Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caries risk assessment. A systematic review

Abstract Objective. To assess the ability of multivariate models and single factors to correctly identify future caries development in pre-school children and schoolchildren/adolescents. Study design. A systematic literature search for relevant papers was conducted with pre-determined inclusion criteria. Abstracts and full-text articles were assessed independently by two reviewers. The quality of studies was graded according to the QUADAS tool. The quality of evidence of models and single predictors was assessed using the GRADE approach. Results. Ninety original articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Seven studies had high quality, 35 moderate and the rest poor quality. The accuracy of multivariate models was higher for pre-school children than for schoolchildren/adolescents. However, the models had seldom been validated in independent populations, making their accuracy uncertain. Of the single predictors, baseline caries experience had moderate/good accuracy in pre-school children and limited accuracy in schoolchildren/adolescents. The period of highest risk for caries incidence in permanent teeth was the first few years after tooth eruption. In general, the quality of evidence was limited. Conclusions. Multivariate models and baseline caries prevalence performed better in pre-school children than in schoolchildren/adolescents. Baseline caries prevalence was the most accurate single predictor in all age groups. The heterogeneity of populations, models, outcome criteria, measures and reporting hampered the synthesis of results. There is a great need to standardize study design, outcome measures and reporting of data in studies on caries risk assessment. The accuracy of prediction models should be validated in at least one independent population.
PHYTOCHEMICAL AND CYTOTOXICITY INVESTIGATIONS OF SALVADORA PERSICA BARK EXTRACTS

Background/Aim: Salvadora persica is an evergreen shrub or small tree to 6-7m. Fruits have a sweet, agreeable, aromatic, slightly pungent and peppery taste. It has many biological activities such as antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and antifungal activities. This study aims to evaluate cytotoxic effect of Salvadora persica, meswak, (Salvadoraceae) extracts and isolate main compounds from the most effective extract on different human cell lines. Materials and Methods: Extracts from meswak sticks and bark, aqueous alcoholic (crude), petroleum ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts were tested for their cytotoxic activities on human hepatocellular carcinoma, breast, lung and colon carcinoma cell lines. Cell viability was assessed by the mitochondrial dependent reduction of yellow MTT (3-(4, 5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) to purple formazan. In addition, two triterpenes were isolated from the petroleum ether extract, most active extract, partitioned from aqueous alcoholic crude extract using thin layer and column chromatographic technique. Elucidation of the chemical structure of two triterpenes was established based on their spectroscopic data (MS, 1 HNMR, 13 CNMR& IR). Results: The petroleum ether extract is the most potent evaluated extract. It presented IC50=43.6 µg/ml against human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line-HepG2, IC50= 44.3 µg/ml against human breast carcinoma cell line-MCF7, 19.87 µg/ml against lung carcinoma cell line-A549 and 10.2 µg/ml against colon carcinoma cell line-HCT116, however the other extracts showed weak activities. Ursolic was more effective than oleanolic acid against HepG2, MCF7 and HCT116 (IC50= 26.32, 18.73 & 20.4µg/mL, respectively) while oleanolic was potent against A549 (IC50= 19.5µg/mL). Conclusion: petroleum ether extract and ursolic acid showed cytotoxic activity against all tested human cell lines. Petroleum ether extract was superior against HCT116 and A549 while ursolic acid was efficient against HepG2 and MCF7.
SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME OF 152 HIGH ORDER MULTIFETAL PREGNANCIES AFTER TRANSVAGINAL EMBRYO REDUCTION AND COMPARISON WITH NONREDUCED

Objective: We aimed to assess the safety of transvaginal route for multifetal pregnancy reduction (MPR) early in the first trimester. Design: Retrospective study Setting: Antalya IVF Patients: Hundred and fifty two high order multifetal pregnancies (HOMP) which occurred by assisted reproductive technology (ART) and underwent MPR constituted the study population and 130 primary dichorionic diamniotic ART twins constituted the control group. Interventions: All HOMPs were reduced to twins within 8th week of gestation. Embryo(s) with smaller crown-rump length or with weaker heart activity were preferred to be eliminated. A maximum volume of 2 ml of 2 mEq/ml KCl was injected into the fetal thorax until the cessation of fetal heart movements was observed. Main Outcome measures: The complete pregnancy loss rate Results: The complete pregnancy loss rate <24 weeks of gestation in MPR group and the control group was 6.6% and 6.9% respectively. When outcome parameters were also assessed in relation to the initial number of embryos; complete pregnancy loss rates, vanishing embryo rates, successful pregnancy rates, preterm delivery rates, severe preterm delivery rates, birth weight discordance rates were all similar for the MPR group and the control group. Only one loss out of 152 reduction cases occured within four weeks after MPR. Conclusions: In the present study,. transvaginal route with intrathoraric KCl injection seems to be a safe method for first trimester MPR. Due to its success, safety and possible less psychological burden, we believe that performing the MPR transvaginally at 8th weeks should be the preferred method in ART practice.
Parent-child relationships of boys in different offending trajectories: a developmental perspective.

BACKGROUND This study tested the theoretical assumption that transformations of parent-child relationships in late childhood and adolescence would differ for boys following different offending trajectories. METHODS Using longitudinal multiinformant data of 503 boys (ages 7-19), we conducted Growth Mixture Modeling to extract offending trajectories. Developmental changes in child reports of parent-child joint activities and relationship quality were examined using Latent Growth Curves. RESULTS Five offending trajectories were found: non-offenders, moderate childhood offenders, adolescent-limited offenders, serious childhood offenders, and serious persistent offenders. Non-offenders reported high and stable levels of relationship quality between age 10 and 16. Adolescent-limited offenders reported a similarly high relationship quality as non-offenders at ages 7 and 10, but a lower and decreasing relationship quality in adolescence. Compared with non-offenders, serious persistent offenders reported poorer parent-child relationship quality at all ages, and a decreasing relationship quality in adolescence. Serious persistent offenders and adolescent-limited offenders reported similar levels and changes in parent-child relationship quality in adolescence. Although serious persistent offenders reported fewer joint activities at age 10 and 13 than non-offenders, a similar linear decrease in joint activities in early to middle adolescence was found for boys in each trajectory. CONCLUSION Developmental changes in parent-child relationship quality differ for different types of offenders. This finding has scientific and practical implications.
CORRELATION OF THE SERUM LEVEL OF CARBAMAZEPINE WITHSEIZURE CONTROL AND ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS AMONGEPILEPTICS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

Title: Correlation of serum level of carbamazepine with seizure control and adverse drug reactions among epileptics in Ibadan, Nigeria. Background: Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder requiring long-term treatment. Seizure control requires adequate blood levels of anti-seizure drugs. Carbarmazepine is one of the most prescribed antiepileptic drugs in Nigeria. This study was carried out to investigate the correlation between serum levels of carbamazepine and seizure control and adverse drug reactions among epileptics in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, sixty-nine patients with confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy who had been on treatment with carbamazepine alone or in combination with phenytoin for at least one month were enrolled into the study and divided into two groups based on seizure control. Drug level in pre-dose (steady state) venous blood was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. Result: The mean serum concentration of carbamazepine (CBZ) and carbamazepine-epoxide (CBZ-EP) was 13.5±9.3ig/mL and 6.34±12.61ig/mL respectively. Patients with good seizure control had mean serum CBZ concentration of 12.7 ± 9.2ig/mL versus 15.02 ± 9.7ig/mL among patients with poor seizure control (P=0.33). The serum concentration of CBZ-EP in patients with good seizure control was 8.05 ± 15.2ig/mL while it was 3.11 ± 3.5ig/mL in the second group (P=0.122). Drowsiness was the commonest adverse drug reaction (26.1%) and it did not necessitate withdrawal of the drug. Conclusion The study showed that serum level of carbamazepine does not correlate with seizure control and adverse drug reactions.
Recent developments in microbial fuel cells: a review

This review presents microbial fuel cells (MFCs) that convert biochemical metabolic energy into electrical energy. Microbes can be fed with waste products rich in or ganic matter (domestic wastewater, lignocellulosi c biomass, brewery wastewater, starch processing wastewater, landfill leachates etc.) to generate electricity. MFCs can also be used for wastewater treatment, as biosensors and production of secondary fuels like hydrogen.
Early Identification of Reading Comprehension Difficulties

Most research on early identification of reading disabilities has focused on word reading problems and little attention has been given to reading comprehension difficulties. In this study, we investigated whether measures of language ability and/or response to language intervention in kindergarten uniquely predicted reading comprehension difficulties in third grade. A total of 366 children were administered a battery of screening measures at the beginning of kindergarten and progress monitoring probes across the school year. A subset of children also received a 26-week Tier 2 language intervention. Participants’ achievement in word reading was assessed at the end of second grade, and their performance in reading comprehension was measured as the end of third grade. Results showed that measures of language ability in kindergarten significantly added to the prediction of reading comprehension difficulties over and above kindergarten word reading predictors and direct measures of word reading in second grade. Response to language intervention also proved to be a unique predictor of reading comprehension outcomes. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for the early identification of reading disabilities.
Enzyme immunoassay using native envelope glycoprotein (gp160) for detection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 antibodies

An enzyme immunoassay using the purified native gp160 for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) antibody was developed. This assay was determined to be highly specific, since (i) 157 serum samples that were confirmed negative by Western blot (immunoblot) (WB) were negative, (ii) 41 serum samples from populations with medical conditions that might cause nonspecific assay reactivity were all negative, and (iii) all 15 serum samples that showed false-positive reactions in one or more commercial HIV-1 screening tests were negative. The assay gave 100% specificity with a randomly selected and unlinked panel of 1,000 serum samples from healthy blood donors. The sensitivity of the assay was assessed by testing 238 samples confirmed as HIV-1 antibody positive by a standardized WB assay. All 238 serum samples (100%) were reactive in the native gp160 assay. In a dilution panel of 14 weakly WB-positive serum samples, 7 samples reacted two-to fivefold more strongly in the gp160 assay than in a virus lysate-based assay; the remaining 7 samples gave comparable reactivities in the two tests. The reactivities of 13 of these 14 serum samples in the gp160 assay were higher than in a commercial enzyme immunoassay that uses a recombinant envelope protein as the antigen. The native gp160 assay was more sensitive to identify seroconversion. In a well-characterized panel of sequential blood samples from a seroconverter, the new assay detected antibodies at least one sample ahead of the other commercial assays tested.
Autophagy, Metabolism, and Cancer

Macroautophagy (autophagy hereafter) captures intracellular proteins and organelles and degrades them in lysosomes. The degradation breakdown products are released from lysosomes and recycled into metabolic and biosynthetic pathways. Basal autophagy provides protein and organelle quality control by eliminating damaged cellular components. Starvation-induced autophagy recycles intracellular components into metabolic pathways to sustain mitochondrial metabolic function and energy homeostasis. Recycling by autophagy is essential for yeast and mammals to survive starvation through intracellular nutrient scavenging. Autophagy suppresses degenerative diseases and has a context-dependent role in cancer. In some models, cancer initiation is suppressed by autophagy. By preventing the toxic accumulation of damaged protein and organelles, particularly mitochondria, autophagy limits oxidative stress, chronic tissue damage, and oncogenic signaling, which suppresses cancer initiation. This suggests a role for autophagy stimulation in cancer prevention, although the role of autophagy in the suppression of human cancer is unclear. In contrast, some cancers induce autophagy and are dependent on autophagy for survival. Much in the way that autophagy promotes survival in starvation, cancers can use autophagy-mediated recycling to maintain mitochondrial function and energy homeostasis to meet the elevated metabolic demand of growth and proliferation. Thus, autophagy inhibition may be beneficial for cancer therapy. Moreover, tumors are more autophagy-dependent than normal tissues, suggesting that there is a therapeutic window. Despite these insights, many important unanswered questions remain about the exact mechanisms of autophagy-mediated cancer suppression and promotion, how relevant these observations are to humans, and whether the autophagy pathway can be modulated therapeutically in cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 21(22); 5037–46. ©2015 AACR. See all articles in this CCR Focus section, “Cell Death and Cancer Therapy. ”
Toleranceby Mechanisms Distinct from Endotoxin Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activation Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Interferes with Toxoplasma gondii

We show in this study that Toxoplasma gondii infection induces rapid activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, and stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase MAPK, followed promptly by their deactivation in mouse macrophages. Nevertheless, when infected cells were subsequently subjected to LPS triggering, MAPK activation was severely defective, in particular in the case of p38 MAPK, which is required for LPS-triggered TNF- (cid:1) and IL-12 production. Similar effects occurred during endotoxin tolerance, but the phenomena were distinct. LPS pretriggering failed to activate the major p38 MAPK kinase, MAPK kinase 3/6. Toxoplasma infection, in contrast, resulted in sustained activation of this kinase. Furthermore, endotoxin pre-exposure blocked I (cid:2) B (cid:1) degradation upon subsequent LPS triggering, but this was not the case for Toxoplasma preinfection. Endotoxin-mediated down-regulation of the LPS receptor, Toll-like receptor 4, has been suggested as one possible mechanism contributing to tolerance, and we found in this study that LPS down-modulated Toll-like receptor 4 expression. In contrast, Toxoplasma infection induced up-regulation of this pattern recognition receptor. Our results show that T. gondii blocks LPS-triggered cytokine production in part through MAPK inactivation, and that this occurs through pathways distinct from endotoxin-induced tolerance. The Journal of Immunology, 2004, 172: 3003–3010.
The Doppelgänger, disintegration and death: a case report

Synopsis The phenomenon of a Doppelgänger (the double autoscopy; heautoscopy) and its resolution in a psychotic patient is presented. A comparison is made between this experience and the phenomenon as it is described and defined in the literature. The themes of death and disintegration so commonly associated with the Doppelgänger in folklore and literature are highlighted by this patient's experience.
Intradiscal Electrothermal Annuloplasty

Chou LH, Lew HL, Coelho PC, Slipman CW: Intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2005;84:538–549. Low back pain is a common problem, and although the majority of cases of low back pain resolve, a subset of patients will continue to have intractable pain despite appropriate conservative treatments. Intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty is a minimally invasive spinal procedure that has been proposed to treat provocation discography–proven internal disk disruption syndrome. The early uncontrolled and nonrandomized intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty literature suggests it may provide some relief in a small proportion of strictly defined patients; however, more recent randomized, placebo-controlled trials have not substantiated these initial findings. This article will review the published literature, indications, contraindications, safety, and efficacy of the intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty procedure for the treatment of chronic, intractable, axial back pain.
Definition of clinically distinct molecular subtypes in estrogen receptor-positive breast carcinomas through genomic grade.

PURPOSE A number of microarray studies have reported distinct molecular profiles of breast cancers (BC), such as basal-like, ErbB2-like, and two to three luminal-like subtypes. These were associated with different clinical outcomes. However, although the basal and the ErbB2 subtypes are repeatedly recognized, identification of estrogen receptor (ER) -positive subtypes has been inconsistent. Therefore, refinement of their molecular definition is needed. MATERIALS AND METHODS We have previously reported a gene expression grade index (GGI), which defines histologic grade based on gene expression profiles. Using this algorithm, we assigned ER-positive BC to either high-or low-genomic grade subgroups and compared these with previously reported ER-positive molecular classifications. As further validation, we classified 666 ER-positive samples into subtypes and assessed their clinical outcome. RESULTS Two ER-positive molecular subgroups (high and low genomic grade) could be defined using the GGI. Despite tracking a single biologic pathway, these were highly comparable to the previously described luminal A and B classification and significantly correlated to the risk groups produced using the 21-gene recurrence score. The two subtypes were associated with statistically distinct clinical outcome in both systemically untreated and tamoxifen-treated populations. CONCLUSION The use of genomic grade can identify two clinically distinct ER-positive molecular subtypes in a simple and highly reproducible manner across multiple data sets. This study emphasizes the important role of proliferation-related genes in predicting prognosis in ER-positive BC.
Exposure to a moderate intensity static magnetic field enhances the hypotensive effect of a calcium channel blocker in spontaneously hypertensive rats

We investigated the combined effects of a moderate intensity static magnetic field (SMF) and an L‐type voltage‐gated Ca2+ channel blocker, nicardipine in stroke‐resistant spontaneously hypertensive rats during the development of hypertension. Five‐week‐old male rats were exposed to SMF intensity up to 180 mT (Bmax) with a peak spatial gradient of 133 mT/mm for 14 weeks. Four experimental groups of 14 animals each were examined: (1) sham exposure with intraperitoneal (ip) saline injection (control); (2) SMF exposure with ip saline injection (SMF); (3) sham exposure with ip nicardipine injection (NIC); (4) SMF exposure with ip nicardipine injection (SMF + NIC). A disc‐shaped permanent magnet or a dummy magnet was implanted in the vicinity adjacent to the left carotid sinus baroreceptor region in the neck of each rat. Nicardipine (2 mg/kg ip) was administered three times a week for 14 weeks, and then 15 min after each injection, arterial blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), skin blood flow (SBF), skin blood velocity (SBV), plasma nitric oxide (NO) metabolites (NOx = NO 2− + NO 3− ), plasma catecholamine levels and behavioral parameters of a functional observational battery were monitored. The action of nicardipine significantly decreased BP, and increased HR, SBF, SBV, plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine in the NIC group compared with the control respective age‐matched group without changing plasma NOx levels. Neck exposure to SMF alone for 5–8 weeks significantly suppressed or retarded the development of hypertension together with increased BRS in SMF group. Furthermore, the exposure to SMF for 1–8 weeks significantly promoted the nicardipine‐induced BP decrease in the SMF + NIC group compared with the respective NIC group. Moreover, the SMF induced a significant increase in plasma NOx in the nicardipine‐induced hypotension. There were no significant differences in any of the physiological or behavioral parameters measured between the SMF + NIC and the NIC groups, nor between the SMF and the control groups. These results suggest that the SMF may enhance nicardipine‐induced hypotension by more effectively antagonizing the Ca2+ influx through the Ca2+ channels compared with the NIC treatment alone. Furthermore, the enhanced antihypertensive effects of the SMF on the nicardipine‐treated group appear to be partially related to the increased NOx. Theoretical considerations suggest that the applied SMF (Bmax 40 mT, 0 Hz) can be converted into a changing magnetic field (Bmax 30–40 mT, 5.7–6.5 Hz or 7.5–8.3 Hz) in the baroreceptor region by means of the carotid artery pulsation. Therefore, we propose that the moderate intensity changing magnetic field, i.e., the magnetic field modulated by the pulse rate, may influence the activity of baroreceptor and baroreflex function. Bioelectromagnetics © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Detection of millimetric deformation using a terrestrial laser scanner: experiment and application to a rockfall event

Abstract. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is one of the most promising surveying techniques for rockslope characterization and monitoring. Landslide and rockfall movements can be detected by means of comparison of sequential scans. One of the most pressing challenges of natural hazards is combined temporal and spatial prediction of rockfall. An outdoor experiment was performed to ascertain whether the TLS instrumental error is small enough to enable detection of precursory displacements of millimetric magnitude. This consists of a known displacement of three objects relative to a stable surface. Results show that millimetric changes cannot be detected by the analysis of the unprocessed datasets. Displacement measurement are improved considerably by applying Nearest Neighbour (NN) averaging, which reduces the error (1σ) up to a factor of 6. This technique was applied to displacements prior to the April 2007 rockfall event at Castellfollit de la Roca, Spain. The maximum precursory displacement measured was 45 mm, approximately 2.5 times the standard deviation of the model comparison, hampering the distinction between actual displacement and instrumental error using conventional methodologies. Encouragingly, the precursory displacement was clearly detected by applying the NN averaging method. These results show that millimetric displacements prior to failure can be detected using TLS.