Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in hyoid bone position in skeletal Class II children post-functional appliance therapy.

Introduction: The hyoid bone is deeply involved in three important body functions: deglutition, phonation and respiration. Several studies have shown that changes in the position of the hyoid bone may influence in pharyngeal size with mandibular advancement, thus a forward positioned hyoid bone may be an indicator of wide upper airways. Objective. To determine the changes in the position of the hyoid bone after functional appliance treatment. Materials and methods: 20 children (aged 9-13) that currently visit Hiroshima University Hospital actively undergoing FKO activator therapy volunteered for this study. Several lateral cephalometric radiographs were indicated and traced to assess hyoid bone position changes that might have occurred when actively complying with the FKO therapy, said radiographs were procured before active functional treatment (T0), during it (T1), and a year after continuous use of this appliance (T2). ANOVA tests were done to find statistical significance. Results: The results of these tests were analyzed and compared; it was found that, the hyoid bone is at a lower position from the mandibular plane and Frankfurt horizontal plane after FKO treatment, also the mandible is more forward after activator therapy, bringing the hyoid bone forward with it thus widening the lowest section of the upper airways. Conclusion: The FKO not only induces the proper development of the mandible, it also potentially advances the position of the hyoid bone, thus affecting positively in the opening of airways providing an improvement in the breathing function of the children.
MIGRATION, INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND DRUG ADDICTION IN RUSSIA

The aim of the paper is to analyze the possible impact of various aspects of internal and external migration in regions of Russia on the prevalence of the following social dangerous diseases: HIV, active tuberculosis, syphilis, drug addiction, acute and chronic viral hepatitis B and C. We analyzed the papers that concern the impact of migration on the health of the host territory population. The main research methods are econometric and correlation analysis. We constructed panel models for each disease. The models tested various socioeconomic indicators (including education level, cash income, housing improvements and the incidence of alcoholism), as well as climatic, geographical and demographic indicators. Influence of disease incidence in the neighbouring regions is also considered. Five various indicators of migration were tested. They characterize labour immigration, internal and external migration inflows to the regions and share of people born outside the region. We tried to track changes of factors that influence spread of diseases over time. It allowed us to correct the conclusions drawn earlier. In the course of the research, positive significant statistical correlation of the following indicators of migration and disease incidence was established: 1) foreign citizens employment and incidence of syphilis in 2005; 2) share of internal migrants and incidence of drug addiction in 2005; 3) foreign citizens employment and incidence of drug addiction in 2006-2016; 4) foreign citizens inflow and detection of chronic viral hepatitis in 2010; 5) foreign citizens inflow and detection of acute hepatitis C in 2011-2016.
An in vitro analysis of striatal microcircuitry

Low threshold spiking interneurons (LTSIs) and cholinergic interneurons are subtypes of striatal neurons that play an important role in modulation of final striatal output. This thesis describes an in vitro electrophysiological investigation of the mutual control of LTSIs and cholinergic interneurons. Moreover, this thesis describes the effects of three classes of opiate receptors agonists on LTSIs and cholinergic interneurons were investigated. Experiments were carried out using transgenic NPY-GFP mice or transgenic ChR2-EYFP-SOM-IRES-Cre mice. Whole-cell, perforated-whole cell and cell-attached recordings were obtained from mice brain slices maintained in vitro. Our data report the presence of both GABAergic and cholinergic tones controlling LTSIs. Endogenous acetylcholine modulates LTSIs both directly and indirectly. The main direct effect of endogenous acetylcholine is inhibition of LTSIs through muscarinic cholinergic receptors. On the other hand, the main indirect effect of endogenous acetylcholine is activation of LTSIs. Moreover, endogenous acetylcholine inhibits the GABAergic transmission on LTSIs. Furthermore, blue light- activation of LTSIs depolarized the cholinergic interneurons. This depolarization was only blocked by NO synthase inhibitor (L-NAME; 100 µM). These results indicate that the LTSIs exert a main stimulatory effect on the cholinergic interneurons mediated by nitric oxide through s-GMP independent mechanism. Regarding the opioidergic control of LTSIs and cholinergic interneurons, our data report that δ receptor agonist (DPDPE; 1 µM) and κ receptor agonist (U-50488 hydrochloride; 10 µM) strongly inhibit LTSIs and cholinergic interneurons. Moreover, DPDPE inhibits GABAergic transmission on LTSIs but U-50488 does not affect the GABAergic transmission on LTSIs. Furthermore, µ receptor agonist (DAMGO; 1 µM) has dual effect on LTSIs. The dual effect persisted in the presence of TTX. When GABAA, nicotinic and muscarinic receptors were blocked in presence of TTX, DAMGO always inhibited LTSIs. DAMGO also inhibited the GABAergic transmission on LTSIs.
Effect of red clover total isoflavones on cell proliferation and apoptosis of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7

Objective To study the effect of red clover total isoflavones on proliferation and apoptosis of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and the molecular mechanism of the action. Methods Proli-feration of MCF-7 cells pre-and post-treatment with red clover total isoflavones and 5-Fu was determined by MTT assay. The induction of apoptosis and the change of cell cycle in MCF-7 cells treated with red clover total isoflavones were investigated by TUNEL and Flow cytometry. Results MTT Assay showed that the proliferation of MCF-7 cells in vitro was inhibited by red clover total isoflavones in time-dependent and concentration-dependent manners. But it could promote the proliferation in low concentration (25.0 μg/mL). TUNEL and flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis and inhibition of MCF-7 cells in G2/M phase were induced after treated with red clover total isoflavones. Conclusion The total isoflavones from red clover have the effect of anti-tumor for they could inhibit the proliferation and induce the cell apoptosis of MCF-7 cells.
Ectopic gene conversion in prokaryotic and yeast genomes

The repair of double strand DNA breaks is important to genomic stability. Gene conversions are non-reciprocal exchanges of DNA created through the repair of double strand DNA breaks. Relatively few studies have looked at examining the similarities and differences of the physical characteristics of ectopic gene conversions (conversions between non-allelic genes) within and between diverse lineages of prokaryotes and yeast. I found that several factors affect the frequency of ectopic gene conversions in prokaryotes and yeast. The size and organization of multigene families affects how often genes are converted. In E. coli a positive correlation was found between gene family size and conversion frequency. In yeast, I found that intra-chromosomal gene conversions are more frequent than inter-chromosomal conversions. The amount of sequence similarity between the converted genes affects their conversion frequency. I found that long conversions tend to occur between highly similar homologs. In addition, the sequence similarity requirements are not uniform for every organism. For example, I found indications that the life-style of the organism affects the stringency of sequence similarity requirements for ectopic gene conversion. I determined that ectopic gene conversions occur more frequently and require significantly less flanking similarity in the pathogenic bacteria strains than in the non-pathogenic. The functional importance of the converted genes affects how frequently they are converted. Genes that have been functionally maintained throughout evolution are ectopically converted less frequently than genome specific paralogs. Nucleotide distance between homologous genes affects their ectopic conversion frequency. In paralogous multigene families of yeast, gene conversions occur more frequently between genes which are close together on the same chromosome than
EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT DIETARY LEVELS OF METHIONINE AND LYSINE ON THE PRODUCTION AND CONTENTS OF PLASMA URIC ACID AND FREE AMINDS ACIDS IN WULONG GEESE

An experiment involved 9 dietary treatments with 3 repeats,3×3 factorial arrangement,consisting of 3 levels of methionine(0.33%,0.43%,0.53%) and 3 levels of lysine(0.7%,0.8%,0.9%),was conducted to study the effects of different dietary methionine and lysine levels on the production and contents of plasma uric acid and free amino acids in Wulong geese.The results were as follows:①The influences of different dietary levels of methionine on the body weight gains(BWG) and feed/gain(F/G) were significant(P0.05),the BWG was maximal and F/G was minimum when the dietary level of methionine was 0.33%. The influences of different dietary levels of lysine on the BWG and F/G were not significant(P0.05),but the BWG was higher and F/G was lower when the dietary level of lysine was 0.7%. The influences of various dietary levels of methionine and lysine on feed consumption were all not significant(P0.05). The interaction of me hionine and lysine levels influenced the BWG and F/G significantly(P0.05). ②The influences of different dietary dietary levels of methionine on the plasma uric acid(UA) contents were significant (P0.05). The UA content was higher when the dietary methionine level was 0.53%,and the lower when the levels was 0.33%. The various dietary levels of methionine could not influence the plasma methionine,lysine,total essential amino acids(TEAA),and total non-essential amino acids(TNEAA) contents(P0.05),but influenced the total free amino acids(TFAA) significantly(P0.05). The influences of different dietary levels of lysine on the plasma UA contents were not signifcant(P0.05),but the UA content was lower when the dietary lysine level was 0.7%. The various dietary levels of lysine could not influence the plasma methionine,lysine,and TEAA contents(P0.05),but influenced the TNEAA and TFAA significantly(P0.05). The interaction of methionine and lysine levels influenced the plasma UA and TFAA contents significantly,but the plasma methionine,lysine,TEAA and TNEAA contents were not significantly.
Organophosphate and organohalogen flame-retardant exposure and thyroid hormone disruption in a cohort of female firefighters and office workers from San Francisco

Abstract Background: Occupational exposures to flame retardants (FR), which are suspected endocrine disrupting compounds, may be of particular concern for firefighters as they are commonly found in consumer products and have been detected in fire station dust and firefighter gear. Objectives: The Women Workers Biomonitoring Collaborative is a community based participatory research study that sought to measure environmental chemicals relevant to firefighting and evaluate their effects on thyroid hormone levels. Methods: We measured 10 FR or their metabolites in urine of female firefighters and office workers from San Francisco: bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCPP), bis(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (BCEP), dibutyl phosphate (DBuP), dibenzyl phosphate (DBzP), di-p-cresyl phosphate (DpCP), di-o-cresyl phosphate (DoCP), 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoic acid (TBBA), tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA), 5-OH-BDE 47, and 5-OH-BDE 100. We assessed potential predictors of exposure levels and the association between FR exposures and thyroxine (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Results: BDCPP, BCEP, and DBuP were the most commonly detected FRs, among all study participants, with intermediate BMI and college educated women having the highest levels, and Black women having higher BDCPP levels than White women. Firefighters had higher detection frequencies (DF) and exposure levels compared to office workers; median BDCPP levels were five times higher in firefighters than in office workers. Among firefighters, occupational activities were not significantly associated with FR levels, although position (i.e. officer and firefighter versus driver), being on-duty (versus off-duty) and assigned to the airport suggested a positive association with FR levels. Among firefighters, a doubling of BDCPP was associated with a 2.88% decrease (95%CI -5.28,-0.42) in T4. We did not observe significant associations between FR and T4 among office workers. Discussion: Firefighters had significantly higher exposures to FR compared to office workers, and we observed a negative association between BDCPP and thyroxine in firefighters. Future research should elucidate occupational sources of FR exposure and opportunities for exposure reduction.
Preliminary analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of Ustilaginoidea virens

The genetic diversity and population structure of 56 strains of U. virens collected from different rice growing areas in 1992, 1996 and 2001 were assessed with RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA). A total of 223 bands were amplified with 32 primers selected from 160 random primers. The similarity coefficient was over 0.80 among most of the strains. Strains from Northern, Southern and central rice growing areas were not tightly clustered based on location and sampling time, and the preliminary analysis showed that the genetic diversity of U. virens in China was not significant. More strains from different fields in different years will be needed in further study to understand the population structure and genetic relationship of this pathogen in China.
Phosphorus cycle of model ecosystems : significance for decomposer food chains and effect of bacterial grazers

The phosphorus cycle of microcosms consisting of decomposing plant material and bacteria (with or without bacterial grazers) was studied using a 32p tracer method and compared with computer simulations of a conceptual model of the system. It is shown that (1) The turnover of phosphorus in such systems far exceeds the actual mineralization of phosphorus from the detrital material; (2) Phosphorus cycling is more rapid in systems with protozoa, although excretion by protozoa is minor, with the increase being mainly due to a higher turnover of phosphorus in grazed than in ungrazed bacteria; (3) The mineralization of detritus is stimulated by protozoan grazing; (4) Phosphorus is partly excreted by bacteria in a dissolved, organic form and; (5) A hot-water extractable pool of phosphorus, about 50% of which consists of polyphosphates is found in bacteria, and PO4--taken up by bacteria is first found in this pool. Limited goal modelling of laboratory microcosms is discussed and found useful for the analysis of the functioning of ecosystems.
Isolation and Characterization of Vibrio vulnificus from Two Florida Estuaries

Vibrio vulnificus was enumerated in seawater and shellfish from two Florida estuaries at selected seasonal intervals. There were significant fluctuations in the presence and numbers of V. vulnificus. Relatively high seawater temperature and salinity favored the presence of V. vulnificus in both seawater and shellfish samples.
A Transposable Element from Halobacterium Halobium which Inactivates the Bacteriorhodopsin Gene

Halobacterium halobium belongs to a class of organisms termed “Archaebacteria” by Woose and his coworkers (1). This bacterium displays both prokaryotic and eukaryotic features and is proposed to constitute a major line of descent besides prokaryotes and eukaryotes. One interesting feature of H. halobium is its ability to utilize light energy without involvement of photosynthesis. It is known that light transduction is achieved by means of a membrane protein (bacteriorhodopsin) which catalyzes the light dependent translocation of protons out of cells and hence produces a transmembrane electrochemical gradient. This gradient is not wasted but is used by cells to synthesize ATP and to drive other transport processes (2).
Post-endodontic Restoration on Erupting Permanent First Molars Using Endocrown with a Polyglass Composite Resin: Report of Two Cases

Post-endodontic restorations are both important and challenging for clinical success in endodontically treated posterior teeth. Several options have been proposed to restore endodontically treated molars. In pediatric dentistry, restoration using conventional single crowns, especially for partially erupted molars with insufficient retentive tooth structure, has proven to be difficult. However, the endocrown presents a conservative and esthetic restorative alternative to conventional crowns with post-and-core, as it acquires additional retention within the pulp chamber. The tooth preparation consists of a circular, equigingival, butt-joint margin and a central retention cavity in the pulp chamber that helps to construct both the crown and core as a single unit. This case report describes the esthetic and conservative endocrown restorations of erupting permanent first molars with extensive coronal destruction.
Provable Benefits of Representation Learning in Linear Bandits

We study how representation learning can improve the efficiency of bandit problems. We study the setting where we play $T$ linear bandits with dimension $d$ concurrently, and these $T$ bandit tasks share a common $k (\ll d)$ dimensional linear representation. For the finite-action setting, we present a new algorithm which achieves $\widetilde{O}(T\sqrt{kN} + \sqrt{dkNT})$ regret, where $N$ is the number of rounds we play for each bandit. When $T$ is sufficiently large, our algorithm significantly outperforms the naive algorithm (playing $T$ bandits independently) that achieves $\widetilde{O}(T\sqrt{d N})$ regret. We also provide an $\Omega(T\sqrt{kN} + \sqrt{dkNT})$ regret lower bound, showing that our algorithm is minimax-optimal up to poly-logarithmic factors. Furthermore, we extend our algorithm to the infinite-action setting and obtain a corresponding regret bound which demonstrates the benefit of representation learning in certain regimes. We also present experiments on synthetic and real-world data to illustrate our theoretical findings and demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms.
Penalized model-based clustering of fMRI data

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data have become increasingly available and are useful for describing functional connectivity (FC), the relatedness of neuronal activity in regions of the brain. This FC of the brain provides insight into certain neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, and thus is of clinical importance. To help inform physicians regarding patient diagnoses, unsupervised clustering of subjects based on FC is desired, allowing the data to inform us of groupings of patients based on shared features of connectivity. Since heterogeneity in FC is present even between patients within the same group, it is important to allow subject-level differences in connectivity, while still pooling information across patients within each group to describe group-level FC. To this end, we propose a random covariance clustering model (RCCM) to concurrently cluster subjects based on their FC networks, estimate the unique FC networks of each subject, and to infer shared network features. Although current methods exist for estimating FC or clustering subjects using fMRI data, our novel contribution is to cluster or group subjects based on similar FC of the brain while simultaneously providing group- and subject-level FC network estimates. The competitive performance of RCCM relative to other methods is demonstrated through simulations in various settings, achieving both improved clustering of subjects and estimation of FC networks. Utility of the proposed method is demonstrated with application to a resting-state fMRI data set collected on 43 healthy controls and 61 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The intersection of location-allocation and clustering

Location-allocation and partitional spatial clustering both deal with spatial data, seemingly from different viewpoints. Partitional clustering analyses datasets by partitioning them into separate groups, while location-allocation places facilities in locations that best meet the needs of demand points. However, both partitional clustering and location-allocation can be formulated as optimization problems minimizing the distances of (demand) points from their associated centers (facilities). Further, both techniques consider certain extensions such as weighted data points, different distance metrics, capacity constraints, different membership types, outliers, and selecting the number of clusters or facilities. In this article, we highlight and review the similarities and differences of these techniques, compare them with model-placed clustering, and provide a unified theoretical framework covering both approaches. We look at a number of extensions common for both approaches, propose a new spatial clustering method, PACK, which combines and adjusts those extensions, and provide software tools (rpack) for conducting spatial analysis with the new method.
LoCuSS: The Splashback Radius of Massive Galaxy Clusters and Its Dependence on Cluster Merger History

We present the direct detection of the splashback feature using the sample of massive galaxy clusters from the Local Cluster Substructure Survey (LoCuSS). This feature is clearly detected (above 5σ) in the stacked luminosity density profile obtained using the K-band magnitudes of spectroscopically confirmed cluster members. We obtained the best-fit model by means of Bayesian inference, which ranked models including the splashback feature as more descriptive of the data with respect to models that do not allow for this transition. In addition, we have assessed the impact of the cluster dynamical state on the occurrence of the splashback feature. We exploited the extensive multiwavelength LoCuSS data set to test a wide range of proxies for the cluster formation history, finding the most significant dependence of the splashback feature location and scale according to the presence or absence of X-ray emitting galaxy groups in the cluster infall regions. In particular, we report for the first time that clusters that do not show massive infalling groups present the splashback feature at a smaller clustercentric radius r sp/r 200,m = 1.158 ± 0.071 than clusters that are actively accreting groups r sp/r 200,m = 1.291 ± 0.062. The difference between these two subsamples is significant at 4. 2σ, suggesting a correlation between the properties of the cluster potential and its accretion rate and merger history. Similarly, clusters that are classified as old and dynamically inactive present stronger signatures of the splashback feature, with respect to younger, more active clusters. We are directly observing how fundamental dynamical properties of clusters reverberate across vastly different physical scales.
A note on the occurrence of Lipoptena cervi on a deer in Wyanad, Kerala and its zoonotic significance

© Zoo Outreach Organisation; www.zoosprint. org Manuscript 1439; Received 23 September 2005; Revised received 13 January 2006; Finally accepted 12 February 2006; Date of publication 21 March 2006 2229 April 2006 | ISSN 0973-2535 (Print edition); 0973-2551 (Online edition) Hippoboscid flies belong to the family Hippoboscidae of the section Pupipara and are adapted for parasitic life. Most of them live on blood of mammals or birds. Among them, Hippobosca, Melophaga and Lipoptena are the main genera which parasitize mammals. The present communication reports the occurrence of Lipoptena cervi (Image 1w) in a wild deer at Wyanad, Kerala and its zoonotic significance.