Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-invasive different modalities of treatment for temporomandibular disorders: review of literature

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are diseases that affect the temporomandibular joint and supporting structures. The goal of treatment for TMDs is elimination or reduction of pain and return to normal temporomandibular joint function. Initial treatment for TMDs is non-invasive and conservative, not surgical. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons should fully understand and actively care about non-invasive treatments for TMDs. The purpose of this study is to review the validity and outcomes of non-invasive and surgical treatment modalities for TMDs.
Interleukin-7 Inactivates the Pro-apoptotic Protein Bad Promoting T Cell Survival*

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a cytokine that is required for T cell development and survival. The anti-apoptotic function of IL-7 is partly through induction of Bcl-2 synthesis and cytosolic retention of Bax. Here we show that the Bcl-2 homology 3 domain-only protein, Bad, is involved in cell death following IL-7 withdrawal from D1 cells, an IL-7-dependent murine thymocyte cell line. IL-7 stimulation resulted in the inactivation of Bad by phosphorylation at Ser-112, -136, and -155. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway has been implicated previously in Bad phosphorylation. In response to IL-7, the PI3K/Akt pathway induced phosphorylation at Ser-136 and -155, but Ser-112 was partly independent of the PI3K/Akt pathway, indicating an as yet unknown pathway in this response. Following IL-7 withdrawal, dephosphorylated Bad translocated from cytosol to mitochondria, bound to Bcl-2, and accelerated cell death. Thus, the inactivation of Bad contributes to the survival function of IL-7.
Gestion de l'exploitation agricole familiale et pratiques des agriculteurs: Vers une nouvelle théorie de la gestion

L'objet de la recherche est d'elaborer des concepts qui permettraient de mieux comprendre comment les agriculteurs choisissent, decident et gerent leur exploitation avec une relative efficacite. Sd'appuyant sur des travaux de recherche clinique suivant l'exemple dans les milieux industriels, on propose quelques concepts et un modele pour un renouvelle-ment de la theorie de la gestion: la Theorie du Comportement Adaptif. Ce renouvelle-ment repose certes sur la theorie de la firme et utilise les travaux sur la modelisation syste-mique et la rationalite limitee de H. Simon. Le postulat de coherence et les concepts de projet, situation, perception et adaptation sont les elements centraux de cette theorie qui permet de rendre endogene les fonctions de production et dd'utilite. Ces elements assez generaux sont appliques au Systeme Exploitation-Famille, qui insiste sur les interrelations entre exploitation et famille. Cette facon de voir l'agriculture familiale permet de mieux comprendre la diversite des comportements des agriculteurs et de proposer une conception plus adaptee de la gestion plus centree sur Facteur et son projet. This paper is the outcome of multidisciplinary team working on the practices of farmers. The economists of this team present the theoretical conclusions and the practical consequences of their research on management and training in management. The work used clinical research methods also called the research-intervention method by colleagues working in industrial milieux. The authors propose some concepts and a model for theory of adaptative behavior. The approach relies on the theory of the firm and is based on the works of H. Simon relating to systemic modeling and bounded rationality. The consistency assumption and concepts of project, situation, perception and adaptation are the basic elements of this theory, which permits endogenization of the utility and production functions. This general model is applied to the family farm system, emphasizing interrelations between farm and family. This model applied to family farm enterprises allows a realistic, intuitive approach to the diversity of farms with the concept of management focused on the actors and their projects.
Quest for the eco‐apparel market: a study of mothers' willingness to purchase organic cotton clothing for their children

The purpose of this study was to examine what consumer characteristics are related to willingness to purchase and selection of children's organic cotton clothing (OCC). A survey was conducted on mothers of pre-schoolers to collect data on mothers' environmental characteristics, involvement with OCC and children's clothing, children's clothing purchasing behaviour and willingness to purchase OCC. A buying scenario experiment was used to examine whether price and other product characteristics influenced the participants' selection of OCC. It was found that a mother's environmental concerns, environmental purchasing behaviour and recycling behaviour significantly affected their involvement in OCC, which further significantly determined mother's willingness to purchase OCC. However, mothers were not willing to pay a premium for purchasing children's OCC. A majority (59.5%) of the mothers who selected OCC in the buying scenario indicated fabric softness was the main reason for their selection. Preparing environmental education materials for consumers and producing OCC with high quality and good performance would help improve the acceptance of OCC in the market.
Oil Pollution in the Marine Environment III: Fates and Effects of Chronic Oil Inputs

articles presented the evidence that chronic input of oil accounts for almost 90% of the annual oil input to the marine environment on a global basis and averaged over a decade.1 Part II provided an overview and summary of the fates and effects of spilled oil, and discussed issues of response, containment, mitigation, and cleanup of spilled oil, and some related issues.2 This article, Part III, presents and discusses current knowledge of fates and effects of natural oil seeps in brief followed by current knowledge of fates and effects of chronic oil inputs due to human activities. Natural Oil Seeps
Generalized symmetric extension for size-limited multirate filter banks

A multirate (MR) filter bank is called size-limited if the total number of output samples equals the number of input samples. A method called symmetric extension improved performance in subband image compression systems compared to the earlier method of circular convolution. However, the symmetric extension method was developed only for two-band uniform filter banks, and required even-length linear phase analysis filters. The authors generalize the symmetric extension method to the M-band, possibly nonuniform filter banks, where M=/>2. The length restriction on the analysis filters is relaxed.
Predictive control of current source rectifier

The paper presents a new predictive control strategy of current source rectifier (CSR) supplied from the grid. The algorithm chooses proper space vector of CSR according to the predicted value of the grid current and predicted value of the capacitor voltage. Proposed method is analyzed for different L and C values and their influence on higher harmonics reduction has been discussed. Simulation results confirm good performance of the system.
Are WIC Nonrecipients at Less Nutritional Risk Than Recipients? An Application of the Food Security Measure *

T he goal of the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in the U.S. social safety net is to ". provide supplemental nutritious food as an adjunct to good health during such critical times of growth and development [during pregnancy, the postpartum period, infancy, and early childhood] in order to prevent the occurrence of health problems" (P.L. 94-105). The perceived success of WIC in meeting this goal has led to program growth over time, from 5.7 million enrollees in 1992 to nearly 8 million in 2000 (Bartlett et al.). Despite this increased enrollment, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state WIC offices express concern that a larger share of the eligible population does not receive WIC. For example, more than six in ten eligible children do not receive WIC (Bitler, Currie, and Scholz). The level of concern about nonparticipation among eligibles depends upon who is not receiving WIC. Policymakers and program administrators want to ensure WIC is being received by those most in need. Some have speculated that WIC recipients are better off than eligible nonrecipients, suggesting that the
Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts on Agriculture in the New Europe: Post-Communist Transition and Accession to the European Union

This book looks at agriculture and the environment, placed within the dynamic context of post-communist societal change and entry into the European Union (EU). Scrieciu explores developments in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and argues for agriculture’s natural place in these societies. The history of these countries is significant in how it has shaped the institutions and influenced the outcomes. In many cases, during communism, agriculture was not considered a strategic branch for a nation's development. An ecological consciousness did not figure high on the agendas of authoritarian regimes. After 1990, some post-communist farm economies progressed slower than others, and environmental pressures mostly diminished with agricultural restructuring. In parts of CEE, increases in numbers of low-input small farms have resulted in some, though largely unintended, ecological benefits. A dual environmental challenge has nevertheless surfaced. On one hand, environmentally unsustainable practices have been attributed to some low-input farming. On the other hand, risks of farm over-intensification and resource over-exploitation are on the rise. Also, environmental regulatory and institutional frameworks are not always effectively in place. EU membership is not creating the anticipated benefits for farm growth. There are a number of systemic structural barriers preventing many farmers from drawing on Common Agricultural Policy incentives and support. The presence of many vulnerable poor farms is clearly problematic, particularly economically. However, small-scale farms could be made more acceptable and profitable by ensuring EU policies acknowledge their value and by building institutions to support alternative farm growth strategies, aside from the traditional European model of individual corporate farm expansion. The voluntary uptake of grassroots rural cooperation and farm associations may represent such an alternative. Future European farm policy reforms need to reach the small and vulnerable, and better tackle issues of farm equity, poverty, and agricultural sustainability in the new Europe. This is a timely contribution as this type of "transition" has just begun. This book should be of use to students and researchers looking at agricultural and environmental economics, post-communist rural societal change, European integration and the Common Agricultural Policy. It may be also useful and of high relevance to policy analysts and those involved in agricultural and rural development policy-making in the region or in other countries facing similar problems.
The construction firm and the construction project: a transaction cost approach

Three of the influential perspectives for analysing construction management are reviewed - socio-technical systems; organization and environment; and project management - and it is suggested that in spite of their considerable usefulness, they contain no framework for analysing the inevitable differences in interest between the different firms who are members of the project coalition. An alternative approach is then presented - the transaction cost approach - which, it is suggested, does allow these differences to be analysed. In conclusion, the dynamics of the contracting system are assessed in terms of the contradiction between construction firms’ responses to the uncertainties inherent in the project, and those deriving from the contracting system itself.
Lessons from the crystallographic analysis of small molecule binding to human serum albumin.

SUMMARY Human serum albumin (HSA) is an abundant and highly soluble plasma protein with the capacity to bind a remarkably diverse set of lipophilic anionic compounds so that it fulfils important roles in the transport of nutrients, hormones and toxins. The protein attracts great interest from the pharmaceutical industry since it can also bind a variety of drug molecules, impacting their delivery and efficacy. Our understanding of the binding and transport properties of albumin has been transformed by structural studies of the protein, in which crystallographic analysis has played a leading role. This review summarises the main insights to have accrued from this work, highlighting the significant advances that have been made but also pointing out some of the challenges ahead. Since further progress is likely to benefit from increased structural scrutiny of HSA, methodological developments instrumental to the success of crystallographic analysis of the protein are discussed in some detail.
German responses to regime change: Culture, class, economy or context?

How have Germans, East and West, responded to dramatic changes in their political and economic regimes resulting from re‐unification? Since every German has lived under at least two regimes, evaluations of the present are made in the light of experience of their previous regime, the pre‐unification Federal Republic or the German Democratic Republic. This article analyses the 1993 German Re‐Unification Survey to test the extent to which Germans have shown a common response, as implied by theories of pan‐German culture or, in the case of the GDR, that Sovietisation matters. In both parts of Germany, people are divided. It then tests three competing hypotheses about the causes of differing evaluations of regime change. At first glance, economic costs and benefits appear most important. But a causal model shows that context ‐ evaluating regimes in the light of experience of the GDR or the Federal Republic ‐is most important, indirectly and directly. A follow up survey shows that positive responses are increas.
Optimal Viewing Angle Determination for Multiple Vessel Segments in Coronary Angiographic Image

Angiographic image is the perspective projection of the whole body from a 3D space to a 2D imaging plane, in which X-ray is used. As such, topological vasculature information has been lost. In 2D angiograms, foreshortening and overlapping are commonly observed in tubular-like structures. Hence, an optimum viewing angle should be determined to observe an interesting vessel segment (IVS) or an interesting vessel bifurcation (IVB) with minimized foreshortening and overlapping from a limited number of angiographic images. In this study, a novel integrated optimization method is proposed to calculate the optimum viewing angle. In the proposed method, the irregular shape and inter-branch distance of vasculatures are considered. Furthermore, three optimized conditions, including projection foreshortening rate, projection stenosis rate, and projection overlapping rate, are designed and integrated to determine the optimum viewing angle in a single vessel segment. The three conditions, including projection foreshortening, projection stenosis, and projection adjacent spacing rates, are also designed to optimize the viewing angle of bifurcations. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we simulated an angiographic image based on X-ray propagating principle by integrating 3D coronary artery tree models and the respective CT volume data. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is very effective and robust; hence, this method can be used to determine the optimum viewing angle of IVS or IVB with irregular stenosis. The proposed method can also help physicians observe the branching structure or stenosis clearly in clinical practice.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz first international plant location decision: the site selection and negotiation process in the USA

In the early 1990s, BMW and Mercedes-Benz decided to establish their first international production facility. Both chose the USA, their single largest international market, yet they planned to export the majority of its production. This paper, based upon interviews with host country executives of both companies, state officials, and politicians, examines the nature and duration of the site selection process of each company. BMW and Mercedes adopted a very different approach to the decision-making process and in their negotiations with state policy-makers. Although the internationalisation process is well understood, the site selection decision-making process of auto producers (and indeed multinationals in other sectors) is a neglected area of international business. This paper aims to address this void, and encourage further studies in this area.
The outbreak of West Nile virus infection in the New York City area in 1999.

BACKGROUND In late August 1999, an unusual cluster of cases of meningoencephalitis associated with muscle weakness was reported to the New York City Department of Health. The initial epidemiologic and environmental investigations suggested an arboviral cause. METHODS Active surveillance was implemented to identify patients hospitalized with viral encephalitis and meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid, serum, and tissue specimens from patients with suspected cases underwent serologic and viral testing for evidence of arboviral infection. RESULTS Outbreak surveillance identified 59 patients who were hospitalized with West Nile virus infection in the New York City area during August and September of 1999. The median age of these patients was 71 years (range, 5 to 95). The overall attack rate of clinical West Nile virus infection was at least 6.5 cases per million population, and it increased sharply with age. Most of the patients (63 percent) had clinical signs of encephalitis; seven patients died (12 percent). Muscle weakness was documented in 27 percent of the patients and flaccid paralysis in 10 percent; in all of the latter, nerve conduction studies indicated an axonal polyneuropathy in 14 percent. An age of 75 years or older was an independent risk factor for death (relative risk adjusted for the presence or absence of diabetes mellitus, 8.5; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.2 to 59.1), as was the presence of diabetes mellitus (age-adjusted relative risk, 5.1; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.5 to 17.3). CONCLUSIONS This outbreak of West Nile meningoencephalitis in the New York City metropolitan area represents the first time this virus has been detected in the Western Hemisphere. Given the subsequent rapid spread of the virus, physicians along the eastern seaboard of the United States should consider West Nile virus infection in the differential diagnosis of encephalitis and viral meningitis during the summer months, especially in older patients and in those with muscle weakness.
Taylor Rules for the Euro Area: The Issue of Real-Time Data

Recently, a number of studies have made an attempt to deal with the key issue of the incompleteness of information available to the central bank when taking its monetary policy decisions. This study adds to this literature by tackling the problem with regard to the euro area. The analysis is based on the simplistic assumption of the central bank following a simple monetary policy rule ? -la-Taylor. Along the lines of work suggested by Orphanides, the study tries to assess whether estimates of reaction functions which are carried out using revised data for the euro area can convey a misleading message in terms of policy recommendations.
RENT-SEEKING FIRMS AND CONSUMERS: AN EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS

This paper examines the probability of success in a rent-seeking contest as a general function of the resources that both firms and consumers devote to lobbying the government. The object of lobbying is a possible restriction of market supply, where the likelihood that supply will be restricted to a given extent depends on everyone's lobbying efforts. In equilibrium the expected social loss due to rent-seeking activities is at most equal to the size of the contested rent, and this upper bound does not depend on the active participation of consumers in the contest. Markets in which supply is not restricted may also be associated with rent-seeking waste. Finally, consumers' rent-seeking efforts are shown to be socially productive, both on the margin and in total. Copyright 1992 Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
The cross-section of Johannesburg Securities Exchange listed equity returns (1994-2011)

Purpose - – The aim of this study is to examine the impact of technical and fundamental (referred to as firm-specific) factors on the cross-sectional variation in equity returns on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE). Design/methodology/approach - – To reach the objective, the study follows an empirical research approach. Cross-sectional regression analyses, factor-portfolio analyses and multifactor analyses are performed using 50 firm-specific factors for listed shares over three sample periods during 1994 to 2011. Findings - – The results suggest that a strong value and momentum effect is present and robust on the JSE, while a size effect is present but varies over time. Multifactor analyses show that value and momentum factors are collectively significant in explaining the cross-section of returns. The results imply that the JSE is either not an efficient market or that current market risk models are incorrectly specified. Practical implications - – The findings of the study offers practical application possibilities to investment analysts and portfolio managers. Originality/value - – To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use such a comprehensive data set for the specific analyses on the JSE over such a long period. All previously identified statistical biases are addressed in this study. Different approaches are applied to compare results and test for robustness for the first time.
Atypical cortical representation of peripheral visual space in children with an autism spectrum disorder

A key feature of early visual cortical regions is that they contain discretely organized retinotopic maps. Titration of these maps must occur through experience, and the fidelity of their spatial tuning will depend on the consistency and accuracy of the eye movement system. Anomalies in fixation patterns and the ballistics of eye movements are well documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with off‐center fixations a hallmark of the phenotype. We hypothesized that these atypicalities might affect the development of visuo‐spatial maps and specifically that peripheral inputs might receive altered processing in ASD. Using high‐density recordings of visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and a novel system‐identification approach known as VESPA (visual evoked spread spectrum analysis), we assessed sensory responses to centrally and peripherally presented stimuli. Additionally, input luminance was varied to bias responsiveness to the magnocellular system, given previous suggestions of magnocellular‐specific deficits in ASD. Participants were 22 ASD children (7–17 years of age) and 31 age‐ and performance‐IQ‐matched neurotypical controls. Both VEP and VESPA responses to central presentations were indistinguishable between groups. In contrast, peripheral presentations resulted in significantly greater early VEP and VESPA amplitudes in the ASD cohort. We found no evidence that anomalous enhancement was restricted to magnocellular‐biased responses. The extent of peripheral response enhancement was related to the severity of stereotyped behaviors and restricted interests, cardinal symptoms of ASD. The current results point to differential visuo‐spatial cortical mapping in ASD, shedding light on the consequences of peculiarities in gaze and stereotyped visual behaviors often reported by clinicians working with this population.