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An Analysis of Nonlinear Differential Equations Describing the Dynamic Behavior of an Unbalanced Rotor
No full textThe present paper investigates the dynamic behavior of an unbalanced rotor mounted in a balancing machine. Differential equations of motion are derived without linearization using Lagrange equations of the second kind to determine the nonlinear nature of the system. This study proposes a method for using differential equations in balancing to determine important parameters, such as the coordinates of the center of mass and the products of inertia of the rotor. An analysis of the interactions between the periodicities of the individual terms in the differential equations is carried out in order to eliminate terms with difficult-to-determine moments of inertia
Tooth Loss as a Predictor of Coronary Artery Disease Severity in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study
No full textBackground: Tooth loss reflects cumulative oral inflammation and has been associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. This study evaluated the relationship between the number of missing permanent teeth and the angiographic severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, 200 consecutive AMI patients underwent coronary angiography and standardized dental assessment during hospitalization. Tooth loss was categorized as 1–10, 11–20, or 21–32 missing teeth. CAD severity was defined by the number of major epicardial arteries with significant stenosis. Multivariate logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Results: Increasing tooth loss was associated with more extensive CAD. The mean number of affected vessels rose from 1.58 ± 0.79 in the 1–10 tooth-loss group to 2.06 ± 0.99 in the 21–32 group (p = 0.014). Tooth loss correlated with CAD severity (r = 0.19, p = 0.007). After adjustment, >20 missing teeth remained an independent predictor of multivessel disease (OR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.01–3.34; p = 0.047). ROC analysis showed modest discrimination (AUC = 0.61). Conclusions: Extensive tooth loss independently correlates with greater angiographic CAD severity in AMI patients. Dental status may serve as a simple, non-invasive clinical marker of cardiovascular disease burden
The Effect of Coherence on Instruction Following from News Outlets
No full textResearch has shown that preferences exist in following information from coherent sources and that incoherent material can diminish overall trust in sources from readers. In line with relational frame theory, coherence, or “sense-making”, has emerged as an important factor in the process of rule-following, but some research has been confounded by the degree of extremity used to establish coherence. The present study investigated the role of speaker coherence in rule-following preferences between newspaper outlets. Participants (N = 64) each viewed four news articles that had been published across two anonymized Irish newspaper outlets. Each article was categorized by its level of coherence and level of controversy. Rule-following was measured through the likelihood of participants adopting new habits and following general advice from the news outlet after reading each story. Participants also selected their preferred outlet from which to follow general advice at the end of the study. Results indicated that participants had greater rule-following preferences for coherent outlets, regardless of how controversial the material was perceived to be. Speaker coherence was discussed in terms of its impact on the perceived credibility of media outlets and avenues for reducing polarization
Short-Term Outcomes of Visual-Aid-Based Motivation on Children’s Oral Hygiene: A Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textBackground and Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of positive and negative visual aids used during verbal–active oral hygiene education on oral hygiene-related behaviors in children aged 7 to 14 years. Materials and Methods: In this single-blind design, sixty children were randomly assigned to three groups: G1:Positive visual aid, G2:Negative visual aid, and G3:Verbal–active education. Oral hygiene was evaluated using the Silness–Löe Index (plaque) and Rosenberg Organoleptic Scale (halitosis) at baseline, one week, and one month. Measurements were taken at baseline, at the end of the first week, and at the end of the first month. Data were analyzed using split-plot ANOVA. Results: The test groups did not show any statistically significant differences in terms of age (F = 0.530, p = 0.449) or gender (χ2 = 1.600, p = 0.449). Additionally, the groups were similar in terms of clinical variables, including dentition stage (permanent or mixed) (χ2 = 5.566, p = 0.062), presence of malocclusion (χ2 = 3.801, p = 0.150), and presence of anterior dental caries (χ2 = 1.250, p = 0.535). Significant reductions in both plaque and halitosis scores were observed over time in all groups (p < 0.001), and there were no statistically significant differences between the types of intervention (p > 0.05). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that both verbal education aided by positive and negative visuals and structured-only verbal education improved children’s oral hygiene and halitosis scores in the short term
Efficacy of 4% 5-Fluorouracil Cream in the Treatment of Actinic Keratoses: A Single-Center Experience
No full textBackground/Objectives: Actinic keratoses (AKs), also known as solar keratoses, are considered premalignant skin lesions that can evolve into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Among the available options, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) remains a cornerstone. Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of our database of the non-melanoma skin cancer outpatient clinic. The main objective was to evaluate patients treated with 4% 5-FU cream for AK lesions. The efficacy of 4% 5-FU was evaluated retrospectively by measuring the percentage of patients who achieved complete clearance. A secondary efficacy measure was the percentage of partial clearance, defined as at least a 75% reduction in lesion count. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the safety of 4% 5-FU cream. Results: We included 150 patients clinically diagnosed with AK, treated with 4% 5-FU cream and evaluated 432 lesions. Complete clearance of lesions was observed in 138 patients (92%) with partial clearance in 12 patients (8%). At 12 months, the recurrence rate was 11%. Conclusions: Based on our analysis, 4% 5-FU cream is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for AKs, particularly in patients with extensive field cancerization. While local skin reactions are a natural part of its mechanism, they are manageable and do not outweigh clinical benefits
Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids and Phenolic Acids Identification in Leucojum aestivum L. Plant Cultures Exposed to Different Temperature Conditions
No full textAmaryllidaceae alkaloids are of notable pharmacological relevance. For instance, galanthamine is used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, while other alkaloids (lycorine, crinine, etc.) derived from Amaryllidaceae plants are also of great interest because they exhibit antitumour, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, analgesic and cytotoxic properties. Phenolic acids comprise a group of natural bioactive substances that have commercial value in the cosmetic, food and medicinal industries due to their antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective potential. In the present study, the effect of temperature (15, 20, 25 and 30 °C) on Amaryllidaceae alkaloid and phenolic acid biosynthesis in Leucojum aestivum in vitro plant cultures was investigated. The highest diversity of alkaloids (i.e., galanthamine, crinan-3-ol, demethylmaritidine, crinine, 11-hydroxyvitattine, lycorine, epiisohaemanthamine, chlidanthine) was noted in plants cultured at 30 °C. By contrast, ismine and tazettine were only present in plants cultured at 15 °C. Temperatures of 20 °C and 30 °C were found to stimulate galanthamine accumulation. The highest lycorine content was noted in plants grown at temperatures of 15 and 30 °C, and it was negatively correlated with the expression of the gene that encodes the cytochrome P450 96T (CYP96T) enzyme which catalyses a key step in the biosynthesis of different types of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. This observation may reflect temperature-induced shifts in metabolic flux among different branches of Amaryllidaceae alkaloid biosynthesis. The observed stimulating effect of a 15 °C temperature on the chlorogenic, caffeic, p-coumaric, sinapic, ferulic and isoferulic acid content was in line with the highest expression of a gene that encodes the tyrosine decarboxylase (TYDC) enzyme, which is involved in plant stress response mechanisms. At 30 °C, however, the highest content of the caffeic, vanillic, p-coumaric and isoferulic acids was noted
The Informational Birth of the Universe: A Theory of Everything from Quantum Complexity
No full textWe propose a unified theoretical framework grounded in a Primordial Quantum Field (PQF)—a continuous, non-local informational substrate that precedes space-time and matter. The PQF is represented by a wave functional evolving in an abstract configuration space, where physical properties emerge through the self-organization of complexity. We introduce a novel physical quantity—complexity entropy Sc[ϕ]—which quantifies the structural organization of the PQF. Unlike traditional entropy measures (Shannon, von Neumann, Kolmogorov), Sc[ϕ] captures non-trivial coherence and functional correlations. We demonstrate how complexity gradients induce an emergent geometry, from which spacetime curvature, physical constants, and the arrow of time arise. The model predicts measurable phenomena such as entanglement waves and reinterprets dark energy as informational coherence pressure, suggesting empirical pathways for testing via highly correlated quantum systems
Palmitic Acid Induces Inflammatory Environment and Is Involved in Pyroptosis in a Human Dental Pulp Cell Line
No full textBackground/Objectives: We investigated whether palmitic acid (PA) induced the expression of inflammatory cytokines and was involved in pyroptosis in a human dental pulp cell line. Methods: Human dental pulp cells cultured in Minimum Essential Medium Alpha (αMEM) were treated with 1 µg/mL LPS and/or PA (100, 300 and 500 µM). As a control, αMEM was added in the culture medium. The WST-1 assay was performed to assess cell proliferation, and morphological changes in cells were examined. RNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, caspase-4 and gasdermin d were detected by quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR). Results: The WST-1 assay showed that cell viability decreased by 36% at 300 µM and 47% at 500 µM PA compared to the control (p < 0.05). Cell morphology revealed slight shrinkage in 100, 300 and 500 µM PA groups. RNA expression of IL-1β and IL-6 in the PA groups was significantly higher than that in the control groups (p < 0.05), while RNA expression of TNF-α in the PA group was the same as that of control group. The mRNA expression of caspase-4 and gasdermin d in PA groups was significantly higher than that in control group (p < 0.05). Likewise, the concentration of IL-1β and IL-6 was significantly higher in both LPS and PA groups than that in the LPS or PA groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that PA induces the expression of inflammatory cytokines and is involved in pyroptosis in a human dental pulp cell line
Metabolic and Orexin-A Responses to Ketogenic Diet and Intermittent Fasting: A 12-Month Randomized Trial in Adults with Obesity
No full textBackground/Objectives: Intermittent fasting and ketogenic dietary approaches are increasingly investigated for their potential metabolic benefits in obesity. However, their long-term neuroendocrine effects—particularly those involving Orexin-A, a peptide implicated in energy regulation—remain poorly understood. The objective of this study was to compare the long-term metabolic, inflammatory, and orexinergic responses to different dietary strategies in adults with obesity. Methods: In this 12-month randomized, three-arm trial, 30 adults with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to a hypocaloric ketogenic diet (KD), a 16:8 time-restricted eating regimen (TRF16:8), or a 5:2 intermittent fasting protocol (ADF5:2). Anthropometric parameters, body composition, fasting glucose, lipid profile, inflammatory cytokines (CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10), and plasma Orexin-A levels were assessed at baseline and every 3 months. Dietary adherence was monitored through structured logs and monthly assessments. Statistical analyses included repeated-measures models with sensitivity analyses adjusted for age and sex. Results: All participants completed the intervention. The ketogenic diet produced the largest sustained reductions in BMI, fat mass, fasting glucose, and total cholesterol over 12 months. TRF16:8 elicited more rapid early metabolic improvements and showed the most consistent longitudinal increase in Orexin-A levels. The ADF5:2 protocol resulted in moderate improvements across outcomes. In all groups, increases in Orexin-A were associated with markers of improved metabolic flexibility and reduced inflammation; however, mediation analyses were exploratory and non-causal. Between-group differences remained significant for fat mass, glucose, and Orexin-A trajectories after correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusions: The ketogenic diet was associated with the most pronounced long-term metabolic improvements, whereas 16:8 time-restricted eating yielded faster early responses and the most stable enhancement in Orexin-A levels. These findings indicate distinct metabolic and neuroendocrine adaptation profiles across dietary strategies. Given the small sample size, results should be interpreted cautiously, and larger trials are warranted to clarify the role of Orexin-A as a potential biomarker of dietary response in obesity
Survival Prospects of Wild Birds Depending on the Type of Injury and Other Stressors Leading to Hospitalisation: A Long-Term (1988–2020) Retrospective Study from an Urbanised Area of the Alps
No full textWe analysed data collected at the Innsbruck Alpenzoo (Tyrol, Austria) over 33 years (1988–2020). We examined data from 4542 wild birds of 137 species that were rescued in the increasingly urbanised and densely populated Inn Valley around Innsbruck and examined the outcome of hospital treatment (survival or death); for a subgroup of 3440 birds, we examined the length of stay at the zoo. The birds were divided into nine different groups, and the reasons for admission were divided into nine categories to analyse how the reasons for admission and membership of a bird group influences rehabilitation success and the duration of care required. Orphaned birds, birds that had become entangled in man-made structures, and birds with unknown reasons for admission had the best survival rates (60%), while birds with physical injuries, victims of collisions, and attacks by cats had the lowest survival rates (37%). Survival rates were highest among areal insectivores (66%) and waterbirds (62%), and lowest among small songbirds (45%) and woodpeckers (<39%), which suffered disproportionately from the consequences of window collisions. The overall survival rate of hospitalised birds (51%) was higher, and the duration of care required (median 11 days) was especially shorter at Innsbruck Alpenzoo than at most other rehabilitation centres. We attribute this mainly to the professional care and varied, group-specific diet provided to the patients, which we describe in detail. We also discuss the problems and limitations of wild bird care for zoo staff in addition to their daily tasks. Thereby, it became apparent that the retirement of experienced bird carers at the beginning of the study period and the subsequent steady changeover of staff members had a negative impact on success rates