Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Prospective Experimental Comparative Study on the Clinical Effects of Calculus Dissolution based Oral Rinse in Gingivitis Patients

Aim: The present study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of calculus/tartar dissolution based oral rinse as an adjunct to toothbrushing in gingivitis patients for long-term effects on new supragingival calculus formation. Materials and methods: After undergoing a dental prophylaxis, 60 gingivitis subjects with a moderate rate of calculus formation were stratified and randomly assigned to one of two groups: Control group (regular dentifrice alone) and experimental group (using a regular dentifrice and a calculus/tartar control mouthrinse). Subjects brushed and rinsed twice daily, unsupervised, for 6 months. All subjects were assessed with gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI) and calculus levels using the Volpe-Manhold Index (VMI) after 3 and 6 months. Results: Statistical analysis found that the experimental group (which used a calculus/tartar contain mouthrinse) demonstrated statistically significantly lower VMI scores (p = 0.001) than control group (which used a regular dentifrice alone). In experiment test group A, there was decline in VMI score from 3 to 6 months by 23.12% as compared to group B where there was continuous increase in VMI scores from 3 to 6 months by 22.16%. Conclusion: A mouthrinse containing tetrapotassium pyrophosphate and sodium tripolyphosphate as the anticalculus agent provides a clinically relevant reduction in calculus formation in subjects with a moderate rate of such formation.
Insights into the role of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in obesity and insulin resistance

High-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity has emerged as a state of chronic low-grade inflammation characterised by a progressive infiltration of immune cells, particularly macrophages, into obese adipose tissue. Adipose tissue macrophages (ATM) present immense plasticity. In early obesity, M2 anti-inflammatory macrophages acquire an M1 pro-inflammatory phenotype. Pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β produced by M1 ATM exacerbate local inflammation promoting insulin resistance (IR), which consequently, can lead to type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the triggers responsible for ATM recruitment and activation are not fully understood. Adipose tissue-derived chemokines are significant players in driving ATM recruitment during obesity. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a chemokine-like inflammatory regulator, is enhanced during obesity and is directly associated with the degree of peripheral IR. This review focuses on the functional role of macrophages in obesity-induced IR and highlights the importance of the unique inflammatory cytokine MIF in propagating obesity-induced inflammation and IR. Given MIF chemotactic properties, MIF may be a primary candidate promoting ATM recruitment during obesity. Manipulating MIF inflammatory activities in obesity, using pharmacological agents or functional foods, may be therapeutically beneficial for the treatment and prevention of obesity-related metabolic diseases.
Aflatoxin B1 can be complexed with oxidised tea polyphenols and the absorption of the complexed aflatoxin B1 is inhibited in rats.

BACKGROUND Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most prevalent and carcinogenic form of the aflatoxins. In this report, we explored the interaction between AFB1 and oxidised tea polyphenols (OTP). Then, the influence of OTP on the absorption and toxicity of AFB1 in rats was investigated. RESULTS We found that AFB1 can be complexed with OTP, and a transmembrane bidirectional transport experiment verified the absorption of complexed AFB1 (C-AFB1) was inhibited by OTP dramatically (P < 0.001). Animal experiments results showed that the AFB1 plus OTP group had significantly (P < 0.05) decreased AFB1-albumin (AFB1-alb) compared to the AFB1 group at 4 h after ingestion. OTP could significantly (P < 0.01) promote the elimination of AFB1 in faeces. Moreover, the liver injury induced by AFB1 was significantly inhibited by OTP. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrated AFB1 can be complexed with OTP and the absorption of the C-AFB1 is inhibited in rats. Consequently, the liver injury induced by AFB1 can be inhibited by OTP. These results provide insight that consuming OTP-containing products, like fermented Pu-er tea, can protect damage from AFB1, and OTP may be used as a kind of food additive. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Effect of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist telmisartan on lipoprotein lipase mass in preheparin serum.

AIM Lipoprotein lipase protein exists in preheparin serum (preheparin LpL mass), even though lipoprotein lipase activity is rarely detected. Recent clinical studies have clarified that low preheparin LpL mass concentration is an important coronary risk factor. The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of telmisartan, which is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist with partial peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma agonist activity, on preheparin LpL mass concentration in the serum of patients with hypertension. METHODS Fifty untreated hypertensive patients were treated with telmisartan 40 mg/day for 12 weeks and the subjects were divided into two groups by their mean value of preheparin LpL mass concentration at baseline (cut-off level: Male 55 ng/mL, Female 65 ng/mL). RESULTS Before telmisartan therapy, low preheparin LpL mass concentration was closely associated with the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and the presence of coronary atherosclerosis. Preheparin LpL mass concentration significantly increased after telmisartan therapy in subjects with a low preheparin LpL mass concentration (baseline/12 weeks after, 46 +/- 12 ng/mL/54 +/- 14 ng/mL, p=0.001). CONCLUSION This finding indicated that telmisartan could prevent the occurrence of coronary events in subjects with hypertension by increasing the preheparin LpL mass concentration.
A 38W digital class D audio power amplifier output stage with integrated protection circuits

This paper presents an integrated digital class D audio power amplifier output stage implemented in a 40V, 0. 35µm HV-CMOS technology. The integrated output stage consists of a full H-bridge, gate drivers, bootstrap diodes and protection circuits. Its performance was found to be better than previously published output stages implemented in SOI based BCD processes, which are typically more complex and costly. Experimental results show that low distortion is achieved with high efficiency. In open loop configuration, the minimum Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise (THD+N) was measured to be 0.016%. The output stage has a maximum efficiency of 88% and delivers up to 38W into a 4Ω Bridge-Tied Load (BTL).
Do Different Vascular Risk Factors Affect All Arteries Equally?

Established vascular risk factors (ie, smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia) play an important role in the development of vascular disease. Emerging evidence suggests that some of these risk factors may have a more intense effect on specific arterial beds, a finding that holds implications for a prognostic role for certain types of vascular disease.
Carvedilol tratment of chronic heart failure: a new era

formulated in the early 1980s when it was first appreciated that myocardial failure and end stage heart disease in man was accompanied by increased cardiac adrenergic drive and impaired β adrenergic signal transduction.1 2 Cardiac adrenergic drive has been shown to increase even during the earliest stages of asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction.3 This is a local effect that occurs before any other neurohormonal perturbation, as shown by increased release of noradrenaline within the heart without an accompanying increase in circulating noradrenaline levels. One of the first biological consequences of chronic adrenergic stimulation is widespread alterations in β receptor signal transduction, including a 50–60% downregulation of myocardial β1 adrenoceptors.4–7 This and other β receptor pathway desensitisation phenomena reduce myocardial reserve, which in turn decreases the ability of the heart to function under stress, and contributes to the loss in maximal exercise performance in patients with heart failure. The second general biological consequence of chronic adrenergic stimulation is progressive myocardial dysfunction, which is related to adverse effects of noradrenaline on cardiac myocytes or the myocardium in general. This component of the adrenergic hypothesis is based on the clinical observation that β adrenoceptor blockade prevents, and actually reverses, progressive myocardial dysfunction.7
Anti-CTLA4 scFv, a Single-Chain Antibody, Can Prolong Expression of Escherichia. coli. beta-Galactosidase in Immune-Competent Mice

Objectives: To induce immune tolerance in immune-competent animals with a plasmid (p4F10-eB7) expressing a membranebound single-chain antibody against CTLA4. Materials and Methods: Twenty 9-week old immune-competent C57B/L6 mice were divided into 2 groups. Ten mice received an intramuscular injection of 50 L of endotoxin-free pCBLacZ plasmid at a concentration of 1 mg/mL in phosphate buffer in the left anterior tibialis. The plasmid codes for the potent immunogen, Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase in transduced muscle fibers. Ten mice received a co-injection of p4F10-eB7 with pCBLacZ. Results: We examined the expression of beta-galactosidase in muscle fibers on the 6th and 12th days after the intramuscular injection. The average number of fibers expressing beta-galactosidase was 43.6 in the mice receiving 2 plasmids as compared with 2.2 in the mice receiving only pCBLacZ (p= 0.015, by the Mann-Whitney test). There was no significant difference in the expression of beta-galactosidase between these 2 groups on day 12, at 0.4 Vs 1.4 fibers (p=0.419). Conclusions: Expression of anti-CTLA4 antibody in muscle cells prolonged the expression of a strong immunogen, E. coli beta-galactosidase in transduced muscle fibers of immune-competent mice. The probable mechanism could be anergy of activated cytotoxic T cells induced by activation of CD152 after interaction with the single-chain antibody.
PPSGen: Learning to Generate Presentation Slides for Academic Papers

In this paper, we investigate a very challenging task of automatically generating presentation slides for academic papers. The generated presentation slides can be used as drafts to help the presenters prepare their formal slides in a quicker way. A novel system called PPSGen is proposed to address this task. It first employs regression methods to learn the importance of the sentences in an academic paper, and then exploits the integer linear programming (ILP) method to generate well-structured slides by selecting and aligning key phrases and sentences. Evaluation results on a test set of 200 pairs of papers and slides collected on the web demonstrate that our proposed PPSGen system can generate slides with better quality. A user study is also illustrated to show that PPSGen has a few evident advantages over baseline methods.
A New Strategy for Transmission Expansion in Competitive Electricity Markets

It will be important to develop a transmission network capable of handling future generation and load pattems in a deregulated, unbundled, and competitive electricity market. A new strategy for transmission expansion under a competitive market environment is presented. In the proposed strategy, a new transmission planning model considers a variety of market-driven power flow patterns while a decision-analysis scheme is incorporated to minimize the risk of the selected plan. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the potential of the proposed strategy to make a significant contribution to transmission planning in competitive markets.
Cilnidipine but not amlodipine suppresses sympathetic activation elicited by isometric exercise in hypertensive patients

Abstract Pupillometry was used to evaluate the effects of the calcium channel blockers cilnidipine (CL) and amlodipine (AM) on changes in autonomic nervous activity induced by isometric exercise in patients with hypertension. After handgrip exercise, the velocity of miosis increased in both the CL and AM groups. However, the velocity of mydriasis increased in only the AM group. Velocity slopes of miosis and mydriasis were smaller in the CL group than in the AM group. The low-to-high frequency ratio obtained from pulse wave analysis increased in only the AM group. Sympathetic activation elicited by isometric exercise was suppressed more effectively by CL than by AM.
Application of Healthy Heart program in the two semi-rural areas in Eskişehir.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to raise awareness of people in two semi-rural regions of Eskişehir in terms of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk factors and to promote related heart-healthy behaviors. METHODS The study was a semi-experimental intervention and featured as a two-phase design. In the first phase of the study, participants received visits at home. Individuals in intervention and control areas were given a participation form that indicated the Framingham Risk Score (FRS). Other training materials were distributed throughout the intervention area. The second phase was planned as a nested case- control study. The first phase included 2.766 persons and the second phase included 778 persons. In the evaluation of the data the Pearson Chi-square and Student's t-test for independent samples, Mc-Nemar Chi-square and the paired t-test for dependent samples were applied. RESULTS During the first phase, the frequency of FRS metrics above 10% was 26.2% for males, 18.1% for females in the intervention area, 22.9% for males, and 14.9% for females in the control area. There was no difference between males and females in terms of scoring for control and intervention areas (p>0.05). Based on the FRS data, the second phase revealed a decrease of 15.4% in males (p<0.001) and 10.2% in females (p<0.001) in the intervention area and an increase of 8.2% in males (p=0.011) and 3.8% in females (p=0.078) in the control area. CONCLUSION In this study, teaching individuals who were older than twenty years of age about cardiac health seemed to be an effective method for decreasing CVD risk factors.
Multiattribute Utility Copulas for Multi-objective Coverage Control

Abstract This paper presents theoretical and experimental results related to the control and coordination of multirobot systems interested in dynamically covering a compact domain while remaining proximal, so as to promote robust inter-robot communications, and while remaining collision free with respect to each other and static obstacles. A design for a novel, gradient-based controller using nonnegative definite objective functions and an overapproximation to the maximum function is presented. By using a multiattribute utility copula to scalarize the multiobjective control problem, a control law is presented that allows for flexible tuning of the tradeofs between objectives. This procedure mitigates the controller’s dependence on objective function parameters and allows for the straightforward integration of a novel global coverage objective. Simulation and experiments demonstrate the controller’s efectiveness in promoting scenarios with collision free trajectories, robust communications, and satisfactory coverage of the entire coverage domain concurrently for a group of differential drive robots.
Large-Scale Quadratically Constrained Quadratic Program via Low-Discrepancy Sequences

We consider the problem of solving a large-scale Quadratically Constrained Quadratic Program. Such problems occur naturally in many scientific and web applications. Although there are efficient methods which tackle this problem, they are mostly not scalable. In this paper, we develop a method that transforms the quadratic constraint into a linear form by sampling a set of low-discrepancy points. The transformed problem can then be solved by applying any state-of-the-art large-scale quadratic programming solvers. We show the convergence of our approximate solution to the true solution as well as some finite sample error bounds. Experimental results are also shown to prove scalability as well as improved quality of approximation in practice.
Familial transmission of the FMR1 CGG repeat.

To better define the nature of FMR1 CGG-repeat expansions, changes in allele sizes for 191 families with fragile X and for 33 families with gray-zone repeats (40-60) were analyzed. Expansion of the fragile X chromosome to the full mutation was seen in 13.4% of offspring from premutation mothers with 56-59 repeats, 20.6% of those with 60-69 repeats, 57.8% of those with 70-79 repeats, 72.9% of those with 80-89 repeats, and 97.3% of those with 90-199 repeats. For premutation fathers, the majority (62%) of their daughters had a larger repeat number, while a few had either a smaller (22%) or the same (16%) repeat number, compared with their fathers' sizes. However, daughters with a smaller repeat number were observed only if their fathers had > or = 80 repeats. Fifteen (39.5%) of 38 such daughters carried a smaller repeat than did their fathers. We observed that a similar repeat number was inherited more often than expected by chance, among the members of a sibship segregating fragile X. This familial clustering, observed in the offspring of both males and females with a premutation, implies there may be an additional factor, independent of parental repeat size, that influences CGG-repeat instability. Instability in gray-zone allele transmissions was observed in 25% of alleles with 50-60 CGGs but in <8% of those with 40-49 CGGs. Examination of gray-zone allele organization revealed that long tracts of pure CGGs (>34) are not always unstably transmitted. These results raise new questions regarding the familial factors that may determine transmission expansions.
Testability profile estimation of VLSI circuits from fault coverage

The authors present a new method of estimating the testability profile of a circuit from its random fault coverage data. They have recently developed a relationship between fault coverage and testability profile. However, their testability profile estimates were based on unknown distribution of input vectors and used Bayes theorem with a priori uniform detection probability distribution. The testability profile is modeled as a series of impulse functions and the strength of each estimated from fault coverage data. Experimental results given on three of the large ISCAS benchmark circuits reflect the accuracy of these estimates. Applications include: coverage prediction from testability analysis, prediction of test length, and test generation by fault sampling. <<ETX>>
Response to Dr. Amit Lampit et al.

port for this project from the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Minneapolis VA Health Care System. Author Contributions: Both authors contributed to study concept and design, acquisition of subjects and data, data analysis and interpretation, and preparation of manuscript. Sponsor’s Role: The sponsor played no role in design, methods, subject recruitment, data collections, analysis and preparation of paper.
A distortion analysis and optimal design of orthogonal basis for DMT transceivers

An orthogonal transmultiplexer (synthesis/analysis filter bank) utilizing DFT (discrete fourier transform) basis is the current DMT (discrete multitone) standard for HDSL communications. The measures of the ICI and ISI distortions in a multicarrier modulation scheme are presented. The ICI and ISI performance of DFT along with other known linear transforms are compared. The issues of optimal basis design for a given channel are discussed. The available design tools of the subband transform theory are highlighted for the future performance improvements.
Quantitative perfusion analysis in pancreatic contrast enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US): a promising tool for the differentiation between autoimmune pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer

Abstract In the work-up of focal pancreatic lesions autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a rare differential diagnosis to pancreatic cancer (PC) with similar clinical constellations. The aim of our study was to compare differences between proven AIP and PC using transabdominal dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US). Therefore we recorded 3-minute-clips of CEUS examinations and analyzed perfusion parameters with VueBox®-quantification software. To obtain DCE-US Parameters, Regions-of-Interest were selected within the lesions and the surrounding pancreas parenchyma, serving as reference tissue. We compared 3 patients with AIP (mean age: 58 years; lesion mean size: 40 mm) to 17 patients with PC (mean age: 68 years; lesion mean size: 35.9 mm). Significant differences between PC and parenchyma could be found in the following parameters: Peak-Enhancement (PE), Wash-in-and-Wash-out-AUC, Wash-in Perfusion-Index. PE of AIP was comparable to normal parenchyma. The relation of PE between parenchyma and lesion (ΔPE) AIP and PC was significantly different [AIP: 0.21 (± 0.06); PC: 0.81 (± 0.1); p < 0.01]. PE of neoplastic lesions was significantly lower as AIP and normal parenchyma (p < 0.01). Therefore perfusion analysis in DCE-US can help to differentiate hypovascular PC from AIP presenting nearly isovascular time intensity curves. Diagnostic accuracy of DCE-US in this setting has to be validated in future prospective studies in comparison to CT and MRI.
n-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with dysglycemia.

BACKGROUND The use of n-3 fatty acids may prevent cardiovascular events in patients with recent myocardial infarction or heart failure. Their effects in patients with (or at risk for) type 2 diabetes mellitus are unknown. METHODS In this double-blind study with a 2-by-2 factorial design, we randomly assigned 12,536 patients who were at high risk for cardiovascular events and had impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or diabetes to receive a 1-g capsule containing at least 900 mg (90% or more) of ethyl esters of n-3 fatty acids or placebo daily and to receive either insulin glargine or standard care. The primary outcome was death from cardiovascular causes. The results of the comparison between n-3 fatty acids and placebo are reported here. RESULTS During a median follow up of 6.2 years, the incidence of the primary outcome was not significantly decreased among patients receiving n-3 fatty acids, as compared with those receiving placebo (574 patients [9.1%] vs. 581 patients [9.3%]; hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.87 to 1.10; P=0.72). The use of n-3 fatty acids also had no significant effect on the rates of major vascular events (1034 patients [16.5%] vs. 1017 patients [16.3%]; hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.93 to 1.10; P=0.81), death from any cause (951 [15.1%] vs. 964 [15.4%]; hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.89 to 1.07; P=0.63), or death from arrhythmia (288 [4.6%] vs. 259 [4.1%]; hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.93 to 1.30; P=0.26). Triglyceride levels were reduced by 14.5 mg per deciliter (0.16 mmol per liter) more among patients receiving n-3 fatty acids than among those receiving placebo (P<0.001), without a significant effect on other lipids. Adverse effects were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Daily supplementation with 1 g of n-3 fatty acids did not reduce the rate of cardiovascular events in patients at high risk for cardiovascular events. (Funded by Sanofi; ORIGIN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00069784.).