Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Salivary Diagnostics – A New Industry

antibody composition closely reflects that of blood. Most of these tests have utilized gingival crevicular fluid due to its relatively higher antibody levels compared with those of saliva (Cordeiro et al., 1993). Although antibody levels are several hundred-fold lower than levels in blood, it has been possible to develop highly sensitive tests for HIV and hepatitis using this specimen type. Laboratory enzyme immunoassays (EIA) capable of testing oral fluid samples have been developed for the detection of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (HAV-IgM), hepatitis B virus (anti-HBc) (Parry et al., 1989), and hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) (Cameron and Carman, 2005). A test system using an oral fluid collector in conjunction with an EIA and Western blot was approved by the FDA for laboratory use in the diagnosis of HIV-1 infection (Gallo et al., 1997) and has been widely used at public health testing sites where access to phlebotomy is difficult or impossible. In 2004, a rapid, point-of-care testing device was approved by the FDA for detection of antibodies to HIV-1 and HIV-2 in oral fluid. Clinical studies have demonstrated that performance of this test using oral fluid is comparable with that of blood-based laboratory tests (Delaney et al., 2006). This Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-waived test device has been widely used to expand testing opportunities outside of traditional laboratory settings, in STD clinics (Farnham et al., 2008), emergency departments (Kelen and Rothman, 2009), and community outreach centers (Spielberg et al., 2005). The availability of HIV tests approved for use with oral fluid provides an important testing option at sites which are not capable of drawing blood. Moreover, various studies have indicated that certain patients may be more willing to undergo on-site testing for HIV if an oral fluid testing option is available (Spielberg et al., 2005; Calderon et al., 2010). The use of rapid, oral-based tests to detect infectious disease was recently expanded to detection of anti-HCV (Lee et al., 2010), and published studies have indicated that performance is comparable with that of blood-based laboratory tests. This test has been approved in Europe (Lee et al., 2011) for the detection of anti-HCV in oral fluid, although the oral fluid application is not yet approved in the US. One of the important enablers of the more widespread deployment of tests using oral fluid is the incorporation of design features which overcome performance challenges posed by this sample type. Oral fluid contains substantially lower level of circulating Presented at the 3rd Fall Focused Symposium, November 12-13, 2010, Waterview Conference Center, Arlington, VA, sponsored by the American Association for Dental Research
Clonal Spread of Macrolide- and Tetracycline-Resistant [erm(A) tet(O)] emm77 Streptococcus pyogenes Isolates in Italy and Norway

Over the last 15 years, a general increase in macrolide resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes has been observed in many parts of the world (1). In Europe, its prevalence is higher in Mediterranean countries and lower in Scandinavia. In particular, whereas an overall incidence around 43%, the highest rate recorded after a Japanese epidemic in the 1970s (10), was reported in a nationwide survey in Italy (17), the resistance rate remains low (<5%) in Norway (8). An association between erythromycin resistance and cell invasiveness in S. pyogenes has been documented in Italy (3).
Investigating Privacy Perception and Behavior on Weibo

More than half of Chinese Internet users participate in Weibo, the most popular social media and microblogging platform in China. Weibo encourages members to voluntarily contribute personal information, leading to potential privacy invasion. This study examines how trust in other Weibo members and perceptions of government intrusion affect privacy-related attitude and behavior. Analysis of survey responses from 221 Weibo users confirm that perceived government intrusion is strongly correlated with privacy concern and selfprotective behavior. Trust towards other Weibo participants is not significantly related to privacy concern; however it has a significant negative relationship with self-protective behavior. The study also reveals that privacy concern is positively related to self-protective behavior. Findings and their implications for future research and practice are provided.
Managing Uncertainty in Organic Development Projects

In response to this challenge, we adapt task uncertainty theory to conduct a qualitative study of management practices in a project based on two-phase funding, staged delivery, and a combination of prototyping and specifications. We provide detailed narratives of how uncertainties emerged, interacted, and were addressed in the project. The subsequent analyses suggest that the adopted organic model facilitated management of uncertainty, but it also introduced surprising and demanding management challenges that were not accounted for in the model. The study adds to our understanding of management practices in organic systems development. It shows how combinations of offensive and defensive responses can help managers address the uncertainties they face. In addition, managers are advised to differentiate between developing know-what and know-how capabilities and to dynamically adapt their uncertainty response mode to fit a project’s evolving context.
A Novel 2.5-D Unconditionally Stable FDTD Scheme

A novel 2.5-D unconditionally stable finite-difference time-domain (US-FDTD) approach based on the Crank-Nicolson (CN) scheme has been introduced. Two of the three original multi-dimensional implicit equations of the CN scheme were reduced to tri-diagonal implicit ones, which significantly reduces the expensive CPU time for solving multi-dimensional implicit equations. Numerical examples for a hollow rectangular waveguide was included to illustrate the unconditional stability and efficiency of the proposed 2.5-D US-FDTD
SDNScore: A statistical defense mechanism against DDoS attacks in SDN environment

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a promising solution for addressing challenges of future networks. Despite its advantages such as flexibility, simplification and low costs, it has several drawbacks that are largely induced by the centralized control paradigm. Security is one of the most significant challenges related to centralization. In that regard, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks pose crucial security questions in software-defined networks. In SDN architecture, switches send all packets to the controller if they do not have any applicable rules in their flow tables. Basically, controller is the key place that can take initiative in decisions. However, this characteristic results in large communication overhead and delay until a DDoS attack is detected and an appropriate action is activated against attack packets. Therefore, in this work we propose a hybrid mechanism, namely SDNScore, where switches are not simply data forwarders. Instead, they can collect statistics and decide if DDoS attack is in action. Then they coordinate with the controller and act on attack packets in cooperation. SDNScore is a statistical and packet-based defense mechanism against DDoS attacks in SDN environment. Since it has a statistical scoring method, it can detect not only known but also unknown attacks entailing packets that are alike in terms of TCP and IP layer properties. In addition, it does not drop all packets in a flow which includes both attack and legal packets, but rather filters out attack packets using packet-based analysis.
Comparison of ex vivo and in vivo micro‐computed tomography of rat tibia at different scanning settings

The parameters of a micro‐computed tomography (μCT) scan, including whether a bone is imaged in vivo or ex vivo, determine the quality of the resulting image. In turn, this impacts the accuracy of the trabecular and cortical outcomes. The absolute impact of μCT scanning at different voxel sizes and whether the sample is imaged in vivo or ex vivo on the morphological outcomes of the proximal tibia in the rat is unknown. The right proximal tibia of 6‐month‐old Sham‐control and ovariectomized (OVX) rats (n = 8/group) was scanned using μCT (SkyScan 1176, Bruker, Kontich, Belgium) using three sets of parameters (9 μm ex vivo, 18 μm ex vivo, 18 μm in vivo) to compare the trabecular and cortical outcomes. Regardless of scan protocols, differences between Sham and OVX groups were observed as expected. At a voxel size of 18 μm, scanning in vivo or ex vivo had no effect on any of the outcomes measured. However, compared to a 9 μm voxel size scan, imaging at 18 μm resulted in significant underestimation of the connectivity density (p < 0.05) of the trabecular bone and a significant overestimation (p < 0.05) of the trabecular indices (trabecular thickness, degree of anisotropy) and of the cortical indices (cortical bone area, cortical area fraction, cortical thickness) in both Sham and OVX rats. These results suggest the benefit to scanning the proximal tibia of rats at a voxel size as low as 9 μm, although considerations must be made for the increased acquisition time, anesthesia, animal welfare, and radiation exposure associated with lower voxel size in vivo scanning. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:1690–1698, 2017.
Near-infrared fluorescence coronary angiography: a new noninvasive technology for intraoperative graft patency control.

BACKGROUND Intraoperative graft patency verification is of major clinical importance for quality control after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), especially if surgery is performed on the beating heart. This is one of the first reports of fluorescence coronary angiography (FCA) using the dye indocyanine green (ICG), a noninvasive technology for direct visualization of coronary arteries, bypass grafts, and myocardial perfusion. METHODS Twenty-three domestic pigs (weight, 45-72 kg) underwent FCA of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). In the first group (n = 6 pigs), FCA was used to visualize the native coronary vessels and myocardial perfusion. In the second group (n = 8 pigs), 14 stenoses of various degrees and 4 total vessel occlusions were created by snares on different segments of the LAD, and FCA was used to visualize the effects of these obstructions. In the third group (n = 9 pigs), a coronary bypass procedure on the beating heart was performed by a left internal mammary artery or a human saphenous vein graft to the LAD, and FCA was used to visualize graft patency. Three pigs were removed from the study because of ventricular fibrillation. ICG was intravenously applied, and the heart was illuminated with near-infrared light emitted by laser diodes. The fluorescence emission was detected by an adapted charge-coupled device camera system. The images were displayed in real time on a high-resolution monitor. Subsequently, images obtained with FCA were compared to those obtained with coronary angiography (n = 10 pigs). RESULTS In all cases, high-quality FCA images of coronary arteries and myocardial perfusion were obtained. All stenoses resulted in an impairment of the myocardial perfusion visualized by FCA. Occlusion of the LAD or the diagonal branch resulted in a total perfusion defect of the corresponding anterior myocardial wall with immediate reperfusion after releasing the snare. In 5 cases a patent bypass graft with an apparent homogenous perfusion of the corresponding myocardium was detectable. In one procedure, FCA images indicated total occlusion of the bypass graft and a total perfusion deficit in the distal LAD region. Correlation between FCA and coronary angiography in detection of stenoses and graft patency was excellent. CONCLUSION With the fluorescence technique using ICG, visualization of blood flow in coronary vessels and bypass grafts, as well as of myocardial perfusion, is feasible. FCA is a highly sensitive and reproducible method and an excellent technique for intraoperative quality control in CABG.
The role of polar interactions in the molecular recognition of CD40L with its receptor CD40

CD40 Ligand (CD40L) is transiently expressed on the surface of T‐cells and binds to CD40, which is expressed on the surface of B‐cells. This binding event leads to the differentiation, proliferation, and isotype switching of the B‐cells. The physiological importance of CD40L has been demonstrated by the fact that expression of defective CD40L protein causes an immunodeficiency state characterized by high IgM and low IgG serum levels, indicating faulty T‐cell dependent B‐cell activation. To understand the structural basis for CD40L/CD40 association, we have used a combination of molecular modeling, mutagenesis, and X‐ray crystallography. The structure of the extracellular region of CD40L was determined by protein crystallography, while the CD40 receptor was built using homology modeling based upon a novel alignment of the TNF receptor superfamily, and using the X‐ray structure of the TNF receptor as a template. The model shows that the interface of the complex is composed of charged residues, with CD40L presenting basic side chains (K143, R203, R207), and CD40 presenting acidic side chains (D84, El14, El17). These residues were studied experimentally through site‐directed mutagenesis, and also theoretically using electrostatic calculations with the program Delphi. The mutagenesis data explored the role of the charged residues in both CD40L and CD40 by switching to Ala (K143A, R203A, R207A of CD40L, and E74A, D84A, E114A, E117A of CD40), charge reversal (K143E, R203E, R207E of CD40L, and D84R, El 14R, El 17R of CD40), mutation to a polar residue (K143N, R207N, R207Q of CD40L, and D84N, El 17N of CD40), and for the basic side chains in CD40L, isosteric substitution to a hydrophobic side chain (R203M, R207M). All the charge‐reversal mutants and the majority of the Met and Ala substitutions led to loss of binding, suggesting that charged interactions stabilize the complex. This was supported by the Delphi calculations which confirmed that the CD40/CD40L residue pairs E74‐R203, D84‐R207, and El 17‐R207 had a net stabilizing effect on the complex. However, the substitution of hydrophilic side chains at several of the positions was tolerated, which suggests that although charged interactions stabilize the complex, charge per se is not crucial at all positions. Finally, we compared the electrostatic surface of TNF/TNFR with CD40L/CD40 and have identified a set of polar interactions surrounded by a wall of hydrophobic residues that appear to be similar but inverted between the two complexes.
Electronic Article Surveillance: A Possible Danger for Pacemaker Patients

In order to evaluate if antitheft devices commonly designed as electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems can be dangerous for pacemaker patients, in vitro and in vivo studies were made in close cooperation between a pacemaker center and an EAS designer. Three types of EAS radiation including radiofrequency, magnetic, and pulsed electromagnetic fields were applied to various pacemakers. The in vitro study consisted of exposing to the EAS fields 28 pacemakers connected to unipolar leads. Radiofrequency fields and pulsed electromagnetic fieids evoked minor effects and no prolonged inhibitions. When exposed to magnetic fields, most of the pacemakers switched to “fixed rate” pacing, but inhibitions were observed in 13 pacemakers exposed to 300 Hz, and in 14 pacemakers exposed to a 10‐kHz magnetic field when they were moved at cardiac frequencies within the fields. The in vivo study was made on 32 volunteers treated by 26 different pacemakers: 22 single chamber and ten dual chamber. All patients had been monitored in the pacemaker clinic and pacemakers were working well. Radiofrequency and pulsed electromagnetic fields did not affect the pacemaker function. Magnetic interference evoked prolonged inhibition of seven out of the ten dual chamber pacemakers, causing brief asystole in patients being continually paced. None of the dual chamber pacemakers incorporated “safety stimulation intervals” after ventricular bianking. The EAS artifact was sensed after the ventricular blanking causing a cross‐talk ECG pattern. No reprogramming was induced by the electromagnetic fields. This experience demonstrates that certain EAS may be dangerous for pacemaker patients. Following this cooperative study a pacemaker safe EAS circuit delivering short bursts of magnetic fields has been designed.
Overexpression of phospholamban in slow‐twitch skeletal muscle is associated with depressed contractile function and muscle remodeling

The relative amount of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA2a) and its crucial inhibitor phospholamban (PLN) are closely regulated and play a pivotal role in maintaining muscle function. The functional importance of PLN has been intensively investigated in cardiac muscle. However, little is known about the role of PLN in the slow‐twitch skeletal muscle, which expresses a significantly lower level of PLN but a similar level of SERCA2a compared with cardiac muscle. Thus, to define the physiological significance of PLN in slow‐twitch skeletal muscle, we generated transgenic mice with PLN‐specific overexpression in soleus, which is largely composed of slow‐muscle fibers. The PLN protein levels and the PLN/SERCA2a ratio in transgenic soleus were comparable with those in cardiac muscle. Assessment of isometric‐twitch contractions indicated that PLN overexpression was associated with depressed rates of contraction and relaxation, which were not linked to reduced SERCA2a abundance, although the levels of other key Ca2+‐handling proteins, including ryanodine receptor, FKBP12, and L‐type Ca2+ channel, were significantly decreased. However, isoproterenol stimulation reversed the inhibitory effects of PLN on the transgenic soleus twitch kinetics. Furthermore, the PLN‐overexpressing soleus had smaller muscle size, mass, and cross‐sectional area compared with wild‐types. Interestingly, the percentage of slow fibers was increased in PLN‐overexpressing soleus. Taken together, these findings indicate that increased PLN expression in slow‐twitch skeletal muscle is associated with impaired contractile function and muscle remodeling.
Water usage optimization of Smart Farm Automated Irrigation System using artificial neural network

Limited water resources had become the main constraint to be considered in farming. Optimizing this has become one of the interests in researches relating to precision agriculture. In this paper, the researchers use Neural Network in optimizing the water usage in the smart farm by incorporating it to the proposed Smart Farm Automated Irrigation System (SFAIS) by implementing an expert system. Simulations were done using the MATLAB Neural Network toolbox and results show that neural network is a useful tool.
Reconstruction of Solder Joint Surface Based on Shape from Shading

Inspection of solder joint is a critical step in the assembly of PCB (Printed Circuit Board) which requires high reliability. Previous studies have shown that a visual inspection is tedious and unreliable because the inspection process varies with the mood, time, experience and interpretation skills of an inspector. So, non-destructive inspection technology based on image captured by CCD (Charge Couple Device) has been widely used in a production of PCB because of their excellent characters. This paper deals with the reconstruction of the solder joint's surface in PCB based on shape form shading technology. Shape-from-shading (SFS) is an important non-contact measurement method that can be applied in the fields of remote sensing technology, industrial measurement, pattern recognition, product monitoring and micrograph measurement, etc. Therefore, more and more researchers pay more attention to this field recently. However, the application of SFS for reconstruction of solder joint surface has yet to be fully investigated. In this paper, compared to other measurement methods, the advantages of SFS method are analyzed firstly. Then, theory and survey of SFS method is introduced. To overcome the disadvantages existing in conventional SFS methods, some improved algorithms are provided and proved by experiments. This paper discusses the flow of solder joint inspection based on SFS. Experimental results reveal that the proposed method shows practical value in solder joint inspection.
An elastic graph matching approach for motion estimation on feature points in image sequences

This study proposes a new approach to perform motion estimation on a set of feature points via elastic graph matching. The approach starts by constructing a labeled graph on a set of feature points in the first image of a given sequence, and then continues to sequentially match the graph with the remaining images in this sequence. The matching is based on a similarity function that depends on image brightness and motion characteristics on one side, and on geometric distortion on the other side. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that it preserves high-level image characteristics outlined by the geometrical structure of moving objects and their relative positions in space and time, while it simultaneously accounts for both low-level measurements (motion and intensity).
Reversible Unfolding of Single RNA Molecules by Mechanical Force

Here we use mechanical force to induce the unfolding and refolding of single RNA molecules: a simple RNA hairpin, a molecule containing a three-helix junction, and the P5abc domain of theTetrahymena thermophila ribozyme. All three molecules (P5abc only in the absence of Mg2+) can be mechanically unfolded at equilibrium, and when kept at constant force within a critical force range, are bi-stable and hop between folded and unfolded states. We determine the force-dependent equilibrium constants for folding/unfolding these single RNA molecules and the positions of their transition states along the reaction coordinate.
Team-Building Activities as Strategies for Improving Community-University Partnerships: Lessons Learned From Nuestro Futuro Saludable

Background: Collaboration characterized by mutual capacity building, asset sharing, and tangible outcomes that work to further health equity are central tenets of community-based participatory (CBPR) approaches to research. Such efforts require the establishment, development, and maintenance of trusting relationships between community and institutional stakeholders.Objectives: The objective of the strategies discussed here was to strengthen a community-academic partnership by facilitating communication and empowering project partners.Methods: Team-building activities and experiential exercises were intentionally utilized with project stakeholders to clarify roles and responsibilities, provide alternative avenues for authentic communication, and share power.Lessons Learned: Team-building activities can be effective in promoting CBPR partnerships when utilized appropriately. Through the course of the partnership building process, best practices emerged for utilizing experiential learning exercises to enhance partnership dynamics.Conclusions: Team-building activities provide a useful tool for developing supportive environments that encourage open dialogue.