1,860 research outputs found
Clinical evaluation of near-infrared light transillumination (NIRT) as an interproximal caries detection tool in a large sample of patients in a private practice
No full textBackground: A study has been carried out in order to evaluate in vivo the diagnostic performance of near-infrared light transillumination (NIRT) compared to digital radiographic examination (RE) in the detection of class II carious lesions. Methods: A total of 114 patients were included, and 2957 proximal surfaces were considered. Surfaces were imaged by means of NIRT and radiographed with a photostimulable phosphor system. NIRT and radiographic images were observed by two blinded operators. Their diagnoses were compared with those made while visiting the patients, when visual-tactile, radiographic and NIRT data were matched by expert operators to obtain the reference diagnoses. Sensitivity, specificity and inter-observer consistency were calculated. Results: Throughout the visits, 395 caries were detected. When investigating without clinical information and in a blind manner, RE performed significantly better than NIRT regarding sensitivity analysis (0.591 vs. 0.456, p<0.001), and NIRT performed significantly better than RE regarding specificity analysis (0.980 vs 0.933, p<0.001). However, NIRT showed sensitivity similar to RE when only enamel caries were concerned. With regard to the agreement between the two observers, NIRT performed significantly better than RE (0.901 for RE analysis, 0.989 for NIRT analysis, P<0.001). A high probability of false positives for enamel caries (95% from 0.699 to 0.791) was observed in RE. NIRT was very likely to detect and correct the erroneous positive diagnosis of enamel carious lesions obtained using RE (95% CI for probability from 0.938 to 0.979). Conclusions: NIRT should be used in caries diagnosis in combination with radiographic images. In fact, NIRT can help to correct a false positive diagnosis of enamel caries. Furthermore, NIRT could be used to detect caries in patients for whom non-urgent radiographic exposition is contraindicated and to monitor enamel caries in medically treated patients. Finally, thanks to its three-dimensional images, NIRT can aid in detecting small caries when performing minorly invasive restorative procedures
The Reproducibility of Lists of Differentially Expressed Genes in Microarray Studies
No full textReproducibility is a fundamental requirement in scientific experiments and clinical contexts. Recent publications raise concerns about the reliability of microarray technology because of the apparent lack of agreement between lists of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In this study we demonstrate that (1) such discordance may stem from ranking and selecting DEGs solely by statistical significance (P) derived from widely used simple t-tests; (2) when fold change (FC) is used as the ranking criterion, the lists become much more reproducible, especially when fewer genes are selected; and (3) the instability of short DEG lists based on P cutoffs is an expected mathematical consequence of the high variability of the t-values. We recommend the use of FC ranking plus a non-stringent P cutoff as a baseline practice in order to generate more reproducible DEG lists. The FC criterion enhances reproducibility while the P criterion balances sensitivity and specificity
Le Corbeau et le Renard: 99 versions réinventées: Style d'exercices
No full textThis book represents a fascinating effort. At first I thought it was going to be a collection of various parodies of La Fontaine's FC. It is not that, but rather a creative presentation of some 97 different versions of La Fontaine created by the author. The first two versions are a French translation of the Greek prose of the most original FC text in the Aesopic manuscripts and then La Fontaine's verse. Thereafter the fun begins! The imagination and the execution of this project are both remarkable. Let me offer a sample of five approaches: (1) an acrostic, so that the opening letters of each verse spell "M Jean La Fontaine"; (2) a prose version after the manner of Balzac; (3) a scientific version needing more than a full page; (4) a tourist guide version; and (5) a rhyming version in English. T of C at the end. 136 pages. 5¼" x 8". Printed upon demand.Language note: FrenchNicolas Mille
FC Omniworld
No full textHet maken van een stedenbouwkundig plan voor de locatie Almere Poort in Almere. Hierbij is het programma van de Gemeente, zoals gespecificeerd voor de locatie, overgenomen. De kern van het nieuwe plan is een centrale (groene) as waaraan alle centrumfuncties voor deze wijk worden gerealiseerd. Deze nieuwe as zorgt, door de combinatie van functies met verschillende gebruikstijden, voor een continue drukte op deze centrale as. Aan een van de eindes van de as ligt een verhoogd maaiveld. Dit maaiveld gaat over het spoortalud zodat men het spoor over kan steken zonder tunnel of spoorwegovergang. In dit talud worden diverse functies gehuisvest welke normaal dichte dozen zijn (zoals parkeren, expo ruimten en sportzalen). Deze functies met voornaleijk dichte gevels worden omkleed met kleinschalige functies om continue activiteit bij het verhoogde maaiveld te genereren en om interessante gevelbeelden te hebben (i.p.v. dichte wanden van grootschalige functies). In het verhoogde maaiveld ligt verdiept het nieuwe stadion voor FC Omniworld. Dit stadion wordt zo opgenomen in een natuurlijke en groene omgeving. De dakconstructie bestaat uit houten spanten en een semi-transparant doek om zo goed mogelijk aan te sluiten op het park bovenop het nieuwe maaiveld. Bezoekers komen ook via het park binnen. Op dit niveau kan men rondlopen om versnaperingen te kopen en vervolgens af te dalen naar de tribunes. Het stadion is in de toekomst uit te breiden door nieuwe tribunes te positioneren boven de promenade van het stadion en onder het dak. Hiervoor zijn geen aanpassingen vereist. Tevens is het stadion multifuntioneel te gebruiken door verplaatsbare tribunedelen.Architectur
Plant expression of cocaine hydrolase-Fc fusion protein for treatment of cocaine abuse
No full textBACKGROUND: A recently reported cocaine hydrolase (CocH3) fused with fragment crystallizable (Fc) region of human immunoglobulin G1, denoted as CocH3-Fc, is known as a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of cocaine overdose and addiction. A challenge for practical therapeutic use of this enzyme exists in the large-scale protein production and, therefore, it is interesting to identify a low-cost and feasible, sustainable source of CocH3-Fc production.
RESULTS: CocH3-Fc was transiently expressed in plant Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The plant-expressed protein, denoted as pCocH3-Fc, was as active as that expressed in mammalian cells both in vitro and in vivo. However, compared to the mammalian-cell expressed CocH3-Fc protein, pCocH3-Fc had a shorter biological half-life, probably due to the lack of protein sialylation in plant. Nevertheless, the in vivo half-life was significantly extended upon the PEGylation of pCocH3-Fc. The Fc fusion did not prolong the biological half-life of the plant-expressed enzyme pCocH3-Fc, but increased the yield of the enzyme expression in the plant under the same experimental conditions.
CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to express pCocH3-Fc in plants. Further studies on the pCocH3-Fc production in plants should focus on the development of vectors with additional genes/promoters for the complete protein sialylation and for a better yield
Stable Foliage Cluster (FC), a Basic Unit of the Crown Structure of Tree Species and Its Application to Modeling of Tree and Forest Structure: Configuration of the FC Model
No full textThe "foliage cluster (FC) model" shows that the size (the amount of leaves, number of yearly shoots and total twig length), turnover time, and branching (i.e., forking) structure of a twig becomes stable in the top of the crown in an oak species by forming a "stable FC" [1]. A stable FC can be treated as a basic component of the crown structure and as an alternative to individual leaf or current-year shoot. The FC model is composed of several equations approximating the branching structure of twigs. Differences in size and branching morphology among twigs are represented by differences in values of the parameters of the equations. We described details of our analyses of data taken from real twigs and applied to the equations implemented in the FC model
Financial analysis of FC SLOVAN Liberec
No full textThesis "Financial analysis of FC Slovan Liberec" focuses especially on reviewing financial position and efficiency of this football club in four year period. The first theoretical part is complemented with practical calculations in the second part. In the second part author focuses on horizontal analysis, vertical analysis and other models of financial analysis
Contributing human and organizational factors to the collapse of the FC Twente stadium roof
No full textIn 2011 the city of Enschede was shocked by the collapse of the roof of an extension for the FC Twente stadium. The structure collapsed during construction and two fatalities and nine injuries were recorded. The cantilevering steel roof structure was covered with corrugated steel sheets and stabilized by bracings. Investigation showed that the structure was already loaded with the finishing structure before it was completed and stabilized. Contributing influencing human and organizational factors to the incident were the tight schedule resulting in a flawed construction sequence. Furthermore, there was too little attention to the way of execution during design, unjustified trust between parties resulting in inadequate coordination, checking and allocation of responsibilities.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Applied Mechanic
Development of a tick-borne encephalitis serodiagnostic ELISA using recombinant Fc-antigen fusion proteins
No full textCurrent diagnostic tests for tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infections require high-biosafety facilities for antigen preparation and can cross-react with other flaviviruses. There is, therefore, a need to develop safe, inexpensive serodiagnostic tools with high specificity and sensitivity. In this study, a recombinant plasmid that expresses the membrane and envelope (E) proteins of TBEV fused to the Fc domain of rabbit IgG was constructed and expressed in mammalian cells. The E-Fc proteins were secreted as soluble homodimers, which retained reactivity with anti-TBEV and anti-rabbit IgG antibodies. The E-Fc proteins were then used to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect TBEV antibodies in rodent and human sera. Compared with the neutralization test, the ELISA had over 90% sensitivity and specificity. In addition, the assay showed no cross-reactivity with Japanese encephalitis virus antibodies. These findings suggest that the E-Fc ELISA may be a useful tool for TBEV serodiagnosis. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Brackets, superalgebras and spectral gap
No full textThe first author has been partially supported by the Projects MTM 2017-83506-C2- 2-P from the Ministry of Economy of Spain and FC-GRUPIN-IDI/2018/000193 from the Principado de Asturias, the second author gratefully acknowledges the support by the NSF Grant DMS 160 192
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