Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Antioxidant Effect of Fermented Papaya Preparation in the Oral Cavity

Oxidative stress has been recognized to play important roles in various diseases, including of the oral cavity. However, nutritional supplementation of antioxidants to ameliorate the consequences of oxidative stress is debatable. One caveat is that oxidative status is often measured under non‐physiological conditions. Here, we investigated the antioxidant potential of fermented papaya preparation (FPP), a product of yeast fermentation of Carica papaya Linn, under conditions that prevail in the oral cavity. Employing highly sensitive luminol‐dependent chemiluminescence assays, we show that its antioxidant capacity was augmented by saliva (up to 20‐fold, p < 0.0001, at 10 mg) and its components (mucin, albumin) as well as by red blood cells (RBC) and microorganisms present in the normal and pathological environment of the oral cavity. Polyphenols are major plant antioxidants. Using the Folin–Ciocalteu's assay, a very low amount of phenols was measured in FPP suspended in a salt solution. However, its suspension in saliva, albumin, mucin or RBC produced up to sixfold increase, p < 0.001, compared with the sum of polyphenols assayed separately. The results suggested that these enhancing effects were due to the solubilization of antioxidant polyphenols in FPP by saliva proteins and the binding to RBC and microorganisms, thus increasing their availability and activity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Full-View Spherical Image Format

This paper proposes a full-view spherical image format which is based on the geodesic division of a sphere. In comparison with the conventional 3D array representation which consists of five parallelograms, the proposed spherical image format is a simple 2D array representation. The algorithms of finding the neighboring pixels given a pixel of a spherical image and mapping between spherical coordinate and spherical image pixel are given also.
Decontamination Efficacy of Ultraviolet Radiation against Biofilms of Common Nosocomial Bacteria.

BACKGROUND Ultraviolet radiation (UV) is commonly used to destroy microorganisms in the health-care environment. However, the efficacy of UV radiation against bacteria growing within biofilms has never been studied. OBJECTIVE To measure the sterilization effectiveness of UV radiation against common healthcare associated pathogens growing within biofilms. MATERIAL AND METHOD Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Streptococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, ESBL-producing E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii were cultivated in the Calgary Biofilm Device. Their biofilms were placed 50 cm from the UV lamp within the Biosafety Cabinet. Viability test, crystal violet assay and a scanning electron microscope were used to evaluate the germicidal efficacy. RESULTS Within 5 minutes, UV radiation could kill S. aureus, MRSA, S. epidermidis, A. baumannii and ESBL-producing E. coli completely while it required 20 minutes and 30 minutes respectively to kill E. coli and P. aeruginosa. However, the amounts of biomass and the ultrastructure between UV-exposed biofilms and controls were not significantly different. CONCLUSION UV radiation is effective in inactivating nosocomial pathogens grown within biofilms, but not removing biofilms and EPS. The biofilm of P. aeruginosa was the most durable.
A scheme of privacy protection based on genetic algorithm for behavior pattern of social media users

In the context of big data, user data have been released on the Internet on a large scale. Although these data always adopt anonymous ID, the corresponding user's real identification and other private information are still exposed to possible violations by attackers with certain background knowledge. In order to protect user's privacy, Samarita and Sweeny proposed k-anonymity model, which has been widely used in privacy protection. This model is mainly used in point-anonymization at this stage, and there is no good way for line-anonymization. This paper describes a method of anonymization based on genetic algorithm to protect the privacy of user's behavior pattern in stock BBS, which is a development of line-anonymization. Experimental results show that, the method described in this paper performs well in protecting privacy using k-anonymity model and has a controllable information loss.
Reliability and reproducibility of PCR-based testing of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase gene (MGMT) promoter methylation status in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded neurosurgical biopsy specimens.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the reliability and reproducibility of PCR-based testing of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase gene (MGMT) promoter methylation status in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) neurosurgical biopsy specimens. MATERIALS We used 6 FFPE neurosurgical temporal lobe specimens of children and young adults with drug-resistant epilepsy. Histopathologically, all specimens showed CNS tissue with gliosis but no tumor tissue. METHODS For MGMT promoter methylation analysis, we used methylation specific PCR (MGMT MSP). In all 6 tissue specimens, 4 repetitive runs of MGMT MSP were performed. RESULTS We obtained conclusive results only in 13/24 (54.2%) MGMT MSP analyses. In 5/13 (38.5%) successful MSP runs, the results indicated presence of a methylated MGMT promoter. In only 1/6 specimens, MSP yielded consistent results in all 4 repetitive runs. CONCLUSIONS In our hands, MGMT MSP shows poor reliability and reproducibility of test results on FFPE neurosurgical tissue specimens. A more reliable method for diagnostic MGMT promoter methylation testing needs to be identified and validated by systematic testing of intra- and interlaboratory reliability and reproducibility. Alternatively, methods of tissue fixation that do not impair DNA quality but at the same time warrant high quality histopathology could facilitate molecular diagnostics.
Development and initial psychometric evaluation of the Stroke Arm Ladder – a measure of upper extremity function post stroke*

Objective: To develop an adaptive measure, the Stroke Arm Ladder, to parsimoniously quantify upper extremity function post stroke. Setting: Various studies conducted in Montreal and elsewhere in Canada. Subjects: A total of 4058 persons with stroke who participated in various studies were assessed on different occasions post stroke. Assessments spanned from 3 days to 1 year post stroke. Main measures: A calibrated bank containing 49 items from tests and indices designed to assess global motor recovery of the upper extremity, upper extremity function and activities involving the upper extremity was used. Data including all testing occasions were analysed to test whether they adhered to the expectations of the Rasch partial credit model and whether item hierarchy remained stable across testing occasions. Results: Fifteen items did not meet the requirements of the Rasch model and were deleted. An adaptive measure of upper extremity function, the Stroke Arm Ladder, containing 34 items was created. The easiest item was partially executing the bilateral task of tying a scarf around one’s neck, while the hardest item was being able to transfer more than 60 blocks on the Box and Block Test. The items’ difficulty thresholds cover a wide range of difficulty levels from −7.4 to 6.2 and the global fit statistics (χ2: 331; probability: 0.18), confirmed content validity. Conclusion: The Stroke Arm Ladder demonstrates adequate initial psychometric properties. Further testing of the measure in its adaptive format is necessary before it can be used clinically.
Foraging Advantage of Polyandry for Female Sierra Dome Spiders (Linyphia litigiosa: Linyphiidae) and Assessment of Alternative Direct Benefit Hypoteses

This article evaluates four potential phenotypic benefits of remating for female sierra dome spiders. The finding that foraging success of paired females improves in copula is discussed in light of evidence that multiple paternity also confers genetic benefits. Nonvirgin females face frequent daylong visits to their webs by dominant, kleptoparasitic males. Females reduce prey losses by engaging some males in 2-6 h of aspermic copulatory courtship. During this "preinsemination phase" of copulation, females increase the percentage of prey they consume from 25.1% to 49.0%. Female sexual receptivity depends more on recent foraging success than on phenotypic attributes of males, whereas sperm-use patterns are related to physical and behavioral qualities of mates. The preinsemination phase of copulation is well designed both to improve the foraging success of females and test male quality: (1) it is strenuous and exacting for the male but inactive for the female, (2) genitalia are continuously joined and detached, keeping the male occupied but maintaining freedom for the female to pursue prey, and (3) it is lengthy, which reduces male prey stealing for a substantial portion of his visit. Despite the foraging benefits of remating, females reject 66% of their suitors, probably because remating entails costs and provides diminishing genetic benefits.
Design and Implementation of Embedded Web Server and DACS with ARM 9 using Linux

This paper presents implementation of embedded web server based on ARM9 Processor. The embedded web server design includes a complete web server with TCP/IP support and Ethernet interface. Through the Ethernet we could acquire the different real-time information, and based on the information, we could draft corresponding options and we can also implement control through Internet. In this paper we will be using SAMSUNG Mini2440 32 bit ARM Processor with Linux OS porting. For this purpose we will be using Friendly ARM9 board which is having an inbuilt Ethernet controller. Finally the application is developed and ported into an ARM9 processor using embedded 'C' language. Web pages are written by hyper text markup language (HTML); this system is used for real time applications such as Data Acquisition and control System (DACS).
Dynamic Regulation, Desensitization, and Cross-talk in Discrete Subcellular Microdomains during β2-Adrenoceptor and Prostanoid Receptor cAMP Signaling*

Dynamic and localized actions of cAMP are central to the generation of discrete cellular events in response to a range of Gs-coupled receptor agonists. In the present study we have employed a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel sensor to report acute changes in cAMP in the restricted cellular microdomains adjacent to two different Gs-coupled receptor pathways, β2-adrenoceptors and prostanoid receptors that are expressed endogenously in HEK293 cells. We probed by either selective small interference RNA-mediated knockdown or dominant negative overexpression the contribution of key signaling components in the rapid attenuation of the local cAMP signaling and subsequent desensitization of each of these G-protein-coupled receptor signaling pathways immediately following receptor activation. Direct measurements of cAMP changes just beneath the plasma membrane of single HEK293 cells reveal novel insights into key regulatory roles provided by protein kinase A-RII, β-arrestin2, cAMP phosphodiesterase-4D3, and cAMP phosphodiesterase-4D5. We provide new evidence for distinct modes of cAMP down-regulation in these two Gs-linked pathways and show that these distinct G-protein-coupled receptor signaling systems are subject to unidirectional, heterologous desensitization that allows for limited cross-talk between distinct, dynamically regulated pools of cAMP.
MgAtg9 trafficking in Magnaporthe oryzae

Autophagy is a vacuolar/lysosomal cytoplasmic recycling system in eukaryotic cells. ScATG9 is indispensable for autophagy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we deleted MgATG9, the orthologue of ScATG9, via targeted gene replacement in the phytopathogenic filamentous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, and then analyzed the cellular distribution pattern of EGFP-MgAtg9 in the Mgatg9∆ mutant. We detected an expression profile of multiple green dots in the conidial cell inoculated in rich media and in the appressoria differentiated from the conidia in H2O. Concurrent with the punctation, we found some fluorescent signals localized on the central vacuole of the submerged hyphae from the conidia cultured in rich media. Next, we introduced DsRed2-MgAtg8 into the Mgatg9∆ mutant expressing EGFP-MgAtg9 and observed partial overlap at multiple sites in the conidial cell, reminiscent of that in the mammalian system. Our findings further led to the postulation that the multiple sites where the two fusions colocalized tend to merge as a central structure in the conidial cell. Finally, we tested the expression of EGFP-MgAtg9 in null mutants of MgATG1, 2, 13 and 18, respectively. We speculate that MgAtg1, 2 and 18, but not MgAtg13, is required for MgAtg9 cycling through the multiple colocalization sites to its storage pools in the conidial cell of M. oryzae, and fusion of these colocalization sites into a central structure could be governed through other unidentified mechanisms.
Generalizing the Role of Determinization in Probabilistic Planning

The stochastic shortest path problem (SSP) is a highly expressive model for probabilistic planning. The computational hardness of SSPs has sparked interest in determinization-based planners that can quickly solve large problems. However, existing methods employ a simplistic approach to determinization. In particular, they ignore the possibility of tailoring the determinization to the specific characteristics of the target domain. In this work we examine this question, by showing that learning a good determinization for a planning domain can be done efficiently and can improve performance. Moreover, we show how to directly incorporate probabilistic reasoning into the planning problem when a good determinization is not sufficient by itself. Based on these insights, we introduce a planner, FF-LAO*, that outperforms state-of-the-art probabilistic planners on several well-known competition benchmarks.
Randomised controlled trial of an integrated versus an optometric low vision rehabilitation service for patients with age‐related macular degeneration: study design and methodology

A number of studies have measured the outcomes of low vision care but these have usually been longitudinal case series, thus constituting very low quality of evidence for effectiveness. To date, there have been no randomised controlled trials (RCTs) which have evaluated the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of different models of care in low vision. The size of the low vision population and the paucity of systematic evaluation have created a pressing need for evidence about cost‐effectiveness in order to inform service developments for low vision rehabilitation. This paper describes the study design and methodology of a three‐arm RCT currently under way in Manchester. The baseline population recruited is also described. A traditional hospital‐based optometric service is being compared with an integrated service (comprising the addition of community‐based rehabilitation officer input) and with more generic community input (which is non‐integrated and is not vision specific). A wide range of outcome measures are being assessed at recruitment and 12 months post‐intervention, including low vision specific and generic quality of life measures, patterns of low vision aid use, and task performance. The rationale for the trial is discussed and the main study outcomes are described.
Administration of exogenous interleukin-2 abrogates spontaneous rat liver allograft acceptance but does not affect long-term established graft survival.

BACKGROUND Spontaneous tolerance to the orthotopic liver allograft uniformly occurs in the DA (RT1a) to PVG (RT1c) rat combination despite a fully allogeneic barrier. METHODS To assess whether spontaneous acceptance might be the consequence of a T cell help deficit at the time of the first exposure of alloantigens to the host, we studied the effect of exogenous interleukin (IL)-2 injections at the time of liver transplantation and during long-term follow-up. RESULTS Although spontaneous acceptance of the liver allograft constantly ensued in the DA to PVG combination, a daily injection of recombinant IL-2 (3 x 10(5) U) uniformly provoked acute cellular rejection of the liver allograft and consequently the death of animals by postoperative day 5-6. Simultaneous to the graft loss, hepatic enzymes (alanine aminotransferase) increased more than 50-fold in IL-2-treated recipients, whereas similar IL-2 treatment did not produce any hepatic dysfunction in syngeneic animals. By immunohistology, the expression of the alpha chain of the IL-2 receptor, usually undetectable in untreated animals, was evident on CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes infiltrating the liver graft. In contrast, a similar IL-2 regimen and even higher IL-2 doses (x 10(6) U) did not abrogate the liver allograft survival during long-term follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that spontaneous rat liver allograft acceptance may be abolished by exogenous IL-2 injections, which suggests that an "inherent T cell help deficit" might be implicated in the spontaneous acceptance mechanisms of DA to PVG liver allografts.
Risk Factors for Neonatal Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection in a Well-Infant Nursery

Objective. To determine risk factors for neonatal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin and soft-tissue infection in a well-infant nursery. Design. Case-control studies. Setting. A well-infant nursery in a nonteaching, community hospital. Methods. Case infants were newborns in the nursery who were born in the period November 2003 through June 2004 and had onset of MRSA skin and soft-tissue infection within 21 days after discharge from the nursery. Site inspections were conducted. Control infants were randomly selected male infants in the nursery during the outbreak periods. MRSA isolates were characterized with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Results. Eleven case infants were identified in 2 outbreaks: outbreak 1 occurred from November 18 through December 24, 2003, and outbreak 2 occurred from May 26 through June 5, 2004. All were full-term male infants with pustular-vesicular lesions in the groin. Inspection revealed uncovered circumcision equipment, multiple-dose lidocaine vials, and inadequate hand hygiene practices. In outbreak 1, case infants (n = 6) had a significantly higher mean length of stay than control infants (3.7 vs 2.5 days; P = .01). In outbreak 2, case infants (n = 5) were more likely to have been circumcised in the nursery (OR, undefined [95% CI, 1.7 to undefined]) and to have received lidocaine injections (OR, undefined [95% CI, 2.6 to undefined]). Controlling for length of stay, case infants were more likely to have been circumcised in the nursery (OR, 12.2 [95% CI, 1.5 to undefined]). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed that 7 available isolates were indistinguishable from a community-associated MRSA strain (USA300-0114). Conclusions. Newborns in well-infant nurseries are at risk for nosocomial infection with community-associated MRSA strains. Reducing length of stay, improving circumcision and hand hygiene practices, and eliminating use of multiple-dose lidocaine vials should decrease transmission of community-associated MRSA strains in nurseries.
II. GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT TRENDS: Polarisation or Convergence?

Based on the most recent and comprehensive studies, the article argues that global inequality is most likely increasing, and that internal inequality has been increasing almost all over the world. Increasing internal inequality seems to be connected to neo-liberal policies, while it is more difficult to establish the reasons behind increasing global inequality. The article criticises, however, the method used in the type of answers which build on stories of liberal successes and non-liberal failures; it is argued that this method presupposes what the authors want to prove, namely that globalisation (neo-liberalism) is beneficial.
Simulation on active vibration suppression using virtual spring-damper combination

Active suspension is an emerging technology used to improve the contact, comfort and control of vehicles and in other vibration suppression applications. Different methods are used to control the actuator force exerted between the sprung mass and unsprung mass in order to achieve the active suspension. Most of the other research areas have introduced LQR controllers, Fuzzy logic controller methodologies. But this paper presents a control method based on a virtual spring-damper combination. A linear motor model is expected to be used as the actuator in realizing the values of the virtual spring damper. The simulation results show the sprung mass displacement with and without the active suspension when subjected to a large disturbance. The success and the limitations of the proposed virtual spring-damper combination are discussed with the simulation results.
Reducing Decisional Conflict and Enhancing Satisfaction with Information among Women Considering Breast Reconstruction following Mastectomy: Results from the BRECONDA Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Deciding whether or not to have breast reconstruction following breast cancer diagnosis is a complex decision process. This randomized controlled trial assessed the impact of an online decision aid [Breast RECONstruction Decision Aid (BRECONDA)] on breast reconstruction decision-making. Methods: Women (n = 222) diagnosed with breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ, and eligible for reconstruction following mastectomy, completed an online baseline questionnaire. They were then assigned randomly to receive either standard online information about breast reconstruction (control) or standard information plus access to BRECONDA (intervention). Participants then completed questionnaires at 1 and 6 months after randomization. The primary outcome was participants’ decisional conflict 1 month after exposure to the intervention. Secondary outcomes included decisional conflict at 6 months, satisfaction with information at 1 and 6 months, and 6-month decisional regret. Results: Linear mixed-model analyses revealed that 1-month decisional conflict was significantly lower in the intervention group (27.18) compared with the control group (35.5). This difference was also sustained at the 6-month follow-up. Intervention participants reported greater satisfaction with information at 1- and 6-month follow-up, and there was a nonsignificant trend for lower decisional regret in the intervention group at 6-month follow-up. Intervention participants’ ratings for BRECONDA demonstrated high user acceptability and overall satisfaction. Conclusions: Women who accessed BRECONDA benefited by experiencing significantly less decisional conflict and being more satisfied with information regarding the reconstruction decisional process than women receiving standard care alone. These findings support the efficacy of BRECONDA in helping women to arrive at their breast reconstruction decision.