Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Malignant Catarrhal Fever Viruses in Tennessee Ruminants

For decades, malignant catarrhal fever viruses (MCFV’s) have been reported to cause disease in cervids. Prevalence of MCFV’s in Tennessee deer populations has not been investigated previously, so blood and/or lymph node samples were obtained from wild white-tailed deer harvested in the 2006, 2007, and 2008 Tennessee hunting seasons, as well from captive deer at local mixed species animal parks. Strain specific real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine prevalence of infection with ovine herpesvirus-2, caprine herpesvirus-2, and malignant catarrhal fever virus white-tailed deer variant in individuals without apparent disease. Overall, prevalence of MCFV’s in Tennessee cervids was less than 3%. MCFV’s do not appear to be an issue of major concern for the health of Tennessee cervid populations, although these viruses are present in the deer population, and should be considered a health risk.
Antecedents of Strategic Human Resource Management Practices on Intangible Firm Performance: Analytical Investigation of SMEs

In spite of the growing style of literature on strategic Human Resource Management and the undeniable opinion connecting SHRM to organizational performance, empirical research has produced varied results. Addressing these challenges, this study examines the influence of strategic human resource management on intangible firm performance. Data collected from 250 SMEs in Lagos Nigeria was analyzed. Overall, the result showed that SHRM practices has a positive relationship with intangible performance except for knowledge sharing which show no relationship. The ﬁndings suggest that not all SHRM practices significantly influence firm performance. Implications of the results for managers as well as researchers were also discussed.
An Evaluation of the Model of Acceptance of E-Assessment Among Academics in Saudi Universities

E-assessment was introduced to overcome some of the limitations in paper-test assessment methods. Educational institutions have become more interested in adopting E-assessment, especially in classes with large numbers of students. This paper investigates the factors that influence Saudi academics to accept E-assessment, in order to give a clear picture for institutions before adopting E-assessment. A Model of Acceptance of E-assessment (MAE) has been developed [1] built from the existing theories and models of acceptance and use of information and communication technology (ICT) and other related studies. In previous stage of this study interviews with experts in Saudi Universities were conducted to refine the factors in MAE [2], and a questionnaire was then distributed to confirm the interview results. In the next stage of the study, another questionnaire was distributed to all academics in Saudi universities to evaluate the factors and find the most affecting factors on academics’ intention and to examine the relationships between these factors using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis. Finally, the SEM results were explored by focus group discussions, among ten Saudi academics. The results show that Attitude was the most affecting factor that had an impact on Saudi academics’ behavioural intention to accept E-assessment, followed by Subjective Norm, while Perceived Behavioural Control had no effect on their intention to accept E-assessment. Compatibility was found to have the most impact on Attitude, followed by Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness, while Awareness of E-assessment had no effect on Attitude. Superior Influence had a strong influence on Subjective Norm, and only Self-Efficacy had an impact on Perceived Behavioural Control. Age was also examined as a moderating factor that might affect the relationships between Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioural Control and Behavioural Intention. The findings revealed that age had a positive and direct effect on the relationship between Attitude and Behavioural Intention, whereas it was found to have a low influence, on the relationship of Subjective Norm and Behavioural Intention.
Calibration Method for IATS and Application in Multi-Target Monitoring Using Coded Targets

Abstract The technique of Image Assisted Total Stations (IATS) has been studied for over ten years and is composed of two major parts: one is the calibration procedure which combines the relationship between the camera system and the theodolite system; the other is the automatic target detection on the image by various methods of photogrammetry or computer vision. Several calibration methods have been developed, mostly using prototypes with an add-on camera rigidly mounted on the total station. However, these prototypes are not commercially available. This paper proposes a calibration method based on Leica MS50 which has two built-in cameras each with a resolution of 2560 × 1920 px: an overview camera and a telescope (on-axis) camera. Our work in this paper is based on the on-axis camera which uses the 30-times magnification of the telescope. The calibration consists of 7 parameters to estimate. We use coded targets, which are common tools in photogrammetry for orientation, to detect different targets in IATS images instead of prisms and traditional ATR functions. We test and verify the efficiency and stability of this monitoring method with multi-target.
Regulatory Effect of (cid:1)(cid:2) T Cells on IL-17 (cid:3) Uveitogenic T Cells

P URPOSE . To characterize the regulatory effect of (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells in the activation of IL-17 (cid:1) uveitogenic T cells. M ETHODS . The authors administered the (cid:1)(cid:2) TCR-speciﬁc antibody GL3 to B6 mice before or after antigen immunization and examined Th1- or Th17-polarized T-cell responses. The intensity of Th17 responses was also examined in responder T cells containing varying numbers of (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells. R ESULTS . GL3 treatment resulted in varying degrees of depletion of circulating (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells, depending on when the antibody was administered. The intensity of the (cid:3)(cid:4) TCR (cid:1) IL-17 (cid:1) , but not the (cid:3)(cid:4) TCR (cid:1) IFN- (cid:1) (cid:1) , IRBP-speciﬁc T-cell responses was correlated to the percentage of (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells in the responder T cells. Kinetic studies showed that early IL-17 (cid:1) T cells were primarily (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells, with a later gradual shift to (cid:3)(cid:4) T cells. A close association was seen between the intensity of the IL-17 (cid:1) autoreactive T-cell response and the percentage of (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells in the responder T cells. Although a modest increase in (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells among the responder T cells promoted the expansion of IL-17 (cid:1) (cid:3)(cid:4) TCR assessed the kinetics of the gener- ation of and IRBP-speciﬁc T cells Our that mice a single GL3 levels of T cells, whereas those that received the after immunization partial retention of T cells. The IL-17 autoreactive T-cell response varied signiﬁcantly between groups of responder T cells containing varying percentages of T cells. Although modest increases in the of T cells signiﬁcantly enhanced the of TCR IL-17 T cells, a high percentage of (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells the T cells associated with decreased activa- tion of TCR IL-17 T cells. Our results IL-17
Synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles during femtosecond laser ablation of gold in water

Femtosecond laser radiation has been used to ablate a gold target in pure deionized water to produce colloidal gold nanoparticles. We report evidence for two different mechanisms of material ablation in the liquid environment, whose relative contributions determine the size distribution of the produced particles. The first mechanism, associated with thermal-free femtosecond ablation, manifests itself at relatively low laser fluences F<400 J/cm2 and leads to very small (3–10 nm) and almost monodispersed gold colloids. The second one, attributed to the plasma-induced heating and ablation of the target, takes place at high fluences and gives rise to a much larger particle size and broad size distribution. The fabricated nanoparticles exhibit plasmon-related optical absorption peak and are of significance for biosensing applications.
Is BRAF V 600 E mutation a marker for central nodal metastasis in small papillary thyroid carcinoma ?

Utilizing BRAF mutation as a marker may reduce unnecessary prophylactic central neck dissection (pCND) in clinically nodal negative (cN0) neck for small (%2 cm) classical papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). We aimed to assess whether BRAF is a significant independent predictor of occult central nodal metastasis (CNM) and its contribution to the overall prediction after adjusting for other significant preoperative clinical factors in small PTC. Primary tumor tissue (paraffin-embedded) from 845 patients with small classical cN0 PTC who underwent pCND was tested for BRAF mutation. Clinicopathologic factors were compared between those with and without BRAF. BRAF was evaluated to see if it was an independent factor for CNM. Prediction scores were generated using logistic regression models and their predictability was measured by the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The prevalence of BRAF was 628/845 (74.3%) while the rate of CNM was 285/845 (33.7%). Male sex (odds ratio (OR): 2.68, 95% CI: 1.71–4.20), large tumor size (OR: 2.68, 95% CI: 1.80–4.00), multifocality (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.07–2.09), lymphovascular permeation (OR: 10.40, 95% CI: 5.18–20.88), and BRAF (OR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.10–2.46) were significant independent predictors of CNM, while coexisting Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.40–0.80) was an independent protective factor. The AUC for prediction score based on tumor size andmale sex was similar to that of prediction score based on tumor size, male sex, and BRAF status (0.68 vs 0.69, PZ0.60). Although BRAF was an independent predictor of CNM, knowing its status did not substantially improve the overall prediction. A simpler prediction score based on male sex and tumor size might be sufficient.
Comparison of Microshear Bond Strength and Morphological Changes Between Active and Passive Application of 4th Generation Etch-and-Rinse Etchant on Enamel

i DEDICATION.ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.iii LIST OF TABLES.vi LIST OF FIGURES.vii GLOSSARY.viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER II: BACKGROUND INFORMATION.3 DENTAL RESTORATION.3 ENAMEL AND DENTIN STRUCTURE.7 DENTAL ADHESIVE SYSTEMS . 11 CHAPTER III: REVIEW OF LITERATURE.13 FACTORS INFLUENCING ADHESIVES.13 ADHESIVE APPLICATION METHODS: ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE ETCH.17 PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THESIS RESEARCH . 22 CHAPTER IV: METHODS . 25 SAMPLE ACQUISTION.25 PART A: TOOTH PREPARATION FOR MICROSHEAR BOND TEST.26 MICRO-SHEAR BOND TESTING.28 BOND FAILURE MODE.30 BOND FAILURE SITE EXAMINATION WITH SEM.31 PART B: TOOTH PREPARTION FOR MORPHOLOGICAL EVALUATION.33 v PART C: TOOTH PREPARATION FOR RESIN INFILTRATION.36 EVALUATION OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS.39 DATA AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS.41 CHAPTER V: RESULTS . 42 MICROSHEAR BOND STRENGTH.42 SITE OF FAILURE.49 SURFACE ROUGHNESS.51 CHAPTER VI: DISCUSSION.53 CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSION.59 REFERENCES.60 APPENDIX A: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS.66 APPENDIX B: IMAGES OF ETCHED SURFACE.69 APPENDIX C: IMAGES OF RESIN INFILTRATION . 79
Therapeutic Efficacy of 1,927-nm Fractionated Thulium Laser Energy and Polydeoxyribonucleotide on Pattern Hair Loss

Results One week after the final treatment session, patients treated with the thulium laser and PDRN showed clinical improvements in mean hair counts (20.4 ± 15.7%; p=0.005) and mean hair thickness (53.1 ± 31.1%; p<0.001), compared to baseline values. Patients treated with mesotherapy and PDRN also showed clinical improvements in mean hair counts (9.7 ± 7.4%; p=0.007) and mean hair thickness (16.1 ± 25%; p>0.05). Further statistical analysis showed that combined treatment with the thulium laser and PDRN injections resulted in greater improvement in hair thickness (p=0.029) than combined application of mesotherapy and PDRN, but not in hair counts (p>0.05).
BENCHMARKING AUTHORSHIP ATTRIBUTION TECHNIQUES USING OVER A THOUSAND BOOKS BY FIFTY VICTORIAN ERA NOVELISTS

Gungor, Abdulmecit M.S., Purdue University, May 2018. Benchmarking Authorship Attribution Techniques Using Over a Thousand Books by Fifty Victorian Era Novelists. Major Professor: Murat Dundar. Authorship attribution (AA) is the process of identifying the author of a given text and from the machine learning perspective, it can be seen as a classification problem. In the literature, there are a lot of classification methods for which feature extraction techniques are conducted. In this thesis, we explore information retrieval techniques such as Word2Vec, paragraph2vec, and other useful feature selection and extraction techniques for a given text with different classifiers. We have performed experiments on novels that are extracted from GDELT database by using different features such as bag of words, n-grams or newly developed techniques like Word2Vec. To improve our success rate, we have combined some useful features some of which are diversity measure of text, bag of words, bigrams, specific words that are written differently between English and American authors. Support vector machine classifiers with nu-SVC type is observed to give best success rates on the stacked useful feature set. The main purpose of this work is to lay the foundations of feature extraction techniques in AA. These are lexical, character-level, syntactic, semantic, application specific features. We also have aimed to offer a new data resource for the author attribution research community and demonstrate how it can be used to extract features as in any kind of AA problem. The dataset we have introduced consists of works of Victorian era authors and the main feature extraction techniques are shown with exemplary code snippets for audiences in different knowledge domains. Feature extraction approaches and implementation with different classifiers are employed in
Enzymatic hydrolysis of biologically pretreated sorghum husk for bioethanol production

Biological pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass is considered to be energy-efficient and cost-effective. In the present study, sorghum husk was biologically pretreated with a white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium (MTCC 4955) under submerged static condition. Ligninolytic enzymes like lignin peroxidase (0.843 U/mL) and manganese peroxidase (0.389 U/mL) played an important role in the biological pretreatment of sorghum husk. Activities of different hydrolytic enzymes such as endoglucanase (57.25 U/mL), exoglucanase (4.76 U/mL), filter paperase (0.580 U/mL), glucoamylase (153.38 U/mL), and xylanase (88.14 U/mL) during biological pretreatment of sorghum husk by P. chrysosporium were evaluated. Enzymatic hydrolysis of untreated sorghum husk and biologically pretreated sorghum husk produced 20.07 and 103.0 mg/g reducing sugars, respectively. This result showed a significant increase in reducing sugar production in the biologically pretreated sorghum husk as compared to its untreated counterpart. Biologically pretreated sorghum husk hydrolysate was further fermented for 48 h using Saccharomyces cerevisiae (KCTC 7296), Pachysolen tannophilus (MTCC 1077), and their co-culture resulting in ethanol yields of 2.113, 1.095, and 2.348%, respectively. The surface characteristics of the substrate were evaluated after the delignification and hydrolysis, using FTIR, XRD, and SEM, confirming the effectiveness of the biological pretreatment process.
MicroRNA-300 plays as oncogene by promoting proliferation and reducing apoptosis of liver cancer cells by targeting MDC 1

Increasing reports suggested that deregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) might provide novel therapeutic targets for cancers. However, the expression and function of miR-300 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was still unknown. In our study, we found that the expression of miR-300 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines compared with paired adjacent non-tumor tissues and HCC cells using qRT-PCR. Further, gainand loss-of-function studies indicated that transfected with pMSCV-miR-300 greatly promoted cell proliferation and reduced cell apoptosis, while opposite results were found transfected with the miR-16 inhibitor. Moreover, we identified that mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein 1 (MDC1), a new tumor suppressor gene, was a direct target of miR-300 by luciferase assay. In addition, we found that miR-300 suppressed the expression of MDC1 in HCC cells. Therefore, our results identify an important role for miR-300 in HCC through regulating MDC1 expression.
Some Clinical, Hematological and Biochemical Alterations in Endurance Horses After 40km Endurance Race

Horses are exposed to chronic prolonged stress throughout their active life spans such as frequent races and daily training (Passantino et al., 2005). Long distance endurance races induce a severe stress on endurance horses during competitive ride. Exercise, in fact, induce variation in plasma biochemical constituents (Chanoit et al., 2002). So, the study of effect of race on clinical, hematological and biochemical parameters which could give useful information to make the race horse such as good managed and super athlete. This study was conducted on 28 thoroughbred endurance horse to determine the clinical, hematological and biochemical alterations that affect those animals before and after endurance race. Clinical examination including measuring of the rectal temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and capillary refill time of each horse was preformed just before and 5 min. after completing a 40 km race. Blood and serum samples were collected from each animal just before race and 5 minutes after end of the race. Whole blood samples were used for measuring of Hb, PCV, erythrocyic count, red blood cell indices (MCV, MCH, MCHC), total and differential leucocytic count , while serum samples were used for determination of total protein, albumin, globulin, glucose, BUN, creatinine, total bilirubin , AST, CK , GGT , Na , K , Ca and chloride. Our results showed a significant increase in all the clinical parameters and most of the hematological parameters (RBCs, PCV, Hb , WBCs) within 5 minutes post-race as compared with their levels before starting the race, while serum biochemical parameters showed a significant increase in all biochemical parameters except serum calcium and chloride levels which showed a significant decreases in their levels at 5 min. after race as compared with their levels before the race. It is important to notice that the majority of the parameters that were changed immediately after race were within the physiological range which mean that the well-prepared horses for such exercise do not need any additional mineral supplementation even in hot climatic conditions.
Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activities of Commercial Herb and Spice Extracts Against Selected Food-Borne Bacteria

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the antimicrobial properties of extracts of thirty types of commercial herbs and spices commonly used in the production of ready meals. Various extracts of spices were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas fluorescens using a microdilution broth method. Ethanol and hexane extracts of oregano, clove, sage, rosemary and celery showed relatively strong antimicrobial activities against all bacteria tested. In contrast, water extracts displayed little or no antimicrobial activity. Flow cytometry revealed that cell membrane structures were damaged by spice and herb active extracts, while analysis of intra- and extracellular ATP contents of bacteria indicated that an increase in extracellular ATP was partially due to intracellular leakage. Extract combinations assessed using the checkerboard method did not display synergistic effects, however, some additive effects were observed when oregano was combined with sage or rosemary against L. innocua or S. aureus. This study has demonstrated that some commercial spice extracts have antimicrobial activity against food-borne bacterial species and should be considered as potential antibacterial agents for addition to ready meals.
Is Knowledge of Science Associated with Higher Skepticism of Pseudoscientific Claims

live in a world that is increasingly shaped by and bathed in science, with most scientific progress occurring in the past century, and much of it in the past few decades. Yet, several authors have puzzled over the observation that modern societies are also characterized by a high degree of belief in a variety of pseudoscientific claims that have been thoroughly debunked or otherwise discarded by scientists (Anonymous, 2001; Ede, 2000).
Gold and Silver Nanoparticles: Synthesis Methods, Characterization Routes and Applications towards Drugs

Nanoparticles are widely used in the biotechnology and biomedical field. Their large surface area, remarkable physical properties, enhanced permeability, and retention effect make them as promising candidates in biomedical applications such as diagnosis and therapy. The gold and silver nanoparticles proved to be the safest for drug applications. The gold and silver nanoparticles are considered very important and interesting for several applications. This review provides a summary of Au and Ag nanoparticles synthesis, characterization, and applications. The review will focus on the use of nanoparticles in drug delivery and in determining and sensing of drugs in pharmaceuticals.
CLASSIFICATION OF RESTRAINTS IN THE OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM OF A COLD-FORMED PROFILE

This work describes the restraints in the optimization problem. This is an important and complicated issue because it requires taking into account a vast range of information related to the design and production. In order to describe the relations of a specific optimization problem, it is essential to adopt appropriate criteria and to collect information on all kinds of restraints, i.e. boundary conditions. The following paper verifies the various restraints and defines three subsets: design assumptions, technological limitations and standard conditions. The provided classification was made with reference to the analysis of the construction applicability of the newly patented cold-formed profile.
Influence of L-arginine on Cisplatin-Induced Hepatotoxicity in both normally Fed and Protein Malnourished Rats

Liver has great capacity to detoxify toxic substances and synthesized useful principles. Therefore, damage to the liver inflicted by hepatotoxic agents is of grave consequences. Protein malnutrition produces profound effects on biochemistry and physiology of the body as well as growth failure of most body organs. Cisplatin is a member of anticancer drugs that elicits many hepatotoxicity. The study was carried out to investigate the possible hepato-curative and hepato-protective effect of l-arginine either alone or in combination with silymarin against hepatotoxicity resulted from cisplatin (7.5 mg/kg i.p.) treatment in normally fed and protein malnourished male albino rats. All treatments were administered for 5 consecutive days (l-arginine, 200 mg/kg i.p.) and (silymarin, 100 mg/kg i.p.) after and before cisplatin injection. In the cisplatin group, the results revealed significant decrease in the body weight and increase in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, as well as liver body weight ratio. Antioxidant status was suppressed as manifested by significant decline in reduced glutathione content and total protein level along with decreased enzymatic activity of super oxide dismutase and increased lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, an effect that was enhanced by combination with protein malnutrition. Administration of l-arginine was effective in decreasing cisplatin hepatotoxicity that restore of anti-oxidant machinery and blunting of mounted malondialdehyde levels. Moreover, histological examination demonstrated that l-arginine significantly reduced cellular infiltration, congestion blood vessels, degenerative changes in hepatocytes and fatty changes. It is concluded that the combined administration of l-arginine with silymarin represents a promising strategy to restrain the cisplatin hepatotoxicity.