Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphometry of buccal mucosal cells in fluorosis – A new paradigm

Study background: Fluorosis is one of the manifestations of chronic poisoning from long-term exposure to high levels of fluoride. An estimated 62 million people in 17 states in India are affected with dental and skeletal fluorosis. Objective: To evaluate the cytological morphology of exfoliated oral mucosal cells among various stages of fluorosis patients compared with controls. Design and methods: Exfoliative cytology PAP-stained smears of 21 cases of fluorosis and 21 controls subjected to morphometric analysis using image Proplus software. For the assessment parameters like maximum and minimum diameter of the nucleus, cell and perimeter of the cell and nucleus were considered. Results: An increase in maximum and minimum diameter of nucleus, perimeter of nucleus and cell in cases when compared to controls. Conclusions: Fluorosis induces oxidative stress, DNA damage and apoptosis which can be the reasons for the increase in the nuclear size and decrease in the cell size. Community dental and medical programmes should be stringently implemented in fluorosis-endemic areas, to create awareness regarding the toxic effects of fluoride to the body, especially within the oro-facial region.
Efficacy of Exclusive Lingual Nerve Block versus Conventional Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block in Achieving Lingual Soft-tissue Anesthesia

Objective: The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to assess the efficacy of exclusive lingual nerve block (LNB) in achieving selective lingual soft-tissue anesthesia in comparison with conventional inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB). Materials and Methods: A total of 200 patients indicated for the extraction of lower premolars were recruited for the study. The samples were allocated by randomization into control and study groups. Lingual soft-tissue anesthesia was achieved by IANB and exclusive LNB in the control and study group, respectively. The primary outcome variable studied was anesthesia of ipsilateral lingual mucoperiosteum, floor of mouth and tongue. The secondary variables assessed were (1) taste sensation immediately following administration of local anesthesia and (2) mouth opening and lingual nerve paresthesia on the first postoperative day. Results: Data analysis for descriptive and inferential statistics was performed using SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0, Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Released 2013) and a P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. In comparison with the control group, the study group (LNB) showed statistically significant anesthesia of the lingual gingiva of incisors, molars, anterior floor of the mouth, and anterior tongue. Conclusion: Exclusive LNB is superior to IAN nerve block in achieving selective anesthesia of lingual soft tissues. It is technically simple and associated with minimal complications as compared to IAN block.
Protrusive activity, cytoplasmic compartmentalization, and restriction rings in locomoting blebbing Walker carcinosarcoma cells are related to detachment of cortical actin from the plasma membrane.

The dynamic events at the front of locomoting blebbing Walker carcinosarcoma cells [Keller and Bebie, Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 33:241-251, 1996] are interpreted on the basis of an analysis of the actin cytoskeleton and its relationship to the plasma membrane in fixed cells using a novel double-staining procedure. The data show that blebs are formed where cortical actin is locally depolymerized and/or by detachment of the plasma membrane from more or less intact cortical actin layers. Dissociation between the cortical actin layer and the plasma membrane, which is stimulated by microtubule disassembly, is achieved by forward movement of the plasma membrane, rather than by retraction of the actin layer. Therefore, the detached actin layers form a boundary between the newly forming protrusions and the rest of the cell. They can be associated with "constriction rings," which we have termed "restriction rings. " Detached actin layers can impede entry of organelles and the nucleus into the protrusions and thereby compartmentalize the cytoplasm. Later, detached cortical actin layers depolymerize, allowing for relaxation of the restriction rings and for forward movement of cytoplasmic organelles and the nucleus. Actin may repolymerize along the detached plasma membrane allowing for a new cycle to occur. Estimates indicate that the actin polymerization/depolymerization cycles may be largely confined to the front of blebbing cells. The findings suggest that the dynamic events at the front of blebbing metazoan cells are similar to those previously found in Amoeba proteus [Grebecki, Protoplasma, 154:98-111, 1990] but different from those found in lamellipodia.
Brain Tumor Detection through MR Images : A Review of Literature

A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in the brain or central spine that can disrupt proper brain function and creates an increasing pressure in the brain. This paper is intended to present a comprehensive review of the methods of brain tumor detection through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technique used in different stages of Computer Aided Detection System (CAD). It also provides a brief background on brain tumor in general and non-invasive imaging of brain tumor in order to give a comprehensive insight into the field. Lastly, the paper concludes with a concise discussion and provides a direction toward the upcoming trend of more advanced research studies on brain image segmentation and tumor detection.
Chemometric classification of morphologically similar Umbelliferae medicinal herbs by DART-TOF-MS fingerprint.

INTRODUCTION It needs many years of special training to gain expertise on the organoleptic classification of botanical raw materials and, even for those experts, discrimination among Umbelliferae medicinal herbs remains an intricate challenge due to their morphological similarity. OBJECTIVE To develop a new chemometric classification method using a direct analysis in real time-time of flight-mass spectrometry (DART-TOF-MS) fingerprinting for Umbelliferae medicinal herbs and to provide a platform for its application to the discrimination of other herbal medicines. METHODOLOGY Angelica tenuissima, Angelica gigas, Angelica dahurica and Cnidium officinale were chosen for this study and ten samples of each species were purchased from various Korean markets. DART-TOF-MS was employed on powdered raw materials to obtain a chemical fingerprint of each sample and the orthogonal partial-least squares method in discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS All samples of collected species were successfully discriminated from each other according to their characteristic DART-TOF-MS fingerprint. Decursin (or decursinol angelate) and byakangelicol were identified as marker molecules for Angelica gigas and A. dahurica, respectively. Using the OPLS method for discriminant analysis, Angelica tenuissima and Cnidium officinale were clearly separated into two groups. Angelica tenuissima was characterised by the presence of ligustilide and unidentified molecular ions of m/z 239 and 283, while senkyunolide A together with signals with m/z 387 and 389 were the marker compounds for Cnidium officinale. CONCLUSION Elaborating with chemoinformatics, DART-TOF-MS fingerprinting with chemoinformatic tools results in a powerful method for the classification of morphologically similar Umbelliferae medicinal herbs and quality control of medicinal herbal products, including the extracts of these crude drugs.
On Complexity, Ecosystems, and Sustainability in Local Food Supply: A Case Study on Fresh Seafood Supply

The research question considers how local foods as networked food production may be studied from an ecosystem’s perspective, being explicitly sensitive to process complexity. This implies integrating complex-process thinking with ecosystems thinking in cases of managing in local foods networks. First, the paper discusses what differentiates this form of food production based on features of interdependencies, information technology, traceability, and complex ecosystems. Supply chain management is expanded to conceptually model local food supply as complex ecosystems. The single case study provides a detailed description of the local foods network of a small Norwegian fresh seafood retailer and wholesaler. Findings include demonstrating the importance of complexity in achieving the sustainable production of local foods, and that this implies management following a paradoxical frame, as opposed to a business model frame. The conceptual model describes how food supply may be considered as an ecosystem mainly driven by economic concerns that are not in conflict with environmental and societal concerns. Since management in food chains is engulfed in a deterministic discourse on how to supply, the model also includes the role of paradoxical framing in managing networked food production operations. This model represents the basis for further investigation on local foods networks as complex ecosystems.
[Arnebia root oil promotes histological change and up-regulates bFGF and it's mRNA expression in the raw surface of the rabbits].

OBJECTIVE To explore the molecular biological mechanism of arnebia root oil in promoting wound surface healing by observing histological change and basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF) mRNA expression in the wound surface tissues of 2 groups, as well as the wound surface healing rate. METHOD Experimental model of incised-wound was produced on the back of 18 New Zealand albino rabbits. The wound surfaces were randomly divided into two groups, namely, experimental group and control group. The wound surfaces in the experimental group were treated by arnebia root oil and those in control group were treated by petrolatum gauze. Then raw surfaces were evaluated by the techniques of histology, histochemistry and electron microscope and the healing rates of the raw surfaces were compared between the two groups. Content of bFGF and it's mRNA expression in wound surface tissue was also measured by means of Western-blot and RT-PCR. RESULT The wound surface healing rate in experimental group was higher than that in control group( P < 0.05). The fibroblast, collagen and blood capillaries were comparatively richer in experimental group as compared with those in control group, and similarly, the expression of bFGF mRNA was also significantly enhanced in the experimental group as compared with control group during the various periods of treatment. In addition, the changes in the expressions of bFGF and it's mRNA paralleled the changes of healing rates in the two groups. CONCLUSION the present results showed that amebia root oil significantly can promote the healing of raw surfaces, which may be mediated by up-regulation of bFGF expression.
Performance Analysis of Low Complexity Coordinated Beamforming for Massive MIMO System

Massive MIMO and dense base station (BS) deployment are promising technologies to achieve large system capacity that is one requirement for 5G mobile communications systems. To mitigate inter-BS interference which is increased by dense BS deployment, coordinated beamforming (CB) has been studied. A low complexity CB scheme is preferable especially for massive MIMO system because the complexity of beamforming weight calculation depends on the number of antennas. ZF and MMSE based CB schemes have been investigated as the low complexity scheme, while the throughput performances of these schemes for massive MIMO system have not been compared. In this paper, we evaluate the throughput performances of ZF and MMSE based CB schemes while changing the number of spatially multiplexed users and interference suppressed users. Simulation results show that MMSE based scheme achieves about 6% higher throughput performance than ZF based scheme without the appropriate selection of interference suppressed users and is suitable for massive MIMO system.
The Fate of the Adjacent Motion Segments After Lumbar Fusion

Lumbar spine fusion is a commonly performed procedure in various pathologic conditions of the spine. Its role remains debated, and moreover, delayed complications may occur, among which is transitional segment alteration leading to recurrence of back pain, gross instability, and neurologic symptoms. Little is known about the long-term prevalence of this complication because of a lack of specific studies. We analyzed the fate of the transitional segments in a homogeneous group of patients operated on during a 14-year period for degenerative conditions of the lumbar spine resistant to conservative treatment. Follow-up ranged from 2 to 15 years. Seventy-five percent of our study group had a minimal 5-year follow-up. In this subgroup, 41% of the patients developed transitional segment alterations, and 20% needed a secondary operation for extension of the fusion. Potential risk factors such as postoperative delay, length of fusion, and spine imbalance were recognized. The frequency of delayed alterations of the adjacent segment and the severity of symptoms related to this complication in this study raise questions about the justification of fusion procedures in degenerative conditions of the spine without threatening instability. Data from the literature confirm the severity of the problem, but many uncertainties remain because of the lack of homogeneous and complete data on both the normal evolution of motion segments of the lumbar spine with age and the fate of the same segments when transformed in transitional segments. Future prospective studies on the subject are needed and must deal with homogeneous groups of patients. More reconstructive surgical procedures need to be developed to lessen the need for fusion procedures.
Validity and Reliability of the Dementia Behavior Disturbance Scale

Behavioral disturbance is a common and distinctive feature of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Existing instruments designed to quantify behavior disturbance among patients with dementia tend to be quite heterogeneous, including many items that do not refer to behavioral disturbance as such, but rather to cognitive, psychological, or somatic symptoms, or functional impairments. A 28‐item Dementia Behavior Disturbance (DBD) scale was developed to avoid some of the problems encountered with the older instruments. In two samples of patients with dementia (n = 50 and n = 46), the most common symptoms were repetitive questions, losing or hiding things, lack of interest in daily activities, nocturnal wakefulness, unwarranted accusations, excessive daytime sleeping, and pacing. The coefficient of internal consistency was greater than . 80 in both samples, and the correlation between scores obtained from the same subjects at a two‐week interval was moderately high (Pearson's correlation coefficient = .71). There was a relatively high correlation between DBD scores and scores on Greene's Behavior and Mood Disturbance scale, and higher DBD scores were associated with increased duration and severity of disease. These preliminary results indicate that the DBD may be a useful and valid measure of one dimension of the dementia syndrome.
Gnarley1 Is a Dominant Mutation in the knox4 Homeobox Gene Affecting Cell Shape and Identity

Maize leaves have a stereotypical pattern of cell types organized into discrete domains. These domains are altered by mutations in knotted1 (kn1) and knox (for kn1-like homeobox) genes. Gnarley (Gn1) is a dominant maize mutant that exhibits many of the phenotypic characteristics of the kn1 family of mutants. Gn1 is unique because it changes parameters of cell growth in the basal-most region of the leaf, the sheath, resulting in dramatically altered sheath morphology. The strongly expressive allele Gn1-R also gives rise to a floral phenotype in which ectopic carpels form. Introgression studies showed that the severity of the Gn1-conferred phenotype is strongly influenced by genetic background. Gn1 maps to knox4, and knox4 is ectopically expressed in plants with the Gn1-conferred phenotype. Immunolocalization experiments showed that the KNOX protein accumulates at the base of Gn1 leaves in a pattern that is spatially and temporally correlated with appearance of the mutant phenotype. We further demonstrate that Gn1 is knox4 by correlating loss of the mutant phenotype with insertion of a Mutator transposon into knox4.
Mobile object tracking techniques in wireless sensor networks

Mobile object tracking in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has gained much attention during recent years due to the special characteristics of these networks. Considering the wide application of tracking in WSNs, various problems of data aggregation, routing, scheduling and energy conservation have been revisited and new solutions have been proposed recently. Due to the importance of this topic and the availability of a significant body of literature, a detailed survey becomes necessary and useful at this stage. In this paper we present a survey of the state-of-the-art mobile object tracking techniques in WSNs. We give a definition for the general problem of object tracking and introduce challenges in designing an efficient object tracking sensor network (OTSN). We highlight the advantages and performance issues of the existing tracking methods and make a brief comparison based on the design parameters proposed. Finally, we will present open problems and the future works conceivable in this broad field of research.
Stability of Desmopressin Loaded in Liposomes

Abstract Desmopressin-containing liposome formulations have been developed for intranasal administration previously. Positively charged liposomes were found to be an efficient delivery system for desmopressin. In this study, stability of the loaded desmopressin in positively charged liposomes was further investigated. Comparison of the stability of desmopressin in solution and liposomes was made. Degradation of desmopressin was shown to follow a pseudo-first-order reaction. Degradation of desmopressin in both solution and liposomes demonstrated the same kinetic behavior and exhibited no significant difference in half-lives. Similar v-shape pH-rate profile was found for desmopressin degradation in solution and liposomes. At pH 4.0, the inflection point of the v-shape pH-rate curve, the reaction rate of desmopressin was lowest and the stability was greatest. The stability of lipid ingredients of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC), cholesterol (C), and stearylamine (S) in the liposome dispersion at pH 4.0 was studied. Results demonstrated that DOPC, C, and S were relatively stable in the liposome structure when formulated with desmopressin. The degradation of desmopressin in solution and liposomes in the presence of α-chymotrypsin was investigated. A longer half-life for desmopressin in liposomes than in solution was observed. It was suggested that desmopressin was protected by the liposomes against α-chymotrypsin digestion.
Flapless sinus floor augmentation using endoscopy combined with CT scan-designed surgical templates: method and report of 6 consecutive cases.

PURPOSE Sinus floor augmentation has become a routine procedure with predictable results. Flapless implant placement is recommended for a series of indications with sufficient bone volume. Flapless surgery in the atrophic maxilla is presented as a refinement of the endoscopic subantroscopic laterobasal sinus floor augmentation (SALSA) technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS Based on computerized tomography (CT) scans, the site of sinus trephination and implant positions are planned using a commercially available planning program, and surgical templates are fabricated according to the data of the treatment plan. Subantral space is augmented using the SALSA technique without raising a mucoperiosteal flap. Implants are placed transgingivally without raising a mucoperiosteal flap, with endoscopic control of the cover screw at the bone level. RESULTS In a case series of 6 patients, 21 implants were placed and augmented simultaneously. The mean augmentation height was 10.7 mm (range, 5.7 to 16.6 mm); the mean residual bone height was 5.1 mm (range, 1.9 to 12.1 mm). Complications such as insufficient primary stability and sinus membrane perforation were treated without changing to an open surgical approach. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Flapless sinus augmentation (FSA) can reduce the surgical trauma significantly. The procedure has high acceptance by the patient and less postoperative discomfort. FSA enlarges the spectrum of minimally invasive surgery and may offer better vascularization and less alveolar resorption.
Characterization of the Isophthalate Degradation Genes of Comamonas sp. Strain E6

ABSTRACT The isophthalate (IPA) degradation gene cluster (iphACBDR) responsible for the conversion of IPA into protocatechuate (PCA) was isolated from Comamonas sp. strain E6, which utilizes phthalate isomers as sole carbon and energy sources via the PCA 4,5-cleavage pathway. Based on amino acid sequence similarity, the iphA, iphC, iphB, iphD, and iphR genes were predicted to code for an oxygenase component of IPA dioxygenase (IPADO), a periplasmic IPA binding receptor, a 1,2-dihydroxy-3,5-cyclohexadiene-1,5-dicarboxylate (1,5-DCD) dehydrogenase, a reductase component of IPADO, and an IclR-type transcriptional regulator, respectively. The iphACBDR genes constitute a single transcriptional unit, and transcription of the iph catabolic operon was induced during growth of E6 on IPA. The iphA, iphD, and iphB genes were expressed in Escherichia coli. Crude IphA and IphD converted IPA in the presence of NADPH into a product which was transformed to PCA by IphB. These results suggested that IPADO is a two-component dioxygenase that consists of a terminal oxygenase component (IphA) and a reductase component (IphD) and that iphB encodes the 1,5-DCD dehydrogenase. Disruption of iphA and iphB resulted in complete loss of growth of E6 on IPA. Inactivation of iphD significantly affected growth on IPA, and the iphC mutant did not grow on IPA at neutral pH. These results indicated that the iphACBD genes are essential for the catabolism of IPA in E6. Disruption of iphR resulted in faster growth of E6 on IPA, suggesting that iphR encodes a repressor for the iph catabolic operon. Promoter analysis of the operon supported this notion.
Detection of apoptosis using in situ markers for DNA strand breaks in the failing human heart. Fact or epiphenomenon?

The role of apoptosis and the methods used for its detection in failing human hearts are controversial. Recent data have challenged the hypothesis that in situ markers for DNA strand breaks mirror apoptotic (TUNEL and Taq in situ ligation assay) and/or necrotic (Pfu in situ ligation assay) cell death, and thus provide evidence that apoptotic cell loss contributes to the progression of heart failure. Experimental data cast doubt not only upon the specificity of the TUNEL technique but also the Taq in situ ligation assay as a reliable method for the detection of apoptotic cell death and provide compelling new evidence that the occurrence of cardiomyocyte cell death as defined by the detection of DNA strand breaks using either TUNEL or Taq and Pfu in situ ligation assays is an epiphenomena that is not related to the evolution of heart failure. Cardiomyocyte positivity for in situ markers of DNA strand breaks is a feature of hypertrophic cardiomyopathic hearts, irrespective of the underlying pathology or the presence or absence of heart failure. These data raise concerns regarding the extent of apoptosis in cardiomyopathy and the contribution of this process to the progression of heart failure. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.