Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluate the Effect of Commercially Available Denture Cleansers on Surface Hardness and Roughness of Denture Liners at Various Time Intervals

Background and objective: Chemical cleansing by denture cleansers is first choice for denture plaque control. The most common problems while using denture cleansers are hardening, porosity, odor sorption, water sorption, solubility, and colour change, bacterial and fungal growth. Chemical cleansing procedures have been found to have an effect on the physical and mechanical properties of denture liners. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of commercially available denture cleansers on surface hardness and roughness of acrylic and silicon based denture liners at various time interval. Method: Two autopolymerising denture liners Kooliner (acrylic) and GC reline soft (silicon) were tested with two commercially available denture cleansers, polident and efferdent plus. Total of 120 specimens were prepared and all the specimens were divided into six groups based on the relining materials and denture cleansers used. Surface hardness and surface roughness was tested using Shore A durometer and profilometer respectively at the end of day 1, day 7, day 30 and day 90. All the specimens were stored in artificial saliva throughout the study. Cleanser solution was prepared daily by adding Polident and Efferdent plus denture cleanser tablet into 250ml of enough very warm (not hot) water. Acrylic and silicon liner groups were cleansed in a solution of denture cleanser and water for 15 minutes daily, rinsed with water and stored in artificial saliva at room temperature. The data was analyzed with one way ANOVA and independent t-test. Result: The acrylic soft lining showed gradual hardening and increase in surface roughness after immersion in denture cleanser and also with time. Acrylic liner material showed maximum hardness and roughness with Polident followed by Efferdent plus and water (control group). Silicone lining material showed a slight difference in hardness and roughness between the test group and control group. There was a slight increase in hardness in all the groups with time. Very slight increase in mean surface roughness of all the silicon liner groups from day 1 to day 90 was observed. A statistically significant change was noted between and within the all silicon liner groups on day 7, day 30 and day 90. Conclusion: The average surface hardness and surface roughness were lower in silicon liner material than acrylic liner material. Maximum surface roughness was noted by Polident followed by Efferdent Plus and Water for both acrylic liner group and silicon liner group.
Economic aspects of population growth and water consumption in Libya

Large increases in water demand with very little recharge have strained Libya’s groundwater resources, resulting in serious declines in water levels and quality, especially along the Mediterranean coast where most of the agricultural, domestic and industrial activities are concentrated. To meet these increases, Libya turned to desalination as a supplementary water resource as early as 1964. Both thermal and membrane desalination technologies have been used. This study shows that the problem of water scarcity is likely to increase further in the future. This study has three aims: first, to estimate the historical relationship between population growth and the various uses of water; second, to forecast water consumption according to the various uses; third, to estimate the elasticities of water demand and examine the effect of price, income, population and temperature on water demand in Libya in the short and long-run. To achieve these aims, an econometric model of Libyan water demand is constructed and estimated for the period 1975-2005, using the Box-Jenkins approach to forecast water demand and the Engle-Granger two-step approach to estimate the short and long-run elasticities of water demand. As a result this study provides considerable information for policy makers concerning current and future Libyan water demand.
A QoS Adaptive Congestion Control in Wireless Sensor Network

In wireless sensor networks congestion occurs in intermediate nodes while data packets travel from source to sink. Congestion causes packet loss which in turn drastically decreases network performance and throughput As sensors are energy constraint so it is a decisive task to detect the congestion and congested regions in a network to perform congestion control. In addition to that different application i.e. real time and non-real time data in sensor network have different QoS (delay, link utilization, and packet loss) guarantee requirement In this paper we proposed a new QoS adaptive cross-layer approach to control the congestion and support QoS guarantee for different application data in sensor network. This approach maintains two congestion control algorithm to control namely short-term and long-term congestion. To ensure real time and non-real time data flow, hop-by-hop QoS aware scheduling and QoS distributed MAC Manager are considered. The experimental outputs of this work are able to show that proposed scheme gives guaranteed QoS for different application data and gives a noticeable performance in terms of energy analysis and lifetime of the network.
Partitioning of nongaussian-distributed biochemical reference data into subgroups.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to develop new methods for partitioning biochemical reference data, covering in particular nongaussian distributions. METHODS We recently proposed partitioning criteria for gaussian distributions. These criteria relate to proportions of the subgroups outside each of the reference limits of the combined distribution (proportion criteria) and to distances between the subgroup distributions as correlates of these proportions (distance criteria). However, distance criteria do not seem to be ideal for nongaussian distributions because a generally valid relationship between proportions and distances cannot be established for these. RESULTS Proportion criteria appear preferable to distance criteria for two additional reasons: (a) The prevalences of the subgroup populations may have a considerable effect on stratification, but these are hard to account for by using distance criteria. Two methods to handle prevalences are described, the root method and the multiplication method. (b) Tied reference values, another complication of the partitioning problem, could also be hard to take care of using distance criteria. Some solutions to the problems caused by tied reference values are suggested. CONCLUSIONS Partitioning of biochemical reference data should preferably be based on proportion criteria; this is particularly true for nongaussian distributions. Both of the described complications of the partitioning problem, the prevalences of the subgroups and tied reference values, are hard to deal with using distance criteria, but the proposed methods make it possible to account for them when proportion criteria are applied.
Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4GII (eIF4GII), but Not eIF4GI, Cleavage Correlates with Inhibition of Host Cell Protein Synthesis after Human Rhinovirus Infection

ABSTRACT For many members of the Picornaviridae family, infection of cells results in a shutoff of host protein synthesis. For rhinoviruses and enteroviruses, the shutoff has been explained in part by the cleavage of eukaryotic initiation factor 4GI (eIF4GI), a component of the cap-binding protein complex eIF4F. The cleavage of eIF4GI is mediated by the virus-specific proteinase 2Aproand results in inhibition of cap-dependent, but not cap-independent, translation. The inhibition of host protein synthesis after infection with human rhinovirus 14 (HRV-14) lags behind the cleavage of eIF4GI. Recently, we discovered a functional homolog of eIF4GI, termed eIF4GII, and showed that cleavage of eIF4GII coincides with the shutoff of host cell protein synthesis after poliovirus infection (Gradi et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:11089–11094, 1998). We wished to determine whether eIF4GII cleavage kinetics could also explain the lack of correlation between the kinetics of eIF4GI cleavage and the shutoff of host protein synthesis after rhinovirus infection. In this study, we examined the correlation between human rhinovirus-induced shutoff of host protein synthesis and cleavage of eIF4GI and eIF4GII. In HRV-14-infected HeLa cells, almost no intact eIF4GI could be detected by 4 h postinfection, while only 4% of eIF4GII was cleaved at this time. By 6 h, however, 67% of eIF4GII was cleaved, and this cleavage coincided with a significant (60%) decline of host translation. These results suggest that cleavage of both eIF4GI and eIF4GII is required for HRV-mediated inhibition of host cell protein synthesis and that the cleavage of eIF4GII is the rate-limiting step in the shutoff of host cell protein synthesis after rhinovirus infection.
Expression of cord blood cytochrome P450 1A1 gene according to the air pollution level of the maternal residence area

Background: This study aimed to compare the cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) gene expression in the cord blood of infants born from mothers living in low- and high-air polluted areas. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in Spring 2012 in Isfahan, the second large and air-polluted city in Iran. The study comprised 60 neonates, consisting of 30 infants born from mothers residing in areas with high levels of air pollution and an equal number of infants born in areas with a lower air pollution level. The umbilical cord blood sample was taken immediately after birth. The relative gene expression levels of CYP1A1 were examined using real time-polymerase chain reaction method. Results: CYP1A1 gene expression level was 3.3-fold higher in the group living in areas with higher pollution level than in the other group (P = 0.01). No significant difference existed in the mean values of maternal age, gestational age, the newborns’ birth weight, and the gender distribution between the two groups. Conclusion: This study provides confirmatory evidence of prenatal health hazards of ambient air pollution and highlights the need for pollution prevention programs to protect women of childbearing age and their children. The clinical implications of this study finding should be confirmed in future longitudinal studies.
Efficacy of CR4056, a first-in-class imidazoline-2 analgesic drug, in comparison with naproxen in two rat models of osteoarthritis

Purpose CR4056, (2-phenyl-6-(1H-imidazol-1yl) quinazoline), an imidazoline-2 (I2) receptor ligand, is a promising analgesic drug that has been reported to be effective in several animal models of pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of CR4056 in two well-established rat models of osteoarthritis (OA), mimicking the painful and structural components of human OA. Methods Knee OA was induced either by single intra-articular injection of monoiodoacetate (MIA) or by medial meniscal tear (MMT) in the right knee of male rats. In the MIA model, allodynia and hyperalgesia were measured as paw withdrawal threshold to mechanical stimulation. In the MMT model, pain behavior was analyzed as weight-bearing asymmetry (i.e. difference in hind paw weight distribution, HPWD) between the injured and the contralateral limbs. Results Acute oral administration of CR4056, 14 days after MIA injection, significantly and dose-dependently reduced allodynia and hyperalgesia 90 minutes after treatment, whereas acute naproxen administration significantly reduced allodynia but not hyperalgesia. After 7 days of repeated treatment, both CR4056 and naproxen showed significant anti-allodynic and anti-hyperalgesic effects in the MIA model. Rats undergoing MMT surgery developed a significant and progressive asymmetry in HPWD compared with sham-operated animals. Repeated treatment with CR4056 significantly reduced the progression of the pain behavior, whereas naproxen had no effects. Conclusion The data presented here show that the I2 ligand CR4056 could be a new effective treatment for OA pain. The compound is currently under Phase II clinical evaluation for this indication.
Acute gastroenteritis cases associated with noroviruses infection in the state of Rio de Janeiro

In March 2005, the Epidemiological Surveillance Service of Resende, municipality of the Middle Paraiba Valley, State of Rio de Janeiro, reported a sudden spontaneous occurrence of acute gastroenteritis cases in children in a public day care center. Further, between May and June 2005, gastroenteritis outbreaks or sporadic cases of gastroenteritis were reported in two other municipalities, Piraí and Rio Claro, also located in the Middle Paraiba Valley. From March to June 2005, 50 fecal samples were collected in this region and those samples were tested for the presence of bacteria and other parasites and were demonstrated to be negative. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and an enzyme immunoassay were performed for adenovirus and rotavirus detection and reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction was performed to investigate the presence of norovirus (NoV) and astrovirus. In addition, a quantitative TaqMan real time PCR for NoV was performed for quantification of viral DNA in order to compare the results with those obtained by conventional RT‐PCR. NoV was detected in 33 out of 50 (66%) samples, and a 100% correlation between both methodologies was obtained. These results are demonstrating that NoV was the etiological agent responsible for those acute gastroenteritis cases. Partial nucleotide sequence analysis of the capsid gene revealed that the circulating strain was NoV GII/4 confirming the worldwide distribution of this genotype. The results highlight the role of NoV as a main viral agent responsible for gastroenteritis cases in children and adults both in outbreaks as well as in sporadic cases of acute gastroenteritis. J. Med. Virol. 80:338–344, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Orbital scintigraphy with the somatostatin receptor tracer 99mTc-P829 in patients with Graves' disease.

UNLABELLED Receptors for somatostatin (SST) (SSTR) are expressed on various tumor cells as well as on activated lymphocytes. Previous data have shown that (99m)Tc-P829 binds with high affinity to many different types of tumor cells as well as to leukocytes via the human hSSTR2, hSSTR3, and hSSTR5 target receptors. Consequently, (99m)Tc-P829 was successfully introduced as a peptide tracer for tumor imaging. In this study, we evaluated the orbital uptake of (99m)Tc-P829 in patients with active and inactive thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO), accompanied by lymphocyte infiltration in the acute stage and by muscle fibrosis in the chronic stage of the disease. METHODS To evaluate its clinical usefulness in Graves' disease, (99m)Tc-P829 scintigraphy (approximately equal to 740 MBq) was performed in 44 patients with TAO (median duration, 19 mo; range, 1-360 mo). The clinical activity of the orbital disease was graded by the NOSPECS (no signs or symptoms; only signs, no symptoms; signs only; proptosis; eye muscle involvement; corneal involvement; sight visual acuity reduction) classification of the American Thyroid Association, the clinical activity score (CAS), and the superonasal index (SNI). SPECT (360 degrees ) and planar studies were completed within 3 h after injection. Orbital (O) regions of interest (ROIs) were compared with temporoparietal and occipital (OCC) ROIs. Orbital uptake ratios in Graves' disease were compared with data obtained from lung cancer patients with no eye disease (n = 22). RESULTS Overall, (99m)Tc-P829 biokinetics were the same in Graves' disease patients as in lung cancer patients, showing a rapid blood clearance and visualization of the facial bones within minutes of injection. In all control patients, the orbit appeared as a "cold area," whereas visual orbital accumulation of (99m)Tc-P829 was found in patients with active TAO (O/OCC ratios: 1.26 +/- 0.04 vs. 1.69 +/- 0.04; P < 0.01, respectively). Patients with active eye disease (n = 25) presented with an increased orbital uptake of (99m)Tc-P829 compared with patients with inactive disease (n = 19; O/OCC ratio: 1.12 +/- 0.05; P < 0.01). A statistically significant correlation was found between CAS and the orbital uptake (O/OCC ratio) values (r = 0.90), whereas no correlation could be documented regarding the NOSPECS classification as well as the SNI. CONCLUSION In TAO, (99m)Tc-P829 yields high orbital binding with good clinical correlation. The better image quality due to the high energy of technetium, the lower radiation dose for patients and personnel, and the short acquisition protocol favor SSTR scintigraphy with (99m)Tc-P829 over (111)In-labeled compounds. The in-house availability of the radiotracer and cost-effectiveness are further advantages.
Binary Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis Active against the Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte

ABSTRACT The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is a significant pest of corn in the United States. The development of transgenic corn hybrids resistant to rootworm feeding damage depends on the identification of genes encoding insecticidal proteins toxic to rootworm larvae. In this study, a bioassay screen was used to identify several isolates of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis active against rootworm. These bacterial isolates each produce distinct crystal proteins with approximate molecular masses of 13 to 15 kDa and 44 kDa. Insect bioassays demonstrated that both protein classes are required for insecticidal activity against this rootworm species. The genes encoding these proteins are organized in apparent operons and are associated with other genes encoding crystal proteins of unknown function. The antirootworm proteins produced by B. thuringiensis strains EG5899 and EG9444 closely resemble previously described crystal proteins of the Cry34A and Cry35A classes. The antirootworm proteins produced by strain EG4851, designated Cry34Ba1 and Cry35Ba1, represent a new binary toxin. Genes encoding these proteins could become an important component of a sustainable resistance management strategy against this insect pest.
TrueClick: automatically distinguishing trick banners from genuine download links

The ubiquity of Internet advertising has made it a popular target for attackers. One well-known instance of these attacks is the widespread use of trick banners that use social engineering techniques to lure victims into clicking on deceptive fake links, potentially leading to a malicious domain or malware. A recent and pervasive trend by attackers is to imitate the "download" or "play" buttons in popular file sharing sites (e.g., one-click hosters, video-streaming sites, bittorrent sites) in an attempt to trick users into clicking on these fake banners instead of the genuine link. In this paper, we explore the problem of automatically assisting Internet users in detecting malicious trick banners and helping them identify the correct link. We present a set of features to characterize trick banners based on their visual properties such as image size, color, placement on the enclosing webpage, whether they contain animation effects, and whether they consistently appear with the same visual properties on consecutive loads of the same webpage. We have implemented a tool called TrueClick, which uses image processing and machine learning techniques to build a classifier based on these features to automatically detect the trick banners on a webpage. Our approach automatically classifies trick banners, and requires no manual effort to compile blacklists as current approaches do. Our experiments show that TrueClick results in a 3.55 factor improvement in correct link selection in the absence of other ad blocking software, and that it can detect trick banners missed by a popular ad detection tool, Adblock Plus.
Pneumococcal Diversity: Considerations for New Vaccine Strategies with Emphasis on Pneumococcal Surface Protein A (PspA)

SUMMARY Streptococcus pneumoniae is a problematic infectious agent, whose seriousness to human health has been underscored by the recent rise in the frequency of isolation of multidrug-resistant strains. Pneumococcal pneumonia in the elderly is common and often fatal. Young children in the developing world are at significant risk for fatal pneumococcal respiratory disease, while in the developed world otitis media in children results in substantial economic costs. Immunocompromised patients are extremely susceptible to pneumococcal infection. With 90 different capsular types thus far described, the diversity of pneumococci contributes to the challenges of preventing and treating S. pneumoniae infections. The current capsular polysaccharide vaccine is not recommended for use in children younger than 2 years and is not fully effective in the elderly. Therefore, innovative vaccine strategies to protect against this agent are needed. Given the immunogenic nature of S. pneumoniae proteins, these molecules are being investigated as potential vaccine candidates. Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) has been evaluated for its ability to elicit protection against S. pneumoniae infection in mouse models of systemic and local disease. This review focuses on immune system responsiveness to PspA and the ability of PspA to elicit cross-protection against heterologous strains. These parameters will be critical to the design of broadly protective pneumococcal vaccines.
Your neighbors affect your ratings: on geographical neighborhood influence to rating prediction

Rating prediction is to predict the preference rating of a user to an item that she has not rated before. Using the business review data from Yelp, in this paper, we study business rating prediction. A business here can be a restaurant, a shopping mall or other kind of businesses. Different from most other types of items that have been studied in various recommender systems (e.g., movie, song, book), a business physically exists at a geographical location, and most businesses have geographical neighbors within walking distance. When a user visits a business, there is a good chance that she walks by its neighbors. Through data analysis, we observe that there exists weak positive correlation between a business's ratings and its neighbors' ratings, regardless of the categories of businesses. Based on this observation, we assume that a user's rating to a business is determined by both the intrinsic characteristics of the business and the extrinsic characteristics of its geographical neighbors. Using the widely adopted latent factor model for rating prediction, in our proposed solution, we use two kinds of latent factors to model a business: one for its intrinsic characteristics and the other for its extrinsic characteristics. The latter encodes the neighborhood influence of this business to its geographical neighbors. In our experiments, we show that by incorporating geographical neighborhood influences, much lower prediction error is achieved than the state-of-the-art models including Biased MF, SVD++, and Social MF. The prediction error is further reduced by incorporating influences from business category and review content.