Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic Potential of Gramicidin S in the Treatment of Root Canal Infections

An intrinsic clindamycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, the most common single species present in teeth after failed root canal therapy, often possesses acquired tetracycline resistance. In these cases, root canal infections are commonly treated with Ledermix® paste, which contains demeclocycline, or the new alternative endodontic paste Odontopaste, which contains clindamycin; however, these treatments are often ineffective. We studied the killing activity of the cyclic antimicrobial peptide gramicidin S (GS) against planktonic and biofilm cells of tetracycline-resistant clinical isolates of E. faecalis. The high therapeutic potential of GS for the topical treatment of problematic teeth is based on the rapid bactericidal effect toward the biofilm-forming, tetracycline-resistant E. faecalis. GS reduces the cell number of planktonic cells within 20–40 min at a concentration of 40–80 μg/mL. It kills the cells of pre-grown biofilms at concentrations of 100–200 μg/mL, such that no re-growth is possible. The translocation of the peptide into the cell interior and its complexation with intracellular nucleotides, including the alarmon ppGpp, can explain its anti-biofilm effect. The successful treatment of persistently infected root canals of two volunteers confirms the high effectiveness of GS. The broad GS activity towards resistant, biofilm-forming E. faecalis suggests its applications for approval in root canal medication.
Effect of PPAR-γ Agonist Rosiglitazone on Bone Mineral Density and Serum Adipokines in C 57 BL / 6 Male Mice ( rosiglitazone / bone metabolism / adipokines ) 1

Thiazolinediones (TZD) are widely used to treat type 2 diabetes, but their mechanism of action still remains only partially understood. Although the in vitro effects of TZD on osteoblastogenesis are well recognized, the in vivo consequences of these compounds on bone turnover are less understood and rather controversial. We demonstrate that a 9-week oral treatment with rosiglitazone in C57BL/6 male mice resulted in significant bone loss that was not dose dependent. The bones of the rosiglitazone-treated mice were characterized by reduction of bone density, and ash, calcium and phosphorus content. Rosiglitazone-treated mice had significantly thinner cortical widths. In contrast to serum TrACP expressed by action of osteoclasts, serum B-ALP activity, which serves as a marker of osteoblastic activity, was significantly lower in the rosiglitazone-fed animals. We did not find any differences in circulating levels of adipokines that could eventually explain rosiglitazone action. As the decrease in osteoblastic activity was demonstrated after rosiglitazone treatment, we anticipated changes in the haematopoietic Received January 26, 2011. Accepted February 28, 2011. This work was supported by the research projects MSM 0021620806, MZOVFN2005 and LC06044 granted by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. Corresponding author: Petr Dan Broulík, Third Department of Medicine – Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, U nemocnice l, 128 08 Prague, Czech Republic. e-mail: pbrou@lf1.cuni. cz Abbreviations: B-ALP – bone alkaline phosphatase, BAT – brown adipose tissue, BMD – bone mineral density, GGT – γ-glutamyl transferase, LTRC – long-term repopulating cells, MCP-1– monocyte chemotactic protein 1, PBS – phosphate-buffered saline, PPAR-γ – peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, TPAI-1 – tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor, TrACP – tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, TZD – thiazolinedione(s), WAT – white adipose tissue. stem cell pool. These cells seed in endosteal niches which comprise osteoblasts in order to maintain their stem cell function. In our study we did not see any significant influence of rosiglitazone administration on stem cells or any impairment in the lineage restrictions of rosiglitazone-treated stem cells. Our data demonstrate that rosiglitazone administration causes a loss of bone mass in cortical bone, possibly through a decrease in bone formation expressed by decreased B-ALP in male C57BL/6 mice. The levels of adipokines do not play any role.
Title : MDMA impairs response to water intake in healthy volunteers Author List :

Hyponatremia is a serious complication of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use. We investigated potential mechanisms in two double-blind, placebocontrolled studies. In study 1, healthy drug-experienced volunteers received MDMA or placebo alone and in combination with the alpha-1 adrenergic inverse agonist prazosin, used as a positive control to release antidiuretic hormone (ADH). In study 2, volunteers received MDMA or placebo followed by standardized water intake. MDMA lowered serum sodium, but did not increase ADH or copeptin, although the control prazosin did increase ADH. Water loading reduced serum sodium more after MDMA than after placebo. There was a trend for women to have lower baseline serum sodium than men, but there were no significant interactions with drug condition. Combining studies, MDMA potentiated the ability of water to lower serum sodium. Thus, while MDMA lowers serum sodium and potentiates effects of water intake on serum sodium, ADH may not be the mechanism of these changes.
Building a Corpus for Japanese Wikification with Fine-Grained Entity Classes

In this research, we build a Wikification corpus for advancing Japanese Entity Linking. This corpus consists of 340 Japanese newspaper articles with 25,675 entity mentions. All entity mentions are labeled by a fine-grained semantic classes (200 classes), and 19,121 mentions were successfully linked to Japanese Wikipedia articles. Even with the fine-grained semantic classes, we found it hard to define the target of entity linking annotations and to utilize the fine-grained semantic classes to improve the accuracy of entity linking.
A novel polymer of tubulin forms the conoid of Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligatory intracellular parasite, an important human pathogen, and a convenient laboratory model for many other human and veterinary pathogens in the phylum Apicomplexa, such as Plasmodium, Eimeria, and Cryptosporidia. 22 subpellicular microtubules form a scaffold that defines the cell shape of T. gondii. Its cytoskeleton also includes an intricate apical structure consisting of the conoid, two intraconoid microtubules, and two polar rings. The conoid is a 380-nm diameter motile organelle, consisting of fibers wound into a spiral like a compressed spring. FRAP analysis of transgenic T. gondii expressing YFP-α-tubulin reveals that the conoid fibers are assembled by rapid incorporation of tubulin subunits during early, but not late, stages of cell division. Electron microscopic analysis shows that in the mature conoid, tubulin is arranged into a novel polymer form that is quite different from typical microtubules.
Mechanical Properties and Constitutive Behavior of as-Cast High Strength AA7xxx Alloys below Solidus Temperature

High strength AA7xxx alloys have been extensively used in aerospace industry. However, experience in cast house demonstrates that such alloys are particularly prone to cold cracking and ingot distortion during direct chill (DC) casting, which leads to big amount of scraping or even total rejection of ingot. Those stress induced defects are greatly affected by casting process, and fine tuning of casting parameters is critical to improve the quality and productivity. Recently, numerical modeling has been widely utilized in direct-chill casting for the purpose of thermal mechanical analysis and cracking evaluation. Parameter optimization has become convenient. The model needs the input of constitutive properties of the AA7xxx alloys, of which the microstructure should resemble those formed during DC casting. Unfortunately, these constitutive data are not yet available in literatures. In this study, the mechanical properties of two high strength AA7xxx alloys were measured at temperature range from solidus down to room temperature through on-cooling compressive tests and the effect of strain rate on stress-strain behavior was also studied. The results were fitted to extended Ludwik equation which has been proved to be able to properly describe the stress-strain response of aluminum alloys. The results of the current work shed some light on the evolution of mechanical behavior of high strength AA7xxx alloys during cooling from high temperature.
Venture Capital and Other Private Equity: A Survey

We review the theory and evidence on venture capital (VC) and other private equity: why professional private equity exists, what private equity managers do with their portfolio companies, what returns they earn, who earns more and why, what determines the design of contracts signed between (i) private equity managers and their portfolio companies and (ii) private equity managers and their investors (limited partners), and how/whether these contractual designs affect outcomes. Findings highlight the importance of private ownership, and information asymmetry and illiquidity associated with it, as a key explanatory factor of what makes private equity different from other asset classes.
[Refractive error and the intraocular pressure: findings in the Chinese eyes].

PURPOSE To analysis the correlation between the refractive error and the intraocular pressure. METHODS The IOP was measured in 142 eyes with noncontact tonometer. The refractive error were determined with an autorefractometer(TOPCON-7100). RESULTS The analysis of variance showed that IOP of medium myopia is the highest, and a significant IOP difference between medium myopia and severe myopia, and IOP of patients less than 19yrs is significantly higher than patients more than 30 yrs; and there is also no significant influence of gender on patients' IOP, mean IOP(13.04 +/- 2.97) mmHg. CONCLUSION These results suggest that when medium myopia IOP is relatively higher, or when a young patient less than 19 whose IOP is relatively higher than usual, that may mean the eye is under an unstable situation.
A global assessment of the social and conservation outcomes of protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) are a key strategy for protecting biological resources, but they vary considerably in their effectiveness and are frequently reported as having negative impacts on local people. This has contributed to a divisive and unresolved debate concerning the compatibility of environmental and socioeconomic development goals. Elucidating the relationship between positive and negative social impacts and conservation outcomes of PAs is key for the development of more effective and socially just conservation. We conducted a global meta‐analysis on 165 PAs using data from 171 published studies. We assessed how PAs affect the well‐being of local people, the factors associated with these impacts, and crucially the relationship between PAs’ conservation and socioeconomic outcomes. Protected areas associated with positive socioeconomic outcomes were more likely to report positive conservation outcomes. Positive conservation and socioeconomic outcomes were more likely to occur when PAs adopted comanagement regimes, empowered local people, reduced economic inequalities, and maintained cultural and livelihood benefits. Whereas the strictest regimes of PA management attempted to exclude anthropogenic influences to achieve biological conservation objectives, PAs that explicitly integrated local people as stakeholders tended to be more effective at achieving joint biological conservation and socioeconomic development outcomes. Strict protection may be needed in some circumstances, yet our results demonstrate that conservation and development objectives can be synergistic and highlight management strategies that increase the probability of maximizing both conservation performance and development outcomes of PAs.
Horizontal Transmission of Metarhizium anisopliae in Fruit Flies and Effect of Fungal Infection on Egg Laying and Fertility

Fly-to-fly transmission of conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae and the effect of fungal infection on the reproductive potential of females surviving infection were investigated in three fruit fly species, Ceratitis cosyra, C. fasciventris, and C. capitata. The number of conidia picked up by a single fruit fly was determined in C. cosyra. The initial uptake (Day 0) of conidia by a single fly was approx. 1.1 × 106 conidia after exposure to the treated substrate. However, the number of conidia dropped from 7.2 × 105 to 4.1 × 105 conidia after 2 and 8 h post-exposure, respectively. The number of conidia picked up by a single fungus-treated fly (“donor”) varied between 3.8 × 105 and 1.0 × 106 in the three fruit fly species, resulting in 100% mortality 5–6 days post-exposure. When fungus-free flies of both sexes (“recipient” flies) were allowed to mate with “donor” flies, the number of conidia picked up by a single fly varied between 1.0 × 105 and 2.5 × 105, resulting in a mortality of 83–100% in C. capitata, 72–85% in C. cosyra and 71–93% in C. fasciventris 10–15 days post-inoculation. There was an effect of fungal infection on female egg laying in the three species of fruit flies as control flies laid more eggs than fungus-treated females. The percentage reduction in fecundity in flies infected with M. anisopliae was 82, 73 and 37% in C. capitata, C. fasciventris and C. cosyra, respectively. The results are discussed with regard to application in autodissemination techniques.
Region-Based Multimodal Image Fusion Using ICA Bases

In this paper, we present a novel multimodal image fusion algorithm in the independent component analysis (ICA) domain. Region-based fusion of ICA coefficients is implemented, where segmentation is performed in the spatial domain and ICA coefficients from separate regions are fused separately. The ICA coefficients from given regions are consequently weighted using the Piella fusion metric in order to maximize the quality of the fused image. The proposed method exhibits significantly higher performance than the basic ICA algorithm and also shows improvement over other state-of-the-art algorithms
Establishment of stable cell lines of Drosophila germ-line stem cells

Each Drosophila ovariole has three independent sets of stem cells: germ-line stem cells (GSCs) and escort stem cells, located at the anterior tip of the germarium, and somatic stem cells (SSCs), located adjacent to the newly formed 16-cell cysts. Decapentaplegic (Dpp) is required to maintain the anterior stem cells, whereas Hedgehog is required for maintenance and cell division of the SCCs. In an effort to establish a new in vitro system to analyze intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating the division and differentiation of GSCs of Drosophila, we tested various culture conditions for growing GSCs, derived from bag of marbles (bam) mutant ovaries. We have shown that bam− GSCs can be maintained and promoted to divide in vitro in media containing Dpp. These cells retain the morphological features of GSCs, i.e., expression of Vasa and Nanos and spectrosomes, even after several months of culture. Somatic cells are induced to grow in culture by the presence of sonic Hedgehog. The somatic cells produce Dpp. GSCs associate with the somatic cells via DE-cadherin, features that are also prominent at the niche of a normal germarium. Finally, we have established stable cell cultures consisting of GSCs and sheets of somatic cells, which are dependent on the addition of fly extract. A somatic cell line, lacking GSCs, has also been established. These cells are thought to be descendants of SCCs. Our in vitro system may provide the opportunity to manipulate GSCs genetically and to analyze the interaction of germ-line stem cells and soma.
An Exploratory Study of Field Failures

Field failures, that is, failures caused by faults that escape the testing phase leading to failures in the field, are unavoidable. Improving verification and validation activities before deployment can identify and timely remove many but not all faults, and users may still experience a number of annoying problems while using their software systems.This paper investigates the nature of field failures, to understand to what extent further improving in-house verification and validation activities can reduce the number of failures in the field, and frames the need of new approaches that operate in the field.We report the results of the analysis of the bug reports of five applications belonging to three different ecosystems, propose a taxonomy of field failures, and discuss the reasons why failures belonging to the identified classes cannot be detected at design time but shall be addressed at runtime. We observe that many faults (70%) are intrinsically hard to detect at design-time
Phylogenetic Profiling: How Much Input Data Is Enough?

Phylogenetic profiling is a well-established approach for predicting gene function based on patterns of gene presence and absence across species. Much of the recent developments have focused on methodological improvements, but relatively little is known about the effect of input data size on the quality of predictions. In this work, we ask: how many genomes and functional annotations need to be considered for phylogenetic profiling to be effective? Phylogenetic profiling generally benefits from an increased amount of input data. However, by decomposing this improvement in predictive accuracy in terms of the contribution of additional genomes and of additional annotations, we observed diminishing returns in adding more than ∼100 genomes, whereas increasing the number of annotations remained strongly beneficial throughout. We also observed that maximising phylogenetic diversity within a clade of interest improves predictive accuracy, but the effect is small compared to changes in the number of genomes under comparison. Finally, we show that these findings are supported in light of the Open World Assumption, which posits that functional annotation databases are inherently incomplete. All the tools and data used in this work are available for reuse from http://lab.dessimoz. org/14_phylprof. Scripts used to analyse the data are available on request from the authors.
Inferring BGP blackholing activity in the internet

The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) has been used for decades as the de facto protocol to exchange reachability information among networks in the Internet. However, little is known about how this protocol is used to restrict reachability to selected destinations, e.g., that are under attack. While such a feature, BGP blackholing, has been available for some time, we lack a systematic study of its Internet-wide adoption, practices, and network efficacy, as well as the profile of blackholed destinations. In this paper, we develop and evaluate a methodology to automatically detect BGP blackholing activity in the wild. We apply our method to both public and private BGP datasets. We find that hundreds of networks, including large transit providers, as well as about 50 Internet exchange points (IXPs) offer blackholing service to their customers, peers, and members. Between 2014--2017, the number of blackholed prefixes increased by a factor of 6, peaking at 5K concurrently blackholed prefixes by up to 400 Autonomous Systems. We assess the effect of blackholing on the data plane using both targeted active measurements as well as passive datasets, finding that blackholing is indeed highly effective in dropping traffic before it reaches its destination, though it also discards legitimate traffic. We augment our findings with an analysis of the target IP addresses of blackholing. Our tools and insights are relevant for operators considering offering or using BGP blackholing services as well as for researchers studying DDoS mitigation in the Internet.
Endurance training changes in lipolytic responsiveness of obese adipose tissue.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise training on the lipolytic response of adipose tissue in obese subjects. Thirteen men (body mass index = 36.9 ± 1.3 kg/m2) were submitted to aerobic physical training on a cycloergometer (30-45 min, 4 days a wk) for 3 mo. Adipocyte sensitivity to the action of catecholamines and insulin was studied in vitro before and after training. Training induced a decrease in the percentage of fat mass ( P < 0.05) without changing the body weight. Basal lipolysis and hormone-sensitive lipase activity were significantly decreased after training ( P < 0.05). The lipolytic effects of epinephrine, isoprenaline (β-adrenoceptor agonist), and dobutamine (β1-adrenoceptor agonist) were significantly increased ( P < 0.05) but not those of procaterol (β2-adrenoceptor agonist). The antilipolytic effects of α2-adrenoceptor and insulin were significantly decreased ( P < 0.05). Lipolysis stimulation by agents acting at the postreceptor level was unchanged after training. In conclusion, aerobic physical training in obese male subjects modifies adipose tissue lipolysis through an enhancement of β-adrenergic response and a concomitant blunting of adipocyte antilipolytic activity.
Hardness Results for Homology Localization

We address the problem of localizing homology classes, namely, finding the cycle representing a given class with the most concise geometric measure. We study the problem with different measures: volume, diameter and radius.For volume, that is, the 1-norm of a cycle, two main results are presented. First, we prove that the problem is NP-hard to approximate within any constant factor. Second, we prove that for homology of dimension two or higher, the problem is NP-hard to approximate even when the Betti number is O(1). The latter result leads to the inapproximability of the problem of computing the nonbounding cycle with the smallest volume and computing cycles representing a homology basis with the minimal total volume.As for the other two measures defined by pairwise geodesic distance, diameter and radius, we show that the localization problem is NP-hard for diameter but is polynomial for radius.Our work is restricted to homology over the ℤ2 field. Results over other fields have been studied recently by Dey et al.: In STOC, pp. 221–230 (2010).