Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of osseous changes of the temporomandibular joint in CBCT images of patients with and without temporomandibular disorders

Radiographic examinations are a part of routine clinical examination of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) to verify degenerative bone changes in the joint structures. Assessment of the prevalence of osseous changes of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in CBCT images of the patients with and without temporomandibular disorders.CBCT images of temporomandibular joint were taken in 62 patients with temporomandibular disorders and 62 patients without TMD. The presence of bone changes including fl attening, erosion, subcortical sclerosis, osteophyte, subcortical cyst, condylar hyperplasia and condylar hypoplasia of temporomandibular joint were studied at left and right sides on CBCT images. Furthermore, clinical fi ndings in relation to temporomandibular disorders in patients were obtained from their records. The prevalence of bone changes and clinical fi ndings in the 2 group of patients were analyzed. Radiographic fi ndings in the right TMJ of TMD patients, included erosion (27.4%), osteophyte (17.7%), subcortical sclerosis (16.1%), condyle hyperplasia (6.5%) and fl attening (40.3%). The prevalence of these bone changes in the right TMJ of non-TMD patients were 35.5, 6.5, 3.2, 0 and 37.1%, respectively. In the left side of TMD group; erosion was found in 29.0%, osteophyte 12.9%, subcortical sclerosis 12.9%, condyle hyperplasia 6.5% and fl attening in 37.1% of the patients. The incidence of these changes in the same side of nonTMD group was 22.6, 3.2, 1.6, 0 and 32.3%, respectively. Signifi cant differences were found for osteophyte incidence in the left TMJ(P=0.04), subcortical sclerosis in the right TMJ(P=0.02), subcortical sclerosis in the left TMJ(P=0.02) and condylar hyperplasia in both joints (P=0.04) between TMD and non-TMD patients.The most prevalent bone changes related to temporomandibular disorders included fl attening, erosion and osteophyte. The changes were highly reported for temporomandibular disorders than healthy individuals and no signifi cant correlation was found between TMJ bone changes and the patients’ age and gender.
Prognostic Significance of TACC 1 Expression in Gastric Carcinoma

TACC1 protein belongs to the transforming acidic coiled-coil family shown to interact with the gastric cancer. In the present study we analyzed the expression of TACC1 in gastric cancer by means of immunohistochemistry, and verified its prognostic significance by univariate and multivariate Cox analyses . In addition, the correlation between TACC1 expression and clinicopathological factors was tested by chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. The results demonstrated that TACC1 expression was linked to gastric wall invasion (T), lymph node metastasis (N), tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage and likelihood of recurrence (p<0.05). The Cox multivariate analysis indicated that the TACC1 expression was an independent indicator for shorter survival (p = 0.048). In conclusion, the study suggested that TACC1 is a favorable and independent prognostic indicator for gastric cancer.
The Effects of Feedback on Self-Assessment

It is a well-known phenomenon that people have difficulties in assessing their ability correctly. Often they overestimate their (relative) abilities. We conduct an experiment to test whether the self-assessment of individuals improves when they receive feedback and there are incentives to make a correct self-assessment. We investigate the subjects' reactions to feedback in several subsequent rounds to see not only if, but also when and how they react. Our main finding is that feedback influences subjects' decisions and can improve their overall self-assessment. The effects, however, depend on the kind of feedback. Furthermore, we observe differences in the reactions of subjects (e.g., to what extent they follow feedback), the robustness of their belief about their relative ability, and how they process feedback.
Identity theft prevention in online retail organisations : a knowledge sharing framework

This research investigates knowledge transfer processes within online retail organisation to prevent identity theft. An analysis of the ways in which individuals and teams transfer identity theft prevention knowledge within the organisation is presented. A qualitative case study research approach using guiding framework proposed by Salleh (2010) was adopted and extended to improve identity theft prevention knowledge sharing processes in online retail organisations. Fourteen one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted. Internal documents from a leading online retailer in the UK were also analysed. Research shows that knowledge regarding identity theft prevention is not being shared and individuals are learning from their own experiences which is time consuming. Existing knowledge transfer barriers in the organisation were identified and improvements in knowledge sharing processes within the retail industry in the UK are proposed. Only one case study has been investigated and further case studies need to be conducted in different organisations and internationally and a cross-comparisons conducted. This study provides managers with useful information in developing appropriate training systems to educate staff on sharing institutional knowledge to prevent identity theft. This research provides new insights into identity theft prevention by extending an existing framework proposed by Salleh (2010) in terms of enhancing knowledge transfer process to prevent identity theft in the retail industry.
Sustainability transformations: a resilience perspective

Scholars and policy makers are becoming increasingly interested in the processes that lead to transformations toward sustainability. We explored how resilience thinking, and a stronger focus on social-ecological systems, can contribute to existing studies of sustainability transformations. First, we responded to two major points of critique: the claim that resilience theory is not useful for addressing sustainability transformations, and that the role of "power" in transformation processes has been underplayed by resilience scholars. Second, we highlighted promising work that combines insights from different theoretical strands, a strategy that strengthens our understanding of sustainability transformations. We elaborated three research areas on which such combined perspectives could focus: innovation and social-ecological-technological systems interactions, patterns of transformation, and agency and transformation.
Down-regulation of an abiotic stress related Nicotiana benthamiana WRKY transcription factor induces physiological abnormalities

Transcription factors (TFs), the DNA binding proteins, play key role in biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants by regulating the expression of downstream target genes. Many different TFs have been cloned and characterized in model plants and a few of them have been shown to have direct role in abiotic stress tolerance. In the present report, we have cloned a partial cDNA of AtWRKY75 like gene (NbWRKY) from the model plant, Nicotiana benthamiana, and studied its expression under whole plant desiccation (drought) stress. To induce drought stress, soil water status (field capacity, FC) was maintained between 60-65% by controlled irrigation and replacing water transpired twice a day. The extent of drought stress was assessed by monitoring the leaf water status and quantifying photosynthetic pigments. The semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed constitutive expression of NbWRKY and up-regulation under drought. Down-regulation of NbWRKY by virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) produced chlorosis and senescing phenotype in N. benthamiana. The silenced plants showed reduced photosynthesis, efficiency of open PSII reaction centre, and exhibited the symptoms of photoinhibition. The results indicated the indispensable role of NbWRKY in basic physiological processes.
How they can jump together: Multivariate Lévy Processes and Option pricing

The objectives of this paper are twofold. First it gives an overview of the different techniques that can be used to build multivariate L´ evy processes. Second it provides new results on multivariate L´ evy processes with stochastic volatility in particular the bivariate counter-monotonic L´ evy copula is derived.
Phytochemical study, phenolic profile and antigastric ulcer activity of Morus macroura Miq. fruits extract -

The extract of Morus macroura (mulberry) fruits was evaluated for its phytochemical constituents and antigastric ulcer activity. Total phenolic content was assessed and found to be 33µg/ml expressed as mg gallic acid equivalents per gram of dried extract. The phenolic profile was determined by reversed phase high resolution liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection method (RP/HPLC/DAD). Cinnamic acid derivatives were the most dominant (40.50%) of the identified phenolics and chlorogenic acid was the most abundant with relative area percentages 21.16 %. Mono and disaccharides contents of the silylated-lyophilized extract were determined by GC/MS and α -D- Glucofuranoside (32.34%) was found to be the major. The study was conducted to evaluate the antiulcerogenic effect of the extract in rats ethanol model. A reduction in ulcer indices including number of lesions and their severity, the gastric volume and the total acidity in ulcerated rats pre or post treated with mulberry extract were measured. A significant increase in reduced glutathione level and a reduction in malondialdehyde were recorded in mulberry treated groups. In addition two ulcer biomarkers prostaglandin E2 and tumor necrosis factor-α showed an improvement in their levels due to mulberry supplementation. Accordingly, this study recommends mulberry as an antiulcer agent.
Towards a 15.5W Si-LDMOS Energy Efficient Balanced RF Power Amplifier for 5G-LTE Multi-carrier Applications

In this paper, a 15.5W Si-LDMOS balanced RF power amplifier has been designed using 2.620-2.690GHz frequency band to improve efficiency and linearity for 5G-LTE mobile applications. The amplifier was designed and simulated using large signal Si-LDMOS transistor model to achieve 53% PAE, 41dBm Pout, 14 dB gain at P1dB saturation point. The proposed balanced RF power amplifier was fabricated and measurement results for phase variation of the signal between the carriers have been the main focus. At 1dB compression point power added efficiency increased to 81.5% with 19.5 gain at the Pout. The AM-AM and AM-PM measured data of the balanced RF power amplifier was extracted from the MATLAB fitting tool to produce polynomials. The polynomials were used in the proposed pre-distortion technique to compensate for the nonlinearities of the balanced power amplifier. A simple linear model was designed for behavioural modelling of the memory-less baseband digital pre-distorter. A Simulink IEEE 802.11a OFDM Transceiver system was used to demonstrate validity of the proposed pre-distorter. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study presented excellent results of predistortion system that compensated the nonlinearity behaviour of the balanced RF power amplifier using the Simulink version R2011a.
Increased Occupational Hip Joint Stress Predicts Earlier Hip Arthroplasty

Background: Higher non-occupational contact stress in the hip joint has been implicated in idiopathic osteoarthritis development. The aim of our study was to explore, whether additional increase in contact hip stress during lifting of heavy objects might contribute to earlier hip arthroplasty. Methods: Fifty female subjects with suitable standard pelvic radiographs made years prior to surgery were carefully selected from a list of consecutive recipients of hip endoprosthesis due to idiopathic osteoarthritis. Mass of the lifted loads (Mload) and body weight were obtained through an interview for each subject. Maximum loads lifted more than 5 times a day, more than 3 times a week and for more than 10 years were recorded. Peak contact hip stress in the one-legged stance (pmax) was calculated for sixty-five hips from body weight and parameters of the pelvic-hip contours with the HIPSTRESS method. Regression analysis was used to correlate non-occupational (pmax) and occupational (Mload) load on the hip joint with age at hip arthroplasty. In addition, a univariate model with natural logarithm of occupational contact hip stress (pocc), acting as an independent variable, was constructed. Results: An increase in pmax by 1.00 MPa (non-occupational load) was associated with hip arthroplasty 7.3 years earlier (R2=0.137; P-value<0.001) and an increase in Mload by 10 kg (occupational load) with 1.3 years earlier hip arthroplasty (R2=0.107; P-value=0.014). A bivariate regression analysis incorporating pmax as well as Mload was also performed (adjusted R2=0.214, P-value< 0.001). With the univariate model, addressing pocc, we were able to explain 22.8 % of variability in age at hip arthroplasty (adjusted R2=0.228, P-value<0.001). Conclusions: In our study, work-related lifting of heavy objects with increase in occupational contact hip stress has been associated with earlier hip arthroplasty.
Effect of In-Hole Roughness on Film Cooling from a Shaped Hole

While much is known about how macrogeometry of shaped holes affects their ability to successfully cool gas turbine components, little is known about the influence of surface roughness on cooling hole interior walls. For this study, a baseline-shaped hole was tested with various configurations of in-hole roughness. Adiabatic effectiveness measurements at blowing ratios up to 3 showed that the in-hole roughness caused decreased adiabatic effectiveness relative to smooth holes. Decreases in area-averaged effectiveness grew more severe with larger roughness size and with higher blowing ratios for a given roughness. Decreases of more than 60% were measured at a blowing ratio of 3 for the largest roughness values. Thermal field and flowfield measurements showed that in-hole roughness caused increased velocity of core flow through the hole, which increased the jet penetration height and turbulence intensity resulting in an increased mixing between the coolant and the mainstream. Effectiveness reductions due to roughness were also observed when roughness was isolated to only the diffused outlet of holes, and when the mainstream was highly turbulent. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4034847]
Impulsivity, Time of Day, and Stress: Effects on Intelligence Test Performance

Interactive effects of impulsivity (Imp), time of day and time-pressure stress on two uncorrelated intelligence tests were studied in 192 female Ss in India. Ss were tested under both low and high stress conditions in either the morning (8.00‐10.00 a.m.) or the evening (6.30‐8.30 p.m.). In general, the pattern of Imp 3 time of day 3 stress interactions for correct answers on both intelligence tests was consistent with the hypothesis of phase shift in the diurnal arousal cycles of low and high Imp Ss: Low Imp Ss outperformed high Imp Ss with morning testing, and high Imp Ss’ performance was improved by stress-induced arousal with evening testing. Less consistent with the diurnal arousal hypothesis was the finding that low Imp Ss showed better performance than high Imp subjects under stressful conditions, irrespective of time of day. These data point to the importance of diurnal arousal in the effects of impulsivity on intelligence test performance, but suggest that stress may lead to increased effort in individuals sensitive to aversive stimuli sufficient to abolish the deleterious effects of high arousal. © 1998 Academic Press
The Effect of Temperature on Conductivity of Conductors and Superconductors

The thermal conductivity coefficient has been studied for three types of wires. Pure copper wire, 15cm long copper coated and 50cm long copper coated. In order to compare thermal conductivity for these wires and to recognize the meaning of superconductivity and the effect of temperature on conductivity of conductors and superconductors. The thermal conductivity coefficient has been calculated and the resistivity also has been conducted. The obtained result agrees with theoretical consideration.
Estimating returns to soil conservation adoption in the northern Ethiopian highlands

Land degradation in the form of soil erosion and nutrient depletion presents a threat to food security and sustainability of agricultural production in many developing countries. Governments and development agencies have invested substantial resources to promote soil conservation practices as part of an effort to improve environmental conditions and reduce poverty. However, limited rigorous empirical work has been done on the economics of soil conservation technology adoption. This article investigates the impact of stone bunds on value of crop production per hectare in low and high rainfall areas of the Ethiopian highlands using cross-sectional data from more than 900 households, with multiple plots per household. We have used modified random effects models, stochastic dominance analysis (SDA), and matching methods to ensure robustness. The parametric regression and SDA estimates are based on matched observations obtained from the nearest neighbor matching using propensity score estimates. This is important, because conventional regression and SDA estimates are obtained without ensuring that there actually exist comparable conserved and nonconserved plots on the distribution of covariates. We use matching methods, random effects, and Mundlak's approach to control selection and endogeneity bias that may arise due to correlation of unobserved heterogeneity and observed explanatory variables. Copyright 2008 International Association of Agricultural Economists.
Gender quotas in single-member district electoral systems

Conventional knowledge on the effectiveness of gender quotas for enhancing women's political participation has, to date, been unanimous on the superiority of quotas in proportional representation (PR) systems. Yet this view overlooks the many possible alternatives to implementing gender quotas in single-member district (SMD) systems. This paper studies gender quotas (or temporary special measures) in SMD electoral systems. Drawing on case examples from Uganda, France, India and elsewhere, we refute the myth of the incompatibility of quotas in SMDs. Our research investigates and presents multiple ways in which quotas can be successfully implemented in SMDs.
Predicting grazing mortality of an estuarine dinoflagellate, Pfiesteria piscicida

Grazing can prevent or substantially decrease net growth of phytoplankton populations if grazing coefficients are similar to or greater than growth coefficients of the phytoplankter. Poten- tial grazing by microzooplankton on small dinoflagellates ( 2 d -1 , indicating that microzooplankton grazing had the potential to regulate densities of non-toxic zoospores. Potential grazing was positively correlated with salinity, abundance of photosynthetic and heterotrophic dinoflagellates and with abundance of < 20 µm planktonic ciliates. Grazing on zoospores was negatively associated with abundance of cryptophytes. Approximately 26% of the variation in grazing coefficient could be predicted from salinity, whereas 67% of the variation could be predicted from abundance of cryptophytes, dinoflagellates and small ciliates. Net growth of non- toxic zoospore populations is most likely in low-salinity waters with abundant cryptophytes but with low concentrations of microzooplankton.
Deep submillimeter images of NGC 7331; dust at the periphery of spiral disks

We present deep 450 and 850µ m SCUBA images of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 7331. Using the submillimeter emissivity inferred from COBE observations of Milky Way dust, we convert our SCUBA images into maps of optical depth. The opacity derived in this way is quite low at the visible limit of NGC 7331 (TB <0.22 at the R(25) radius for the disk seen face-on). In a similar fashion, we exploit SCUBA and ISOPHOT images of a further 10 galaxies and, collectively, these data indicate TB =0.1 -0.2 at the R(25) radius. Our constraints on disk opacity are fed into a simulation of how light emanating from high redshifts is attenuated by foreground spirals. In making this calculation, we consider the possibility that galactic disks may have also contained different dust masses in the past. We estimate that less than 10% of the light emitted by Hubble Deep Field galaxies fails to reach the B-band observer due to intervening spirals.
Vitamin D: Genetics, Environment & Health

Vitamin D: Genetics, Environment & Health Vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin” was once thought to be a micronutrient that was solely important for development, growth, and the maintenance of a healthy skeleton. Today, the risk and consequences of vitamin D deficiency extend well beyond the original recognition of its contribution to diseases such as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Consideration now has its focus on the wide distribution of the vitamin D receptor in cells and tissues, along with the plethora of diverse biologic actions reported for calcitriol, the active form of the vitamin. This renaissance of interest in this micronutrient may explain how the vitamin D related phenomena can modify risk for such a great variety of diseases. Australia, a continent with an average sunshine quota of 3000 hours/year, and the highest skin cancer rates in the world, has been reported to have an increasing incidence of vitamin D deficiency across all ages of the population. This had led to confusion regarding vitamin D recommendations, particularly dietary requirements and the relative merits of sun exposure versus protection in the context of skin cancer risk. This review examines health benefits of vitamin D from a molecular, environmental, evolutionary and health perspective. Current vitamin D fortification trends and the vitamins overall importance across the human lifecycle in respect of various clinical phenotypes are discussed.
Experimental Study on Geo-Pointing Control System for Quadcopter

The This paper presents a novel Geo-Pointing algorithm consists of three phases; 1) estimating coordinates with line of sight(LOS) from the quadcopter to the target objects, and then 2) tracking the stationary objects for orienting the line of sight toward the object (Point of Interest, POI), and 3) the quadcopter automatically around an object (Circle of Interest, COI). With application of these functions that enables the desired objects always on screen, all that is required is to fly above the object and mark it in flight via Ground Control System (GCS). The performance and its usefulness are verified through flight experiments.