Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oral findings in DiGeorge syndrome: clinical features and histologic study of primary teeth.

OBJECTIVE For the purpose of supplementing the shortage of dental information about DiGeorge syndrome, we report two cases of the syndrome seen in Japanese boys. STUDY DESIGN Two cases were compared with respect to orofacial and dental findings; one was a case of complete DiGeorge syndrome and the other a case of partial DiGeorge syndrome. Extracted deciduous teeth from the two boys underwent histologic study. RESULTS Each patient showed systemic developmental delay, hypocalcemia, and slight mental retardation. In the orofacial area, hypertelorism, a short philtrum, thick and reflected lips, and hypoplasia of the nasopharynx were also observed. A dental examination showed delayed formation and eruption of permanent teeth, aplasia of the nasopharynx, and enamel hypoplasia along with enamel hypocalcification. Structural streaks with increased calcification were histologically detected in the deciduous tooth from the patient with complete DiGeorge syndrome. CONCLUSIONS Common characteristic orofacial and dental findings were noted in the two DiGeorge syndrome cases. Furthermore, histologic study of the deciduous tooth from the boy with complete DiGeorge syndrome suggests that there was some relationship between transient relative hypercalcemia and dentinal hypermineralized streaking of the tooth.
pH Dependence of Microbe Sterilization by Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides

ABSTRACT We recently described a family of cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) selected from a combinatorial library that exhibited potent, broad-spectrum activity at neutral pH and low ionic strength. To further delimit the utility and activity profiles of these peptides, we investigated the effects of solution conditions, such as pH and ionic strength, on the efficacy of the peptide antimicrobials against a panel of microorganisms. Peptide minimum sterilizing concentrations (MSCs) varied linearly with pH for each subtype within our family of CAMPs for all organisms tested. The peptides were much less effective against Gram-negative bacteria at high pH, consistent with a decrease in net positive charge on the peptides. A similar trend was observed for the fungus Candida albicans. Surprisingly, the opposite pH trend was observed with the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, an additive ionic strength effect was observed with increasing buffer strengths at identical pH values. The extreme difference in the observed pH behavior between Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms is attributed to the presence of native charged molecules in the much thicker peptidoglycan layer of the Gram-positive organism. The novel species-specific effects of pH observed here have important implications for applications using CAMPs and for the design of novel CAMPs.
Electroporation, an alternative to biolistics for transfection of Bombyx mori embryos and larval tissues

Abstract There are few powerful techniques available to transfect insect tissues. We previously used biolistics to transfect Bombyx mori embryos, and larval and pupal tissues (Thomas J-L et al. 2001. Journal of Insect Science 1/9, Kravariti L et al. 2001. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 31: 473–479). As the main limitation was the irregularity in results we explored electroporation as an alternative technique by adapting techniques used for chicken embryos to B. mori embryos. By injecting the DNA solution into the hemocoel of late embryos that were finishing organogenesis, we expressed marker genes in numerous tissues following electroporation. With some adaptation of the method this was also achieved for early embryos lacking a hemocoel. Some larval tissues were also transfected. During these technical studies we found that optimizing parameters such as electrical voltage, number of pulses and their frequency, and conductivity of the buffer was important. These results confirmed that electroporation is a reliable technique for transfecting B. mori tissues.
Oral Administration of Royal Jelly Restores Tear Secretion Capacity in Rat Blink-Suppressed Dry Eye Model by Modulating Lacrimal Gland Function

Tears are secreted from the lacrimal gland (LG), a dysfunction in which induces dry eye, resulting in ocular discomfort and visual impairment. Honey bee products are used as a nutritional source in daily life and medicine; however, little is known about their effects on dry eye. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of honey bee products on tear secretion capacity in dry eye. We selected raw honey, propolis, royal jelly (RJ), pollen, or larva from commercially available honey bee products. Tear secretion capacity was evaluated following the oral administration of each honey bee product in a rat blink-suppressed dry eye model. Changes in tear secretion, LG ATP content, and LG mitochondrial levels were measured. RJ restored the tear secretion capacity and decrease in LG ATP content and mitochondrial levels to the largest extent. Royal jelly can be used as a preventative intervention for dry eye by managing tear secretion capacity in the LG.
Mobile Augmented Reality as an Orientation Aid: A Scavenger Hunt Prototype

Orientation in public environments is a critical skill for new arrivals, yet also one that is usually only learned gradually through trial and error. This paper suggests the use of pervasive augmented reality (AR) for the design of a serious game that teaches navigational skills in a public environment. Many AR scavenger hunt games confront players with new environments by default, however they rarely focus explicitly on teaching navigational skills. We propose a concept that utilises augmented reality techniques for increased immersion and motivation, while upholding the real-world sense of presence for an easy transfer of orientation skills to everyday life. For this purpose, we implemented a first prototypical serious game in the form of an AR scavenger hunt. A preliminary evaluation regarding its usability produced promising results. As such, the prototype constitutes a first proof of concept. In future iterations, it will be further developed as an adaptive AR serious game, and evaluated in respect to its efficacy in teaching orientation and navigation skills.
Endoscope Disinfection by Ortho-phthalaldehyde in a Clinical Setting: An Evaluation of Reprocessing Time and Costs Compared With Glutaraldehyde

Ortho-phthalaldehyde provides high-level disinfection in 12 minutes at room temperature (20°C). To determine whether the endoscopy unit at Massachusetts General Hospital could cost-effectively increase endoscope throughput and decrease delayed procedures while maintaining biocidal efficacy with heavy use, ortho-phthalaldehyde solution (0.55% w/v) was used for high-level disinfection in place of glutaraldehyde in the unit’s five automatic endoscope reprocessors. During this 38-day study, 1,839 endoscopes were processed in 1,201 cycles. Each machine ran an average of 80 disinfection cycles in each of three consecutive periods. The shorter disinfection time of ortho-phthalaldehyde (12 minutes) resulted in an average savings of 53 hours in disinfection time per study period for the five processors when compared with glutaraldehyde’s 20-minute disinfection time. Ortho-phthalaldehyde costs more per gallon than glutaraldehyde ($31.03 versus $13.20). This higher cost would be offset, however, by additional time savings resulting from the fact that compared with glutaraldehyde, ortho-phthalaldehyde is faster-acting and a mixing and activation step is not required. In addition, testing prior to each cycle verified that despite heavy use, ortho-phthalaldehyde solution remained efficacious, lasting through an average of 80 cycles, whereas glutaraldehyde only lasts for an average of 40 cycles. Test strips showed the concentration of ortho-phthalaldehyde in the reprocessors remained above the minimum effective concentration for the entire 14-day maximal reuse period. Additional microbiological efficacy testing of spent solution diluted to its minimum effective concentration demonstrated the solution remained tuberculocidal in tests with Mycobacterium bovis.
A reinforcement learning approach for cost- and energy-aware mobile data offloading

With rapid increases in demand for mobile data, mobile network operators are trying to expand wireless network capacity by deploying WiFi hotspots to offload their mobile traffic. However, these network-centric methods usually do not fulfill interests of mobile users (MUs). MUs consider many problems to decide whether to offload their traffic to a complementary WiFi network. In this paper, we study the WiFi offloading problem from MU's perspective by considering delay-tolerance of traffic, monetary cost, energy consumption as well as the availability of MU's mobility pattern. We first formulate the WiFi offloading problem as a finite-horizon discrete-time Markov decision process (FDTMDP) with known MU's mobility pattern and propose a dynamic programming based offloading algorithm. Since MU's mobility pattern may not be known in advance, we then propose a reinforcement learning based offloading algorithm, which can work well with unknown MU's mobility pattern. Extensive simulations are conducted to validate our proposed offloading algorithms.
The size distribution of Jupiter Family comet nuclei

We present an updated cumulative size distribution (CSD) for Jupiter Family comet (JFC) nuclei, including a rigorous assessment of the uncertainty on the slope of the CSD. The CSD is expressed as a power law, N(>rN) ∝r−qN, where rN is the radius of the nuclei and q is the slope. We include a large number of optical observations published by us and others since the comprehensive review in the Comets II book, and make use of an improved fitting method. We assess the uncertainty on the CSD due to all of the unknowns and uncertainties involved (photometric uncertainty, assumed phase function, albedo and shape of the nucleus) by means of Monte Carlo simulations. In order to do this we also briefly review the current measurements of these parameters for JFCs. Our final CSD has a slope q= 1.92 ± 0.20 for nuclei with radius rN≥ 1.25 km.
Road network detection from SPOT imagery for updating geographical information systems in the rural-urban fringe

Abstract Visual interpretation of high-resolution satellite data has been useful for mapping linear features, such as roads and updating land-use changes. However, it would be beneficial to map new road networks digitally from satellite data to update digital databases using semi-automated techniques. In this paper, an algorithm called Gradient Direction Profile Analysis (GDPA) is used to extract road networks digitally from SPOT High Resolution Visible (HRV) panchromatic data. The roads generated are compared with a visual interpretation of the SPOT HRV multispectral and panchromatic data. The technique is most effective in areas where road development is relatively recent. This is due to the spectral consistency of new road networks. As new road networks are those of most interest to the land manager, this is a useful technique for updating digital road network files within a geographical information system of urban areas.
A New Nonparametric Approach to Galaxy Morphological Classification

We present two new nonparametric methods for quantifying galaxy morphology: the relative distribution of the galaxy pixel flux values (the Gini coefficient or G) and the second-order moment of the brightest 20% of the galaxy's flux (M20). We test the robustness of G and M20 to decreasing signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and spatial resolution and find that both measures are reliable to within 10% for images with average S/N per pixel greater than 2 and resolutions better than 1000 and 500 pc, respectively. We have measured G and M20, as well as concentration (C), asymmetry (A), and clumpiness (S) in the rest-frame near-ultraviolet/optical wavelengths for 148 bright local "normal" Hubble-type galaxies (E–Sd) galaxies, 22 dwarf irregulars, and 73 0.05 < z < 0.25 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). We find that most local galaxies follow a tight sequence in G-M20-C, where early types have high G and C and low M20 and late-type spirals have lower G and C and higher M20. The majority of ULIRGs lie above the normal galaxy G-M20 sequence because of their high G and M20 values. Their high Gini coefficients arise from very bright nuclei, while the high second-order moments are produced by multiple nuclei and bright tidal tails. All of these features are signatures of recent and on-going mergers and interactions. We also find that in combination with A and S, G is more effective than C at distinguishing ULIRGs from the "normal" Hubble types. Finally, we measure the morphologies of 491.7 < z < 3.8 galaxies from HST NICMOS observations of the Hubble Deep Field North. We find that many of the z ∼ 2 galaxies possess G and A higher than expected from degraded images of local elliptical and spiral galaxies and have morphologies more like low-redshift ULIRGs.
Celiac Disease Autoimmunity and Hip Fracture Risk: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Study

The impact of celiac disease autoimmunity on bone health is unclear. We investigated the associations of seropositivity for tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) and endomysial antibodies (EMA) with incident hip fractures using data from a prospective cohort study, Mini‐Finland Health Survey. Baseline serum samples, taken in 1978–80, were tested for tTGA and EMA. Incident hip fractures up to the year 2011 were ascertained from a national hospitalization register. Associations between seropositivity and hip fractures were modeled using Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, vitamin D, gamma‐glutamyl transferase, smoking, and self‐rated health. Our analyses were based on 6919 men and women who had no record of celiac disease or hip fracture before the study baseline. A total of 382 individuals had a hip fracture during a median follow‐up of 30 years. Compared with the tTGA‐negative individuals (n = 6350), tTGA‐positive participants (n = 569; with hip fracture, n = 51) had a higher risk of hip fractures (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17, 2.14). The findings were similar for another tTGA test (n 200; with hip fracture, n = 26; HR = 2.23, 95% CI 1.49, 3.34). We found no evidence for an association between EMA positivity and hip fracture risk (HR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.34, 2.47; n = 74; with hip fracture, n = 4). In our prospective population‐based study of Finnish adults, seropositivity for tTGA was associated with an increased hip fracture risk. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Minimum weighted norm interpolation of seismic records

In seismic data processing, we often need to interpolate and extrapolate data at missing spatial locations. The reconstruction problem can be posed as an inverse problem where, from inadequate and incomplete data, we attempt to reconstruct the seismic wavefield at locations where measurements were not acquired.We propose a wavefield reconstruction scheme for spatially band‐limited signals. The method entails solving an inverse problem where a wavenumber‐domain regularization term is included. The regularization term constrains the solution to be spatially band‐limited and imposes a prior spectral shape. The numerical algorithm is quite efficient since the method of conjugate gradients in conjunction with fast matrix–vector multiplications, implemented via the fast Fourier transform (FFT), is adopted. The algorithm can be used to perform multidimensional reconstruction in any spatial domain.
Transepithelial iontophoresis corneal collagen cross-linking for progressive keratoconus: initial clinical outcomes.

PURPOSE To report initial clinical results of transepithelial corneal collagen cross-linking with iontophoresis (I-CXL). METHODS Twenty eyes of 20 patients diagnosed as having progressive keratoconus who underwent I-CXL were included in this prospective non-randomized clinical study. Corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), spherical equivalent and cylinder refraction, various corneal topography and Scheimpflug tomography parameters, aberrometry, anterior segment optical coherence tomography, and endothelial cell count were assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS CDVA improved significantly at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively (logMAR difference of -0.07 ± 0.01, -0.09 ± 0.03, and -0.12 ± 0.06, respectively; P < .05). Aberrometry remained stable during follow-up and a trend toward improvement was noted. All topographic parameters (including maximum keratometry) were stable during the follow-up, but exhibited a positive non-significant trend toward improvement. Minimum corneal thickness values were stable for up to 12 months postoperatively. None of the patients showed a progression of keratoconus. Endothelial cell counts did not change significantly (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS Preliminary results up to 1 year postoperatively indicate the efficacy of I-CXL in stabilizing the progression of this degenerative disease combined with significant improvement of CDVA. I-CXL, which spares the corneal epithelium, has the potential to become a valid alternative for halting the progression of keratoconus while reducing postoperative patient pain, risk of infection, and treatment time in select patients; however, the relative efficacy of this technique compared to standard epithelium-off techniques remains to be determined.
Unexpected Sensitivity of sst2 Antagonists to N-Terminal Radiometal Modifications

Chelated somatostatin agonists have been shown to be sensitive to N-terminal radiometal modifications, with Ga-DOTA agonists having significantly higher binding affinity than their Lu-, In-, and Y-DOTA correlates. Recently, somatostatin antagonists have been successfully developed as alternative tracers to agonists. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether chelated somatostatin antagonists are also sensitive to radiometal modifications and how. We have synthesized 3 different somatostatin antagonists, DOTA-p-NO2-Phe-c[d-Cys-Tyr-d-Aph(Cbm)-Lys-Thr-Cys]-d-Tyr-NH2, DOTA-Cpa-c[d-Cys-Aph(Hor)-d-Aph(Cbm)-Lys-Thr-Cys]-d-Tyr-NH2 (DOTA-JR11), and DOTA-p-Cl-Phe-c[d-Cys-Tyr-d-Aph(Cbm)-Lys-Thr-Cys]-d-Tyr-NH2, and added various radiometals including In(III), Y(III), Lu(III), Cu(II), and Ga(III). We also replaced DOTA with 1,4,7-triazacyclononane,1-glutaric acid-4,7-acetic acid (NODAGA) and added Ga(III). The binding affinity of somatostatin receptors 1 through 5 was evaluated in all cases. In all 3 resulting antagonists, the Ga-DOTA analogs were the lowest-affinity radioligands, with a somatostatin receptor 2 binding affinity up to 60 times lower than the respective Y-DOTA, Lu-DOTA, or In-DOTA compounds. Interestingly, however, substitution of DOTA by the NODAGA chelator was able to increase massively its binding affinity in contrast to the Ga-DOTA analog. The 3 NODAGA analogs are antagonists in functional tests. In vivo biodistribution studies comparing 68Ga-DOTATATE agonist with 68Ga-DOTA-JR11 and 68Ga-NODAGA-JR11 showed not only that the JR11 antagonist radioligands were superior to the agonist ligands but also that 68Ga-NODAGA-JR11 was the tracer of choice and preferable to 68Ga-DOTA-JR11 in transplantable HEK293-hsst2 tumors in mice. One may therefore generalize that somatostatin receptor 2 antagonists are sensitive to radiometal modifications and may preferably be coupled with a 68Ga-NODAGA chelator–radiometal complex.
EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL METABOLITES FROM MARINE MICROALGAE TETRASELMIS SUECICA USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY - MASS SPECTROMETRY (GC - MS) ANALYSIS

Objective: Marine natural products have been considered as one of the most promising sources of antimicrobial compounds in recent years. Marine microalgae Tetraselmis suecica (Kylin) was selected for the present antimicrobial investigation. Methods: The effects of pH, temperature and salinity were tested for the growth of microalgae. The antibacterial effect of different solvent extracts of marine microalgae Tetraselmis suecica against selected human pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella sp, Proteus sp. , Streptococcus pyogens, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus megaterium and Bacillus subtilis were investigated. The GC-MS analysis was done with standard specification to identify the active principle of bioactive compound. Results: The highest cell density was observed when the medium adjusted with 40ppt of salinity in pH of 9.0 at 250C during 9th day of incubation period. Methanol + chloroform (1:1) crude extract of Tetraselmis suecica was confirmed considerable activity against gram negative bacteria than gram positive human pathogen. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of unique chemical compounds like 1-ethyl butyl 3-hexyl hydroperoxide (MW: 100) and methyl heptanate (MW: 186) respectively for the crude extract of Tetraselmis suecica. Different fatty acids such as Methyl carprate, Methyl stearate, Decoic acid, Palmitic acid, Nonoic acid and Caprylic acid with antimicrobial activity and pharmaceutical importance were identified. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the Methanol + chloroform (1:1) extract of Tetraselmis suecica displayed appreciable antimicrobial activity and thus have great potential solvent to extract bioactive compounds from the natural sources for current clinical and pharmaceutical
Grounded theory in practice: issues and discussion for new qualitative researchers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify four common confusions in grounded theory (GT) use by demonstrating an example of the author's doctoral study into conceptualising higher education students' learning and knowledge sharing by exploring blogging phenomena. It seeks not only to present the author's personal experience and views, but also to shed light on the causes of the confusion for novice qualitative researchers.Design/methodology/approach – A review of literature on GT and the author's practical experience of undertaking an empirical study into the blogging phenomenon in LIS discipline form the approach to addressing the issue.Findings – The paper summarises four common issues that hinder inexperienced qualitative researchers when they undertake GT research: using GT as a methodology or method; how to use literature review; how to use coding strategy; and what is the generated theory.Practical implications – The paper provides practical suggestions of what matters when adopting GT appro.