (48–96 hours; total 447 hours) were obtained. The median distal oesophageal pH was 6.8 (range 6.4–7.3); pH was less than 4 for 9.3% of the time. After one week, endoscopic gastroplasty was performed by placing sutures below the gastro-oesophageal junction, forming a neo-oesophagus of 1–2 cm in length. Postoperative manometry and pH recordings (24–96 hours; total 344 hours) were carried out. RESULTS Following gastroplasty, the median sphincter pressure increased significantly from 3 to 6 mm Hg and in length from 3 to 3.75 cm. The median time pH was less than 4 decreased significantly from 9.3% to 0.2%. CONCLUSIONS These are the first long term measurements of oesophageal pH in ambulant pigs. The finding of spontaneous reflux suggested a model for studying treatments of reflux. Endoscopic gastroplasty increased sphincter pressure and length and decreased acid reflux.
Micelle-Assisted Synthesis of Al2O3 ·CaO Nanocatalyst: Optical Properties and Their Applications in Photodegradation of 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol

Calcium oxide (CaO) nanoparticles are known to exhibit unique property due to their high adsorption capacity and good catalytic activity. In this work the CaO nanocatalysts were prepared by hydrothermal method using anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), as a templating agent. The as-synthesized nanocatalysts were further used as substrate for the synthesis of alumina doped calcium oxide (Al2O3 ·CaO) nanocatalysts via deposition-precipitation method at the isoelectric point of CaO. The Al2O3 ·CaO nanocatalysts were characterized by FTIR, XRD, TGA, TEM, and FESEM techniques. The catalytic efficiencies of these nanocatalysts were studied for the photodegradation of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (2,4,6-TNP), which is an industrial pollutant, spectrophotometrically. The effect of surfactant and temperature on size of nanocatalysts was also studied. The smallest particle size and highest percentage of degradation were observed at critical micelle concentration of the surfactant. The direct optical band gap of the Al2O3 ·CaO nanocatalyst was found as 3.3 eV.
Effects of Drought on Gene Expression in Maize Reproductive and Leaf Meristem Tissue Revealed by RNA-Seq1[W][OA]

Drought stress affects cereals especially during the reproductive stage. The maize (Zea mays) drought transcriptome was studied using RNA-Seq analysis to compare drought-treated and well-watered fertilized ovary and basal leaf meristem tissue. More drought-responsive genes responded in the ovary compared with the leaf meristem. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis revealed a massive decrease in transcript abundance of cell division and cell cycle genes in the drought-stressed ovary only. Among Gene Ontology categories related to carbohydrate metabolism, changes in starch and Suc metabolism-related genes occurred in the ovary, consistent with a decrease in starch levels, and in Suc transporter function, with no comparable changes occurring in the leaf meristem. Abscisic acid (ABA)-related processes responded positively, but only in the ovaries. Related responses suggested the operation of low glucose sensing in drought-stressed ovaries. The data are discussed in the context of the susceptibility of maize kernel to drought stress leading to embryo abortion and the relative robustness of dividing vegetative tissue taken at the same time from the same plant subjected to the same conditions. Our working hypothesis involves signaling events associated with increased ABA levels, decreased glucose levels, disruption of ABA/sugar signaling, activation of programmed cell death/senescence through repression of a phospholipase C-mediated signaling pathway, and arrest of the cell cycle in the stressed ovary at 1 d after pollination. Increased invertase levels in the stressed leaf meristem, on the other hand, resulted in that tissue maintaining hexose levels at an “unstressed” level, and at lower ABA levels, which was correlated with successful resistance to drought stress.