Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EMG correlations of edentulous patients with implant overdentures and fixed dental prostheses compared to conventional complete dentures and dentates: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

OBJECTIVES The goal of this meta-analysis was to evaluate how muscular activity, measured by electromyography (EMG), differs among edentulous patients treated with a complete denture (CD), removable implant overdentures (IO), implant-retained fixed dental prostheses (IFDP), and dentates. The differences during clenching and chewing were of particular interest. MATERIALS AND METHODS An electronic literature review was carried out on MEDLINE (Pubmed) and the Cochrane Library covering the period January 1980 through September 2013. This was accomplished independently by three different reviewers and supplemented by a manual search. The review included randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, and clinical trials which evaluated surface electromyography, bite force, chewing, and implants or complete dentures. In addition, the research was adjusted using MeSH terms. RESULTS The search garnered 646 titles and abstracts. Sixteen articles which met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. The effect size for muscular activity after implant support increased after therapy during clenching 2.18 (95% CI: 1.14, 3.23) and during chewing 1.45 (95%CI: 1.21, 1.69). Moreover, the EMG data of IO and IFDP groups (pooled) were lower than that of dentate control subjects during clenching (effect size: -1.01 [95%CI: -1.37, -0.65]). In contrast, the IFDP-wearers showed higher values than dentates during chewing. Among the edentulous control patients, the IO and IFDP groups (pooled) displayed higher values during clenching (effect size: 1.12 [95%CI: 0.7, 1.55]) and chewing (effect size: 1.33 [95%CI: -0.57, 2.10]). Furthermore, the muscular activity during chewing correlated with the hardness of the food. CONCLUSION In general, edentulous patients with CDs can achieve a greater degree of muscular activity after rehabilitation with IOs during clenching and chewing. During clenching, patients with IFDPs achieved higher values than those with dentates. The muscular activity increases with the hardness of the food.
Acute supersensitivity to the discriminative stimulus effects of naltrexone in pigeons.

The ability of acute morphine injections to augment discriminative stimulus effects and rate-decreasing effects of opioid antagonists was examined in pigeons trained to discriminate among i.m. injections of morphine (5.6 mg/kg), saline and naltrexone (10.0 mg/kg). A single injection of 10.0 or 32.0 mg/kg of morphine 24 hr before naltrexone produced 3- and 10-fold decreases, respectively, in the dose of naltrexone required for complete generalization. When morphine (10.0-100.0 mg/kg) was administered 48 hr before naltrexone, pigeons were not more sensitive to naltrexone as a discriminative stimulus but continued to be more sensitive to the rate-decreasing effects of naltrexone. Conditions that produced the largest increase in sensitivity to the discriminative stimulus effects of naltrexone (32.0 mg/kg of morphine 24 hr before the session) also increased sensitivity to the discriminative stimulus effects and rate-decreasing effects of naloxone, but did not affect the discriminative stimulus effects of diprenorphine, nalorphine or morphine. Increases in sensitivity to the discriminative stimulus effects of naltrexone and naloxone after single injections of morphine approached in magnitude the increases reported previously in pigeons treated chronically (once/daily) with large doses of morphine. However, the lack of generalization to naltrexone after pretreatment with still larger doses of morphine, as well as the failure of nalorphine and diprenorphine to substitute for naltrexone as discriminative stimuli under conditions in which sensitivity to naltrexone was increased, support the view that naltrexone does not produce its discriminative stimulus effects in nondependent animals exclusively through an opioid antagonistic action. The results suggest that morphine induced, acute supersensitivity to the discriminative stimulus effects of naltrexone differs from the supersensitivity to antagonists observed during chronic morphine treatment. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A survey of coding theory: 1967-1972

The coding theory literature for the period 1967-1972 is surveyed. Four contributions considered to be of special merit are identified. A brief description of several books solely concerned with coding theory is presented. The major themes reflected in selected English-language journals are outlined. More than 100 references are cited to illustrate these themes.
Un syndrome malin des neuroleptiques compliqué d'hémorragie méningée et révélant une vascularite cérébrale

Le syndrome malin des neuroleptiques est une complication du traitement par les neuroleptiques. Son incidence est estimée à 0,02% dans la population générale. Le traitement reste symptomatique et repose essentiellement sur l'arrêt immédiat du traitement antérieur. Nous rapportons l'observation clinique d'une patiente de 26 ans, schizophrénique sous Chlorpromazine, se présentant aux urgences pour la prise en charge d'un syndrome malin des neuroleptiques compliqué d'une hémorragie méningée et révélant une vascularite cérébrale.
On the Calculation of Implied Volatility Using A Genetic Algorithm

In the Black-Scholes options pricing formulas one parameter that cannot be directly observed is the volatility of the stock price. If actual market data of the price V are known, then the volatility can be viewed as unknown and can be calculated via the implicit equation (),,,,,0VvSTtKrσ−=. The volatility σplays the role of the unknown parameter. The volatility σdetermined in this way is called implied volatility and is the root of the equation()(),,,,,0fVvSTtKrσ σ =− = . Iterative methods such as Newton’s method, can then be used to find the root. In this work we propose an approach that uses a genetic algorithm to find the implied volatility. Keywords: option pricing, implied volatility, genetic algorithm
Early gastric cancer in young, asymptomatic carriers of germ-line E-cadherin mutations.

BACKGROUND Germ-line truncating mutations in the E-cadherin (CDH1) gene have been found in families with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. These families are characterized by a highly penetrant susceptibility to diffuse gastric cancer with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, predominantly in young persons. We describe genetic screening, surgical management, and pathological findings in young persons with truncating mutations in CDH1 from two unrelated families with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. METHODS Mutation-specific predictive genetic testing was performed by polymerase-chain-reaction amplification, followed by restriction-enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing in Family 1 and by heteroduplex analysis in Family 2. A total gastrectomy was performed prophylactically in five carriers of mutations who were between 22 and 40 years old. In each case, the entire mucosa of the stomach was extensively sampled for microscopical analysis. RESULTS Superficial infiltrates of malignant signet-ring cells were identified in the surgical samples from all five persons who underwent gastrectomy. These early diffuse gastric cancers were multifocal in three of the five cases, and in one person infiltrates of malignant signet-ring cells were present in 65 of the 140 tissue blocks analyzed, representing in aggregate less than 2 percent of the gastric mucosa. CONCLUSIONS We recommend genetic counseling and consideration of prophylactic gastrectomy in young, asymptomatic carriers of germ-line truncating CDH1 mutations who belong to families with highly penetrant hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.
Patient's perceptions about the service quality of public hospitals located at District Kohat.

OBJECTIVE To determine patients' perception regarding service and quality of healthcare at public-sector institutions. METHODS The descriptive quantitative study was conducted in Kohat district, Pakistan, between July and December 2014, and focussed on 30 variables to assess the participants' perceptions of the actual healthcare service quality delivered. SERVQUAL instrument was used to measure the reliability and cronbach alpha was calculated to measure the reliability and validity of the instrument. RESULTS A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed and 157(78.5%) were received back fully filled. Of them, 105(67%) were men and 52(33%) were women.The mean value of Assurance parameter was 3.05±0.88, indicating trust in public hospitals was high as they had experienced and capable doctors. On the other hand, the lowest mean value of 2.61±0.84 was for Empathy, highlighting the fact that public hospitals lacked the ability to handle patients' problem properly, services were not offered in time and they were short of staff. CONCLUSIONS Public hospitals were largely seen as failing to deliver quality service.
Activation of Cyclic AMP‐Generating Systems in Brain Membranes and Slices by the Diterpene Forskolin: Augmentation of Receptor‐Mediated Responses

Abstract: The diterpene forskolin markedly activates adenylate cyclase in membranes from various rat brain regions and elicits marked accumulations of radioactive cyclic AMP in adenine‐labeled slices from cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, striatum, superior colliculi, hypothalamus, thalamus, and medulla‐pens. In cerebral cortical slices, forskolin has half‐maximal effects at 20–30 μm on cyclic AMP levels, both alone and in the presence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor ZK 62771. The presence of a very low dose of forskolin (1 μm) can augment the response of brain cyclic AMP‐generating systems to norepinephrine, isoproterenol, histamine, serotonin, dopamine, adenosine, prostaglandin E2, and vasoactive intestinal peptide. Forskolin does not augment responses to combinations of histamine‐norepinephrine, adenosine‐norepinephrine, or histamine‐adenosine. For norepinephrine and isoproterenol in rat cerebral cortical slices and for histamine in guinea pig cerebral cortical slices, the presence of 1 μm‐forskolin augments the apparent efficacy of the amine, whereas for adenosine, prostaglandin E2, and vasoactive intestinal peptide, the major effect of 1 μm‐forskolin is to increase the apparent potency of the stimulatory agent. In rat striatal slices, forskolin reveals a significant response of cyclic AMP systems to dopamine and augments the dopamine‐elicited activation of adenylate cyclase in rat striatal membranes. The activation of cyclic AMP systems by forskolin is rapid and reversible, and appears to involve both direct activation of adenylate cyclase and facilitation and/or enhancement of receptor‐mediated activation of the enzyme.
Impact of live‐donor exchange on transplant waiting time *

Kidney paired donation (KPD) is a powerful strategy for enabling live-donor transplantation of sensitized patients who have a willing but immunologically incompatible donor. Allocation of compatible kidneys via donor exchanges has turned out to be an effective alternative to HLA antibody-incompatible transplantation. Since the first suggestion of kidney exchanges in the 1980s, several monoand multi-center KPD programs have been established [1]. In recent years, some units have improved the success rate of KPD by including unspecified donations or compatible pairs, increasing the length of donor–recipient chains, combining donor exchange with recipient desensitization, or shipping of live-donor kidneys [1]. Extended waiting time on dialysis may confer substantial risk for inferior patient and transplant survival. In this regard, patients with high levels of sensitization are particularly disadvantaged because of a markedly reduced chance of receiving a compatible living or deceased donor (DD) transplant. For some of these patients, KPD may provide a unique opportunity to receive a transplant within an acceptable time frame. In this issue of Transplant International, Ferrari and coworkers [2] provide a detailed analysis of the Australian KPD program to assess its impact on transplant waiting times. The Australian program is an impressive example of a newly established national donor exchange program [3]. Its key element is the use of a computer-based matching algorithm designed to precalculate compatible twoand three-way chains of donor–recipient pairs. Allocation of matched donors is based on a serological prescreening of potential recipients using Luminex-based single-antigen bead assays to reliably predict negative crossmatch test results [3]. In this respect, the Australian KPD program markedly differs from the national DD transplant program, where allocation is primarily based on HLA antigen-matching rules. The authors demonstrate that upon five quarterly match procedures during a 1-year period, 26 of 61 registered recipients could find a compatible match, and proCorrespondence G. A. Böhmig, Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. Tel. : +43 1 40400 4363; fax: +43 1 40400 39302; e-mail: georg.boehmig@meduniwien.ac. at
Viagra releases the brakes on melanoma growth

ABSTRACT Use of the phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) blocker sildenafil (Viagra) has been linked to an increased risk of melanoma. In a recent study we discovered a growth-promoting cGMP pathway in melanoma cells. cGMP degradation via PDE5 acts as a brake on this pathway. Inhibition of PDE5 releases this brake, providing a mechanism for the promelanoma effects of sildenafil.
The Effect of Loading and Material on the Biomechanical Properties and Vitality of Bovine Cartilage in Vitro

Purpose New methodology for long-term (270 h) biomechanical testing with living cartilage was developed. Polyurethane (PU) implant material was compared with stainless steel and reference samples in static unconfined compressive loading conditions on cartilage to provide a basis for dynamic testing of novel PU implant materials under conditions that simulate an articulating human knee joint. Methods Custom-made tools and techniques were developed to prepare cylindrical samples from bovine patella with cartilage including subchondral bone. Specific incubator cups with static loading setups for a culture incubator were manufactured to keep bovine cartilage explants alive in cell culture conditions under unconfined static compressive loading (0.25 MPa) for 270 h (11.25 d). Four loading conditions of cartilage were studied: free (FREE), restrained minimal loading (RESTR), loading with a metal plate (MEW) and loading with polyurethane (PUW). Results After static loading for 270 h, cartilage biomechanical tests indicated clear differences between the groups in frequency dependent dynamic stiffness curves. Surprisingly, the PU curves were closest to the FREE sample curves. Those with load and direct contact with metal (MEW) became significantly stiffer, while restrained samples became softer. Significant differences (p<0.05, Mann-Whitney's U test) in cell vitality between samples from various groups could be seen in fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and propidium iodide (PI) stained samples by confocal microscopic analysis. The approximate mean percentages of living cells after 270 hours cultivation were: FREE 87%, MEW 3%, PUW 35%, and RESTR 66%. Test results indicate that it is possible to keep cartilage cells alive in cell culture incubator conditions for two weeks period under a 0.25 MPa unconfined static loading. The FREE samples were most successful and cells loaded with PU were more vital than cells loaded with metal. Conclusions Based on the results, PU seems to be more compatible material than surgical steel in contact with living cartilage. Because of a large variation in the quality of bovine cartilage material from different animals, special care is necessary when selecting specimens to guarantee reliable and reproducible results.
Nitric oxide as intracellular modulator: internal production of NO increases neuronal excitability via modulation of several ionic conductances

Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to regulate neuronal excitability in the nervous system, but little is known as to whether NO, which is synthesized in certain neurons, also serves functional roles within NO‐producing neurons themselves. We investigated this possibility by using a nitric oxide synthase (NOS)‐expressing neuron, and studied the role of intrinsic NO production on neuronal firing properties in single‐cell culture. B5 neurons of the pond snail Helisoma trivolvis fire spontaneous action potentials (APs), but once the intrinsic activity of NOS was inhibited, neurons became hyperpolarized and were unable to fire evoked APs. These striking long‐term effects could be attributed to intrinsic NO acting on three types of conductances, a persistent sodium current (INaP), voltage‐gated Ca currents (ICa) and small‐conductance calcium‐activated potassium (SK) channels. We show that NOS inhibitors 7‐nitroindazole and S‐methyl‐l‐thiocitrulline resulted in a decrease in INaP, and that their hyperpolarizing and inhibiting effects on spontaneous spiking were mimicked by the inhibitor of INaP, riluzole. Moreover, inhibition of NOS, soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) or protein kinase G (PKG) attenuated ICa, and blocked spontaneous and depolarization‐induced spiking, suggesting that intrinsic NO controlled ICa via the sGC/PKG pathway. The SK channel inhibitor apamin partially prevented the hyperpolarization observed after inhibition of NOS, suggesting a downregulation of SK channels by intrinsic NO. Taken together, we describe a novel mechanism by which neurons utilize their self‐produced NO as an intrinsic modulator of neuronal excitability. In B5 neurons, intrinsic NO production is necessary to maintain spontaneous tonic and evoked spiking activity.
Income Effects and Vertical Differentiation in International Trade

We analyse a trade model with non-homothetic preferences and different quality ver- sions of each product. Income effects drive the quality composition of consumption, pro- duction and trade flows. We show that a rise in local population fosters local asymmetric specialization in high-quality production and exports while it harms low income groups. By contrast, an increase in local productivity may generate specialization in high quality production, which in turn may trigger an immiserizing growth process. Weaker compa- rative advantages induce firm to move and make a local productivity improvement more likely to increase production of higher quality goods everywhere.
Effect of Improper Scan Alignment on Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Measurements Using Stratus Optical Coherence Tomograph

ObjectiveMisalignment of the Stratus optical coherence tomograph scan circle placed by the operator around the optic nerve head (ONH) during each retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) examination can affect the instrument reproducibility and its theoretical ability to detect true structural changes in the RNFL thickness over time. We evaluated the effect of scan circle placement on RNFL measurements. DesignObservational clinical study. MethodsSixteen eyes of 8 normal participants were examined using the Stratus optical coherence tomograph Fast RNFL thickness acquisition protocol (software version 4.0.7; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA). Four consecutive images were taken by the same operator with the circular scan centered on the optic nerve head. Four images each with the scan displaced superiorly, inferiorly, temporally, and nasally were also acquired. Differences in average and sectoral RNFL thicknesses were determined. For the centered scans, the coefficients of variation (CV) and the intraclass correlation coefficient for the average RNFL thickness measured were calculated. ResultsWhen the average RNFL thickness of the centered scans was compared with the average RNFL thickness of the displaced scans individually using analysis of variance with post-hoc analysis, no difference was found between the average RNFL thickness of the nasally (105.2 μm), superiorly (106.2 μm), or inferiorly (104.1 μm) displaced scans and the centered scans (106.4 μm). However, a significant difference (analysis of variance with Dunnett's test: F=8.82, P<0.0001) was found between temporally displaced scans (115.8 μm) and centered scans. Significant differences in sectoral RNFL thickness measurements were found between centered and each displaced scan. The coefficient of variation for average RNFL thickness was 1.75% and intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.95. ConclusionsIn normal eyes, average RNFL thickness measurements are robust and similar with significant superior, inferior, and nasal scan displacement, but average RNFL thickness is greater when scans are displaced temporally. Parapapillary scan misalignment produces significant changes in RNFL assessment characterized by an increase in measured RNFL thickness in the quadrant in which the scan is closer to the disc, and a significant decrease in RNFL thickness in the quadrant in which the scan is displaced further from the optic disc.
On the computation of flat outputs for nonlinear control systems

A simple procedure for the systematic computation of flat outputs for nonlinear control systems is presented. After symbolic linearization of the system equations, a so-called tangent flat output is determined. For this purpose, a new algorithm which is based on the calculation of nullspaces and generalized inverses is given. If some integrability conditions are satisfied, the flat output of the nonlinear system can be determined by integration. The procedure is illustrated in detail by computational examples.
Interquarter comparison of markers of subclinical mastitis: somatic cell count, electrical conductivity, N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase and antitrypsin

Summary We have evaluated the usefulness in mastitis diagnostics of new diagnostic measures using the continuous nature of the variation in quarter milk samples of four inflammatory markers: somatic cell count, N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.30), electrical conductivity and antitrypsin. A two-way analysis of variance was performed for each of the inflammatory markers on results from 273 cows sampled six times at 14 d intervals. Adjustment for the individual cow's mean removed approximately half the total variation for all four markers, indicating that comparisons in marker levels between quarters without taking the cows' overall level into account, as is done in diagnostic keys based on fixed threshold, is a rash procedure. After adjusting for the individual cow means, the total variation of the marker observations was partitioned in three sources of variation: between the four quarter levels, between different sampling days, and the experimental error, i.e. the variation within each quarter over-the study period. As expected, the variation between quarters accounted for the largest percentage of the variation (44–65%). In contrast the variation between days was only 16–34% and of the same magnitude as the experimental error. These figures can profitably be taken into account when designing experiments in future mastitis research studies. They imply that mastitis diagnostics based on quarter milk samples collected over time will be influenced only slightly by random biological variation and that the same relative differences that exist in marker levels between the four quarters of a cow as a rule will be disclosed irrespective of sampling day. Thus, the udder health state is relatively stable when determined by these inflammatory markers. In addition to simple correlations between markers measured on the same day, correlations of the logarithm of the interquarter ratios and of the experimental errors were computed. Stronger associations between the markers emerged and these correlations reflect more precisely than simple correlations the real diagnostic relations of the markers.