Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crevicular fluid biomarkers and periodontal disease progression.

AIM Assess the ability of a panel of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) biomarkers as predictors of periodontal disease progression (PDP). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, 100 individuals participated in a 12-month longitudinal investigation and were categorized into four groups according to their periodontal status. GCF, clinical parameters and saliva were collected bi-monthly. Subgingival plaque and serum were collected bi-annually. For 6 months, no periodontal treatment was provided. At 6 months, patients received periodontal therapy and continued participation from 6 to 12 months. GCF samples were analysed by ELISA for MMP-8, MMP-9, Osteoprotegerin, C-reactive Protein and IL-1β. Differences in median levels of GCF biomarkers were compared between stable and progressing participants using Wilcoxon Rank Sum test (p = 0.05). Clustering algorithm was used to evaluate the ability of oral biomarkers to classify patients as either stable or progressing. RESULTS Eighty-three individuals completed the 6-month monitoring phase. With the exception of GCF C-reactive protein, all biomarkers were significantly higher in the PDP group compared to stable patients. Clustering analysis showed highest sensitivity levels when biofilm pathogens and GCF biomarkers were combined with clinical measures, 74% (95% CI = 61, 86). CONCLUSIONS Signature of GCF fluid-derived biomarkers combined with pathogens and clinical measures provides a sensitive measure for discrimination of PDP (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00277745).
Effect of inclusion of Myristica fragrans on methane production, rumen fermentation parameters and methanogens population -

Aim: The present study was done to evaluate the effect of Myristica fragrans fruit active compounds addition on methane production in vitro. Materials and Methods: Methanolic extract of Myristica fragrans fruit powder was prepared and checked for its inhibitory action on methane production in diet containing roughage 50 percent and concentrate 50 percent respectively. Methane production was estimated by Gas Chromatography. Results: It has been shown that supplementation of Myristica fragrans reduces the methane production up to 48 percent as compared to control diet without supplementation of Myristica fragrans. Similarly real time quantification of mcr-A gene also shown the significant (P<0.05) reduction in the number of methanogens. Myristica fragrans appeared to reduce methane production by inhibiting methanogens directly. However, digestibility of dry matter also decreased due to myristica fragrans supplementation in total mixed diet, which may affect the production of volatile acid production. Conclusion: The active compounds extracted in methanol of Myristica fragrans emerged out to be a useful natural plant source for the inhibition of methanogenesis and its supplementation in animal feed may proves to be an effective measure to control methane emission from ruminants.
Activation of Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus during Response Inhibition across Response Modalities

The go/no-go task, which effectively taps the ability to inhibit prepotent response tendency, has consistently activated the lateral prefrontal cortex, particularly the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG). On the other hand, rIFG activation has rarely been reported in the antisaccade task, seemingly an oculomotor version of the manual go/no-go task. One possible explanation for the variable IFG activation is the modality difference of the two tasks: The go/no-go task is performed manually, whereas the antisaccade task is performed in the oculomotor modality. Another explanation is that these two tasks have different task structures that require different cognitive processes: The traditional antisaccade task requires (i) configuration of a preparatory set prior to antisaccade execution and (ii) response inhibition at the time of antisaccade execution, whereas the go/no-go task requires heightened response inhibition under a minimal preparatory set. To test these possibilities, the traditional antisaccade task was modified in the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study such that it required heightened response inhibition at the time of antisaccade execution under a minimal preparatory set. Prominent activation related to response inhibition was observed in multiple frontoparietal regions, including the rIFG. Moreover, meta-analyses revealed that the rIFG activation in the present study was observed in the go/no-go tasks but not in the traditional antisaccade task, indicating that the rIFG activation was sensitive to the task structure difference, but not to the response modality difference. These results suggest that the rIFG is part of a network active during response inhibition across different response modalities.
Radio-quiet Red Quasars

We have performed a successful targeted search for a population of red, radio-quiet, and probably absorbed quasars. Radio-quiet, optically red ROSAT PSPC X-ray sources brighter than 1 × 10-13 ergs cm-2 s-1 were searched for red (O-E > 2.0, O ≤ 20) counterparts in the Automated Plate-measuring Machine catalog of Palomar Sky Survey objects. Of 45 objects for which we obtained adequate follow-up optical spectroscopy, we have found seven red quasars, five with αopt < -2. Their redshifts range from 0.06 to 0.31, and their luminosities are moderate, lying on the quasar/Seyfert boundary. These red quasars strengthen the case for a radio-quiet population that is the counterpart of the radio-loud red quasars found by Smith & Spinrad and Webster et al. Unidentified, fainter sources could increase the fraction of red quasars by up to a factor of 7. For the red quasars found here, the Hα/Hβ ratios, optical slope, and X-ray colors all indicate that they are absorbed by AV~2 rather than having intrinsically red spectra. This amount of obscuration seems to hide ~1%-7% of quasars at a given observed flux or ~3%-20% when their fluxes are corrected to their intrinsic values. This size of population is consistent with earlier limits, with predicted values from Comastri et al., and is comparable with the rate found among radio-loud quasars. A large population of more heavily absorbed (AV=5), fainter quasars equal in size to the blue population could exist without violating existing upper limits, which is in accord with the Comastri et al. predictions.
Cross-diagnostic validity of the SF-36 physical functioning scale in patients with stroke, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a study using Rasch analysis.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate unidimensionality and differential item functioning of the SF-36 physical functioning scale (PF10) in patients with various neurological disorders. PATIENTS PATIENTS post-stroke (n = 198), with multiple sclerosis (n = 151) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 193) participated. METHODS Unidimensionality of the PF10 within the patient groups was investigated by performing a separate Rasch analysis for each group. Differential item functioning was investigated in a pooled Rasch analysis of the 3 groups. RESULTS Within each group, all items fitted the Rasch model, except the "bathing/dressing" item in the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis group. The pooled analysis showed inadequate fit to the Rasch model for one item ("walking several hundred metres"). Of the other 9 fitting items, 5 showed differential item functioning for stroke vs multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, while no differential item functioning was found between multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. CONCLUSION All items of the PF10, except one for the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis group, form a unidimensional scale, supporting the use of a sum score as a measure of physical functioning within these diagnostic groups. When comparing the data of patients after stroke, with that of patients with multiple sclerosis and/or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients, adjustments for differential item functioning are required.
Stabilities and interrelations of multiple species of human adenovirus type 5 early region 1 proteins in infected and transformed cells

Early region 1A (E1A) of human adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) produces two mRNAs coding for phosphoproteins of 289 and 243 residues (289R and 243R). Each of these products has been shown to migrate on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels as two major and two minor species. In the present study, the stabilities of E1A polypeptides, as well as those of some other early Ad5 proteins, were studied in infected KB cells that were pulse-labeled with [35S]methionine and then chased in the presence or absence of cycloheximide. The E1B 58,000- and 19,000-molecular-weight proteins (58K and 19K proteins; 496R and 176R) as well as the E2A 72K DNA-binding protein were relatively stable over the 4-h chase period; turnover was less than 30%. The E1A species were considerably more unstable, with an overall half-life of about 60 min. Interestingly, it was found that when cycloheximide was present during the chase, E1A proteins were much more stable, and the half-life increased to about 240 min. Analysis of the stabilities of individual E1A species indicated that the products of the 1.1-kilobase mRNA (289R) had half lives (about 55 min) somewhat shorter than those (about 90 min) of the 0.9-kilobase mRNA products (243R). In addition, the faster-migrating species produced from each mRNA (molecular weights, 48,500 and 45,000) had significantly shorter half-lives than did the slower-migrating species (52,000 and 50,000). In the presence of cycloheximide, the faster-migrating species were still quite short-lived, but the half-lives of the 52K and 50K species were considerably increased. An examination of the kinetics of turnover of the various E1A species suggested that the faster-migrating forms may be precursors to the slower-migrating ones. Somewhat similar stabilities were also found for the various E1A species in Ad5-transformed 293 cells.
HIV Drug Resistance Early Warning Indicators in Namibia for Public Health Action

Background HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) testing is not routinely available in many resource-limited settings, therefore antiretroviral therapy (ART) program and site factors known to be associated with emergence of HIVDR should be monitored to optimize the quality of patient care and minimize the emergence of preventable HIVDR. Methods In 2010, Namibia selected five World Health Organization Early Warning Indicators (EWIs) and scaled-up monitoring from 9 to 33 ART sites: ART prescribing practices, Patients lost to follow-up (LTFU) at 12 months, Patients switched to a second-line regimen at 12 months, On-time antiretroviral (ARV) drug pick-up, and ARV drug-supply continuity. Results Records allowed reporting on three of the five selected EWIs. 22 of 33 (67%) sites met the target of 100% initiated on appropriate first-line regimens. 17 of 33 (52%) sites met the target of ≤20% LTFU. 15 of 33 (45%) sites met the target of 0% switched to a second-line regimen. Conclusions EWI monitoring directly resulted in public health action which will optimize the quality of care, specifically the strengthening of ART record systems, engagement of ART sites, and operational research for improved adherence assessment and ART patient defaulter tracing.
Contextual information retrieval in research articles: Semantic publishing tools for the research community

In recent years, the dramatic increase in academic research publications has gained significant research attention. Research has been carried out exploring novel ways of providing information services using this research content. However, the task of extracting meaningful information from research documents remains a challenge. This paper presents our research work on developing intelligent information systems that exploit online article databases. We present in this paper, a linked data application which uses a new semantic publishing model for providing value added information services for the research community. The paper presents a conceptual framework for modelling contexts associated with sentences in research articles and discusses the Sentence Context Ontology, which is used to convert the information extracted from research documents into machine-understandable data. The paper reports supervised learning experiments carried out using conditional probabilistic models for achieving automatic context identification. The paper also describes a Semantic Web Application that provides various citation context based information services.
Sexual Niche Segregation and Gender-Specific Individual Specialisation in a Highly Dimorphic Marine Mammal

While sexual segregation is expected in highly dimorphic species, the local environment is a major factor driving the degree of resource partitioning within a population. Sexual and individual niche segregation was investigated in the Australian fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus), which is a benthic foraging species restricted to the shallow continental shelf region of south-eastern Australia. Tracking data and the isotopic values of plasma, red blood cells and whiskers were combined to document spatial and dietary niche segregation throughout the year. Tracking data indicated that, in winter, males and females overlapped in their foraging habitat. All individuals stayed within central Bass Strait, relatively close (< 220 km) to the breeding colony. Accordingly, both genders exhibited similar plasma and red cell δ13C values. However, males exhibited greater δ13C intra-individual variation along the length of their whisker than females. This suggests that males exploited a greater diversity of foraging habitats throughout the year than their female counterparts, which are restricted in their foraging grounds by the need to regularly return to the breeding colony to suckle their pup. The degree of dietary sexual segregation was also surprisingly low, both sexes exhibiting a great overlap in their δ15N values. Yet, males displayed higher δ15N values than females, suggesting they fed upon a higher proportion of higher trophic level prey. Given that males and females exploit different resources (mainly foraging habitats), the degree of individual specialisation might differ between the sexes. Higher degrees of individual specialisation would be expected in males which exploit a greater range of resources. However, comparable levels of inter-individual variation in δ15N whisker values were found in the sampled males and females, and, surprisingly, all males exhibited similar seasonal and inter-annual variation in their δ13C whisker values, suggesting they all followed the same general dispersion pattern throughout the year.
Comparison of Fractional Frequency Reuse Approaches in the OFDMA Cellular Downlink

Fractional frequency reuse (FFR) is an interference coordination technique well-suited to OFDMA based wireless networks wherein cells are partitioned into spatial regions with different frequency reuse factors. This work focuses on evaluating the two main types of FFR deployments: Strict FFR and Soft Frequency Reuse (SFR). Relevant metrics are discussed, including outage probability, network throughput, spectral efficiency, and average cell- edge user SINR. In addition to analytical expressions for outage probability, system simulations are used to compare Strict FFR and SFR with universal frequency reuse based on a typical OFDMA deployment and uniformly distributed users. Based on the analysis and numerical results, system design guidelines and a detailed picture of the tradeoffs associated with the FFR systems are presented, showing that Strict FFR provides the greatest overall network throughput and highest cell-edge user SINR, while SFR balances the requirements of interference reduction and resource efficiency.
Leaf diseases caused by Mycosphaerella species in Eucalyptus globulus plantations and nearby native forest in the Green Triangle Region of southern Australia

There are over 60 species of Mycosphaerella known from eucalypts, and several are serious pathogens of Eucalyptus globulus plantations in Australia and elsewhere, being associated with a syndrome called Mycosphaerella leaf disease. The Green Triangle region (south-west Victoria and south-eastern South Australia) is a major focus of the expansion of E. globulus in Australia, with over 125 000 ha planted since 1998. In this paper,wereport thefirst comprehensive survey for species of Mycosphaerella in this expanding estate and assess the damage from these species from 1999 to 2002. There was an increase in the incidence of Mycosphaerella leaf disease in these plantations during the survey period, and five species of Mycosphaerella were identified from E. globulus plantations in the region: M. cryptica, M. nubilosa, M. parva, M. tasmaniensis and M. aff. vespa. M. cryptica, M. nubilosa and M. parva were the most common. M. cryptica was also found in native forest in the region, as was Sonderhenia eucalyptorum (telemorph, M. swartii). Morphological and phylogenetic comparisons were made with previously described species and confusion over the taxonomy of some of these species is discussed.
HIV Infection and Viral Hepatitis in Drug Abusers

The epidemiology of HIV infection and viral hepatitis among injection drug users (IDUs) is changing in western countries; reductions in the epidemic of blood-borne infections, such as HIV infection, and viral hepatitis among drug users are probably related to the generaliza‐ tion of harm-reduction interventions and to the treatment of both HIV/AIDS and substance abuse. Opioid substitution therapy for the treatment of patients with heroin dependence, needle exchange programmes, access to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) and supervised injecting facilities, among other preventive interventions, have contributed to reduce the impact of the HIV epidemic among drug users.
Supplementary Material Cytosine Methylation Alters Dna Mechanical Properties

Supporting Methods MFA DNA-chip (bottom surface) The DNA-chip (see Fig. 1) has been assembled as described previously (1) except for some modifications. DNA oligomers 1, 2, and 3 were purchased HPLC grade from IBA GmbH (Göttingen, Germany) and Metabion GmbH (Martinsried, Germany). Oligonucleotides employed had the following sequences and modifications (methylations, mC represents 5-methylcytosine):
Motivators and Barriers to Participation of Ethnic Minority Families in a Family-Based HIV Prevention Program

Summary Involving low-income, ethnic minority families in lengthy HIV prevention programs can be challenging. Understanding the motivators and barriers to involvement may help researchers and practitioners design programs that can be used by populations most at risk for HIV exposure. The present study discusses motivators and barriers to involvement in the Collaborative HIV Prevention and Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP), using data from a sample of 118 families that participated at varying levels in the twelve sessions of the program. Most participants chose motivators that reflect their perceptions of individual and/or family needs (“CHAMP might help me, mine, and other families”), and of characteristics of the program, such as CHAMP staff were friendly, CHAMP was fun. Among barriers to involvement, respondents expressed concerns about confidentiality, and about being judged by program staff. Respondents also reported experiencing many stressful events in their families (e.g., death and violence in the family) that may have been barriers to their involvement. Knowing these motivators and barriers, researchers and practitioners can enhance involvement in HIV prevention programs.
An identity-based signature and its threshold version

We propose an identity (ID)-based signature from m-torsion groups of super-singular elliptic curves or hyper-elliptic curves. It is secure against existential forgery under adoptively chosen message and ID attack in the random oracle model. Due to the nice properties of m-torsion groups and Weil pairing, it turns out that the proposed scheme is simple, efficient and has the good property of addition. Based on this ID-based signature scheme, we propose an ID-based threshold signature scheme and show that it has the security properties of unforgeability and robustness.
Poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase in DNA damage‐response pathway: Implications for radiation oncology

Poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP) catalyzes the transfer of successive units of ADP‐ribose moiety from NAD+ covalently to itself and other nuclear acceptor proteins. PARP is a zinc finger‐containing protein, allowing the enzyme to bind to either double‐ or single‐strand DNA breaks without any apparent sequence preference. The catalytic activity of PARP is strictly dependent on the presence of strand breaks in DNA and is modulated by the level of automodification. Data from many studies show that PARP is involved in numerous biological functions, all of which are associated with the breaking and rejoining of DNA strands, and plays a pivotal role in DNA damage repair. Recent advances in apoptosis research identified PARP as one of the intracellular “death substrates” and demonstrated the involvement of polymerase in the execution of programmed cell death. This review summarizes the biological effects of PARP function that may have a potential for targeted sensitization of tumor cells to genotoxic agents and radiotherapy. Int. J. Cancer (Radiat. Oncol. Invest.) 90, 59–67 (2000). © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
FTVR in VR: Evaluation of 3D Perception With a Simulated Volumetric Fish-Tank Virtual Reality Display

Spherical fish tank virtual reality (FTVR) displays attempt to create a virtual "crystal ball" experience using head-tracked rendering. Almost all of these systems have omitted stereo cues, making them easy to build, but it is not clear how much this omission degrades the 3D experience. In this study, we evaluate performance and subjective effects of stereo on 3D perception and interaction tasks with a spherical FTVR display. To control for calibration error and tracking latency, we perform the evaluation on a simulated spherical display in VR. The results of our study provide a clear recommendation for the design and use of spherical FTVR displays: while omitting stereo may not be readily apparent for users, their performance will be significantly degraded (20% - 91% increase in median task time). Therefore, including stereo viewing in spherical displays is critical for use in FTVR.
The Infrared Array Camera Component of the Spitzer Space Telescope Extragalactic First Look Survey

We present Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) data and source catalogs from the Spitzer Space Telescope Extragalactic First Look Survey. The data were taken in four broad bands centered at nominal wavelengths of 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm. A set of mosaics and catalogs have been produced that are ≈80% complete and ≈99% reliable to their chosen flux density limits. The main field survey covers 3.8 deg2 and has flux density limits of 20, 25, 100, and 100 μJy at wavelengths of 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm, respectively. The deeper "verification" survey covers 0.25 deg2 with limits of 10, 10, 30, and 30 μJy, respectively. We also include deep data in the ELAIS-N1 field, which covers 0.041 deg2 with limits of 4, 3, 10, and 10 μJy, respectively, but with only two wavelength coverages at a given sky position. The final bandmerged catalogs contain 103,193 objects in the main field, 12,224 in the verification field, and 5239 in ELAIS-N1. Flux densities of high signal-to-noise objects are accurate to about 10%, and the residual systematic error in the absolute flux density scale is ~2%-3%. We have successfully extracted sources at source densities as high as 100,000 deg-2 in our deepest 3.6 and 4.5 μm data. The mosaics and source catalogs will be made available through the Spitzer Science Center archive and the Infrared Science Archive.