Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An In Vitro Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Probiotics Against Endodontic Pathogens

Background and aim: Despite scientific evidence that even some microorganisms may be useful, endodontic intervention has persisted to prioritize the removal of all microorganisms from the root canal system. Indeed, information regarding the significant role of probiotic microorganisms in endodontic treatment has been sparse. This study aimed to carry out an in vitro evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of probiotics against endodontic pathogens. Methods: The evaluation was carried out in three stages. In Stage 1, the agar cup well procedure was used to analyse the efficiency of probiotics microorganisms against Enterococcus faecalis bacteria and Candida albicans microorganisms in the planktonic stage. In Stage 2, a deferred antagonistic experiment was used to determine the activity of probiotic microorganisms against endodontic pathogens like E. faecalis and C. albicans in the planktonic phase. In Stage 3, biofilm phase evaluation of an intracanal probiotic microorganism carrier was done. The region of maximum inhibition was measured at the end of Stages 1 and 2. The antimicrobial activity was recognized when the dimension of the region of maximum inhibition was 10 mm or above. The colony-forming unit/millilitre was measured at the end of Stage 3. Results: There was marked antimicrobial activity of probiotic microorganisms against the pathogenic microorganisms E. faecalis as well as C. albicans in Stages 1 and 3, i.e., during the evaluation involving agar cup and evaluation at the biofilm stage. However, no antimicrobial activity of probiotic microorganisms was observed against pathogenic endodontic microorganisms in Stage 2, i.e., during evaluation involving the use of the deferred antagonistic technique. Conclusion: It can be concluded that probiotic therapy is a promising antibacterial treatment approach that should be further investigated. This study shows that probiotics can help effectively in endodontic treatment and that more in vitro as well as in vivo research is needed to fully appreciate the advantages of bacteriotherapy in the field of endodontics.
Expression of a PCSK9 Gain-of-Function Mutation in C57BL/6J Mice to Facilitate Angiotensin II-Induced AAAs

Angiotensin II (AngII) infusion in mice has been used widely to investigate mechanisms of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). To achieve a high incidence of AngII-induced AAAs, mice should be hypercholesterolemic. Therefore, either low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) or apolipoprotein E deficiency have been used as a hypercholesterolemic background. However, it is a time-consuming and expensive process to generate compound deficient strains that have either an LDLR or apolipoprotein E deficient background. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) facilitates the degradation of LDL receptors. Previous studies demonstrated profound increases of plasma cholesterol concentrations after a single intraperitoneal injection of adeno-associated viruses (AAV) expressing a gain-of-function mutation of mouse PCSK9 (AAV.mPCSK9D377Y) in C57BL/6J mice fed a Western diet. Of note, injection of AAV.mPCSK9D377Y augmented AngII-induced AAA formation in C57BL/6J mice that had comparable severity of AAAs to LDLR deficient mice. Thus, AAV.mPCSK9D377Y infection greatly expedites studies on a gene of interest using AngII-induced AAAs. This commentary provides a brief technical guide of this approach and discusses the pros and cons of its use in AAA research.
The Influence of Exposed Footings on Pier Scour Depths

Data compiled from past test efforts are combined in this article with the results of two new flume test studies. The combined material, presented graphically, suggests a method for adjusting values from pier scour depth equations to reflect the presence of caissons, symmetrical footings, and symmetrical pile caps. If the top surface of the caisson, footing, or pile cap is located at bed level, the structure serves to reduce scour. If the top surface of the structure is located above bed level and the structure protrudes into the flow, scour depth can be increased. When footings and pile caps become partially undercut by scour, there is a release and maximum scour depths decrease. Finally, graphical results demonstrate the pattern of scour depth reduction as structures such as pile caps are moved off the channel bed.
An Empirical Study on the Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Cosmetic Products

The cosmetics industry is one of the world's fast-growing sectors. With more and more new cosmetic companies joining the market this beauty industry is booming, resulting in a highly competitive environment. Furthermore, Consumers with rapidly shifting preferences and expectations have created challenges on the market, resulting in a shorter product ’s life cycle, impasse innumerable skin care giants and novice companies. As such, to stay and retain new customers, it is important for the cosmetic companies to continually grow their business activities. In order to achieve that, cosmetic companies need to understand and satisfy their customers by creating values and meet their demands. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of brand image, perceive product price and perceived quality on intention to purchase cosmetic products. A total of 139 questionnaires were collected from consumers in the Kelang Valley who have experienced purchasing and using cosmetic products. This finding might benefit cosmetics firms and marketers to better understand important factors underlying cosmetics purchase intention among Malaysian consumers in order to better compete in the global as well as the local market.
Antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of fresh and cured rhizomes of Curcuma longa and Etlingera philippinensis

The search for effective natural antioxidants has been increasing nowadays due to human health concern. Further investigation of the Zingiberaceae plants such as Etlingera philippinensis, a Philippine endemic plant, and Curcuma longa (turmeric) is key towards alleviating this concern. The present work aimed to provide fundamental information on the total antioxidant activity (TAA), total phenolic content (TPC), and curcumin content of the ethanolic extracts of the fresh and cured rhizomes of C. longa and E. philippinensis. Healthy and fresh rhizomes of E. philippinensis were collected from Kibawe, Bukidnon, while C. longa were from Musuan, Bukidnon, Philippines. TAA determination was done using phosphomolybdenum method, while TPC and curcumin content using spectrophotometric method. Results showed that the TAA of fresh and cured rhizomes of C. longa were significantly higher than those of fresh and cured rhizomes of E. philippinensis. The TPC of fresh and cured rhizomes of C. longa were significantly higher than those of fresh and cured rhizomes of E. philippinensis. Significantly higher curcumin content was also observed in the rhizomes of C. longa as compared to that in the fresh and cured rhizomes of E. philippinensis. Generally, the ethanolic extracts of the cured rhizomes of E. philippinensis and C. longa exhibited higher TAA, TPC, and curcumin content than the fresh one. TAA, TPC, and curcumin were significantly correlated with each other. It can thus be concluded that E. philippinensis could also be a source of valuable curcumin.
Research on a Surface Defect Detection Algorithm Based on MobileNet-SSD

This paper aims to achieve real-time and accurate detection of surface defects by using a deep learning method. For this purpose, the Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) network was adopted as the meta structure and combined with the base convolution neural network (CNN) MobileNet into the MobileNet-SSD. Then, a detection method for surface defects was proposed based on the MobileNet-SSD. Specifically, the structure of the SSD was optimized without sacrificing its accuracy, and the network structure and parameters were adjusted to streamline the detection model. The proposed method was applied to the detection of typical defects like breaches, dents, burrs and abrasions on the sealing surface of a container in the filling line. The results show that our method can automatically detect surface defects more accurately and rapidly than lightweight network methods and traditional machine learning methods. The research results shed new light on defect detection in actual industrial scenarios.
Analysis of bit error rate performance of active and passive RFID communication systems with diversity

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a wireless data communication technology, which uses Radio Frequency wave for communicating between the reader and the tag. Over the past few decades this massively expanding technology has drawn considerable attention in the microwave community due to its use in a diversity of application like communication, ticketing, transportation, tracking, inventory management, security, retail stock management, parking access control, toll collection, health-care etc. The technology is proved to be more effective than the usual barcode system due to its superior read range, faster data handling capacity, improved security and rugged features. Although there are numerous researches carried out on RFID communication systems during the last few decades, limitations on achieving considerable read range and better data handling capacity using ultra wide band (UWB) still exists. In this thesis paper, diversity in the tag and the reader receiver is applied for UWB to improve the read range of the RFID communication systems. Analysis is carried out with both fixed and variable transmit power using MPAM, MPSK, BPSK and QPSK modulation technique to find out the signal to noise ratio at the output of the diversity combiner. The analysis that has been evaluated from previous works, has resulted in the development of the expressions of the BER for both the active and the passive RFID communication systems. The performance results are evaluated in terms of BER, received power and read range for different receiver diversity and modulation order. Finally a comparative analysis of all the findings are done and a brief idea regarding possible future scopes for further developments of the system is proposed. The main contribution of this thesis involves finding better system performance of an RFID communication system in terms of read range and received power and evaluate the interrelationship between its different system parameters. The application of different environmental parameters in the average BER expression evaluated from the expression of conditional BER and the probability density function for different modulation technique has given new analytic findings. Besides the interrelationship between the received power, BER, read range, receiving antenna, transmit power, modulation order and spectral efficiency using such approach is new in the science community. The outcome of the thesis is expected to give an improved performance of active and passive RFID communication systems in detecting the tag at a comparatively longer distance and will be useful for the design of RFID communication systems in the near future.
Breast Milk MicroRNAs Related to Leptin and Adiponectin Function Can Be Modulated by Maternal Diet and Influence Offspring Phenotype in Rats

There is evidence of the role of milk components in the metabolic programming of offspring. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of a diet during lactation on breast milk leptin, adiponectin, and related miRNAs’ expression, and their impact on dams and their offspring. Dams were fed a control diet (controls) or a diet enriched with oleic acid, betaine, and leucine (TX) throughout lactation. A TX diet promoted higher leptin at lactation day (LD) five and lower adiponectin on LD15 (vs. controls) in milk, resulting in increased leptin to adiponectin (L/A) ratio throughout lactation. Moreover, TX diet reduced milk levels of miR-27a, miR-103, miR-200a, and miR-222. Concerning TX offspring, higher body fat was early observed and maintained into adult life, accompanied by higher HOMA-IR than controls at three months of age. Offspring body fat content in adulthood correlated positively with milk L/A ratio at LD15 and negatively with miRNAs modulated by the TX diet. In conclusion, maternal diet during lactation can modulate leptin and adiponectin interplay with miRNAs in milk, setting up the metabolic programming of the offspring. Better knowledge about the influence of diet on this process is necessary to promote a healthy adult life in the progeny.
Outside in: the relationship between indoor and outdoor particulate air quality during wildfire smoke events in western US cities

Previous research on the health and air quality impacts of wildfire smoke has largely focused on the impact of smoke on outdoor air quality; however, many people spend a majority of their time indoors. The quality of indoor air on smoke-impacted days is largely unknown. In this analysis, we use publicly available data from an existing large network of low-cost indoor and outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) monitors to quantify the relationship between indoor and outdoor particulate air quality on smoke-impacted days in 2020 across the western United States (US). We also investigate possible regional and socioeconomic trends in this relationship for regions surrounding six major cities in the western US. We find indoor PM2.5 concentrations are 82% or 4.2 µg m−3 (median across all western US indoor monitors for the year 2020; interquartile range, IQR: 2.0–7.2 µg m−3) higher on smoke-impacted days compared to smoke-free days. Indoor/outdoor PM2.5 ratios show variability by region, particularly on smoke-free days. However, we find the ratio of indoor/outdoor PM2.5 is less than 1 (i.e. indoor concentrations lower than outdoor) at nearly all indoor-outdoor monitor pairs on smoke-impacted days. Although typically lower than outdoor concentrations on smoke-impacted days, we find that on heavily smoke-impacted days (outdoor PM2.5 > 55 µg m−3), indoor PM2.5 concentrations can exceed the 35 µg m−3 24 h outdoor standard set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Further, total daily-mean indoor PM2.5 concentrations increase by 2.1 µg m−3 with every 10 µg m−3 increase in daily-mean outdoor PM2.5. (median of statistically significant linear regression slopes across all western US monitor pairs; IQR: 1.0–4.3 µg m−3) on smoke-impacted days. These results show that for indoor environments in the western US included in our analysis, remaining indoors during smoke events is currently an effective, but limited, strategy to reduce PM2.5 exposure.
For Girls Only? Conditioning the Mediated Relationship between Depression, Cognitive Impulsivity, and Delinquency on Sex

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine whether sex moderates the indirect effect of depression on delinquency via cognitive impulsivity and if so, whether the effect is stronger in girls than in boys. Participants for this study were 845 (406 boys, 439 girls) middle school students who completed surveys annually between the sixth and eighth grades. A moderated mediation analysis revealed that the depression → cognitive impulsivity → delinquency pathway was moderated by sex, whereas the direct effect of depression on delinquency was not. Simple mediation analyses performed on male and female youth separately revealed that the pathway running from depression to cognitive impulsivity to delinquency was significant only in girls. The results of this study demonstrate how mediation and moderation can be used to integrate concepts from different theories, which in the current case included Beck’s cognitive theory of depression and gendered pathways perspective from feminist criminology.
NUTRITIVE VALUE OF GUATEMALA GRASS (Tripsacum andersonii) HARVESTED AT THREE STAGES OF MATURITY IN GEDEO AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Background: Gedeo agroforestry is characterized as the integration of trees, crops and livestock on the same unit of land. Land scarcity is a common characteristic in the Gedeo agroforestry system. Hence integrating forage crops with the agroforestry system is one of the options to alleviate feed scarcity in the area. Objectives: To evaluate the biomass yield and nutritional value of Guatemala grass harvested at three stages of maturity: Early (120days), Mid (150days) and Late (180 days) cultivated at three different altitudes (high, medium and low). Methodology: A randomized complete block design with three replications was employed. Morphological parameters and chemical composition were measured at each stage of maturity and altitude. Result: The results showed that the number of leaves per plant (NL), plant height (PH), leaf length (LL) and dry matter yield (DMY) exhibited (p<0.05) an increasing trend as harvesting days were delayed. Contrarily the number of tillers (NT) showed (p<0.05) decreasing trend as harvesting dates advanced. The highest (p<0.05) CP (12.6±0.25%DM) was recorded at 120 days. The highest (p<0.05) NDF (61.27±0.07%DM) and ADF (42.3±0.91%DM) were recorded at 180 days of harvesting. The highest (p<0.05) IVDMD (56.7±1.97%) was recorded at 120 days of harvesting, whereas the least (p<0.05) (48.0±2.06) was at 180 days of harvesting. Generally, as the harvesting date advanced, CP and IVDMD showed a decreasing trend, whereas the fiber content (ADF, NDF and ADL) showed an increasing trend. Implication: Based on the morphological characteristics and dry matter yield, the best harvesting stage of Guatemala grass was at the late (180days) stage of maturity. On the other hand, considering the chemical composition and IVDMD, the best harvest stage was at the early (120days) stage of maturity. Conclusion: Cutting Guatemala grass at the proper growth stage is crucial for forage management. However, to fully utilize the potential of Guatemala grass, further studies on live animal experiments should be carried out.
Impact of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass on Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Dynamics in Leukocytes of Obese Women

The chronic low-grade inflammation widely associated with obesity can lead to a prooxidant status that triggers mitochondrial dysfunction. To date, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is considered the most effective strategy for obese patients. However, little is known about its molecular mechanisms. This interventional study aimed to investigate whether RYGB modulates oxidative stress, inflammation and mitochondrial dynamics in the leukocytes of 47 obese women at one year follow-up. We evaluated biochemical parameters and serum inflammatory cytokines -TNFα, IL6 and IL1β- to assess systemic status. Total superoxide production -dHe-, mitochondrial membrane potential -TMRM-, leucocyte protein expression of inflammation mediators -MCP1 and NF-kB-, antioxidant defence -GPX1-, mitochondrial regulation—PGC1α, TFAM, OXPHOS and MIEAP- and dynamics -MFN2, MNF1, OPA1, FIS1 and p-DRP1- were also determined. After RYGB, a significant reduction in superoxide and mitochondrial membrane potential was evident, while GPX1 content was significantly increased. Likewise, a marked upregulation of the transcription factors PGC1α and TFAM, complexes of the oxidative phosphorylation chain (I–V) and MIEAP and MFN1 was observed. We conclude that women undergoing RYGB benefit from an amelioration of their prooxidant and inflammatory status and an improvement in mitochondrial dynamics of their leukocytes, which is likely to have a positive effect on clinical outcome.
Economics of dry needling and botulinum toxin type A for treatment of post-stroke spasticity: a review

Stroke is one of the most common causes of disability and exerts a high burden of direct and indirect costs. Stroke may cause spasticity, which limits patients’ abilities and affects their activities of daily living, decreasing their quality of life. Conventional treatments are based on physical therapy, anti-spasticity medication, and botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A). However, recently, non-pharmacological approaches have been used, such as dry needling (DN) of myofascial trigger points. BTX-A and DN are two treatments that aim to decrease spasticity in patients with stroke, but their mode of action, application, and costs differ. Thus, there is a need to determine the comparative economics of post-stroke spasticity treatments. For this purpose, a search for all types of cost-effectiveness studies (randomized controlled trials, matched controls, and cohorts) and models of epidemiological data was performed. Studies were selected if they included economic outcomes in stroke patients treated with BTX-A or DN. As a result, 7 studies of BTX-A and 2 of DN were selected. Similarities were found in the outcomes used to assess the effectiveness of both treatments in most studies, with modifications of the Ashworth Scale [Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS)/Modified Modified Ashworth Scale (MMAS)] and quality-adjusted life year (QALY) being the main indicators of effectiveness. However, both the duration of the studies and the evaluation of costs were highly heterogeneous, making comparison difficult. In conclusion, both BTX-A and DN are cost-effective to treat spasticity in patients with stroke, but there is a need for comparative studies to make direct comparisons of cost-effectiveness with the most frequently used outcomes such as the MMAS and QALYs.
Streamlined and Robust Stage-Specific Profiling of Gametocytocidal Compounds Against Plasmodium falciparum

Malaria elimination is dependent on the ability to target both the pathogenic and transmissible stages of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. These forms of the parasite are differentiated by unique developmental stages, each with their own biological mechanisms and processes. These individual stages therefore also respond differently to inhibitory compounds, and this complicates the discovery of multistage active antimalarial agents. The search for compounds with transmission-blocking activity has focused on screening for activity on mature gametocytes, with only limited descriptions available for the activity of such compounds on immature stage gametocytes. This therefore poses a gap in the profiling of antimalarial agents for pan-reactive, multistage activity to antimalarial leads. Here, we optimized an effective and robust strategy for the simple and cost-effective description of the stage-specific action of gametocytocidal antimalarial compounds.
Alleviating Heavy Metal Toxicity in Milk and Water through a Synergistic Approach of Absorption Technique and High Voltage Atmospheric Cold Plasma and Probable Rheological Changes

In this study, we combined atmospheric pressure cold plasma, a novel treatment technology, with an absorption technique with soybean husk to remove Pb and Cd from milk. Different combinations of treatment duration, voltage, and post treatment retention time were used to determine the effectiveness of cold plasma. Soybean husk was used for metal extraction, and it was observed that when the milk samples were plasma treated with a discharge voltage of 50 kV for 2 min and held for 24 h, the highest mean elimination of about 27.37% for Pb and 14.89% for Cd was obtained. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species produced from plasma treatment were identified using Optical Emission Spectra analysis. A high voltage of 50 kV plasma for a 2 min duration could produce 500 ± 100 ppm of ozone concentration inside the treated package. The value of ΔE, which indicates overall color difference measurement, was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in all the treated samples than control samples. However, in the frequency range from 0.01 to 100 Hz, there was not much difference between the control and treated sample in the frequency sweep test. The identified functional groups at different wavenumbers (cm−1) in the treated samples were found to be similar compared to the control samples.