Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of Vibroacoustic Diagnosis in Assessing Bridges Connecting Teeth and Implants to Treat Tooth Absence in Sea Vessel Crews

Abstract Implant treatment is a proven method in dentistry for partial and complete missing teeth reconstruction. In some clinical situations it is advisable to limit the number of implants, which can be obtained by making a bridge connecting the patient’s own tooth with the implant. So far, the possibility of using safe and permanent connections of natural teeth with implants has been examined to a small extent due to the dangers resulting from the different mobility of dental implants and teeth. An attempt was made to use vibro-acoustic techniques to evaluate various combinations of teeth and implants. Pilot studies were carried out on cadavers-pig mandibles with implants. There were recorded sounds in the immediate vicinity of the mandible formed in response to impulse excitations carried out with a point hit against a tooth or implant before and after their joining with a bridge. The comparison of spectra allows to see features indicating a high probability of being able to distinguish between the examined configurations. The results of the research should contribute to a better understanding of the mutual relations between the dental implant and the tooth, which are included in bridge. In the perspective, it will enable to assess the level of safety and to identify clinical situations that allow to obtain dental bridges based on teeth and implants.
Cudratricusxanthone A inhibits endothelial protein C receptor shedding in vitro and in vivo

Increasing evidence has demonstrated that beyond its role in activation of protein C, endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) is involved in vascular inflammation. EPCR activity is markedly changed by ectodomain cleavage and released as the soluble EPCR. EPCR can be shed from the cell surface, which is mediated by tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme (TACE). Cudratricusxanthone A (CTXA), a natural bioactive compound extracted from the roots of Cudrania tricuspidata Bureau, is known to possess hepatoprotective, antiproliferative, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, little is known about the effects of CTXA on EPCR shedding. Data from this study showed that CTXA induced potent inhibition of phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)–induced EPCR. CTXA also inhibited expression and activity of TACE induced by PMA in endothelial cells. In addition, treatment with CTXA resulted in reduced PMA-stimulated phosphorylation of p38, extracellular regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). These results demonstrate the potential of CTXA as an anti-sEPCR shedding reagent against PMA and CLP-mediated EPCR shedding.
Portuguese Experience With IFRS Adoption As Perceived By Auditors

Abstract Purpose: Drawing on the experience of adoption of a model based on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by Portuguese non-financial unlisted companies in 2010, called Sistema de Normalização Contabilística (SNC), this paper explores auditors’ perceptions regarding dimensions of relevance and suitability of the new accounting model to the Portuguese setting, major problems encountered, and the main engendered benefits. Methodology: An interpretative approach based on qualitative research methods was adopted, in which sixteen interviews with statutory auditors were conducted from a vantage point in 2017, seven years after the formal implementation of the IFRS-based model. Findings: Evidence suggests enduring problems but mostly a significant level of legitimation and institutionalization of the IFRS-based model: (i) the perceived motivations for SNC adoption are a good fit with the theoretically acknowledged motivations underlying accounting convergence; (ii) the principle-based standards and the fair value were largely perceived favorably; and (iii) the IFRS-based model brought about a number of benefits as expected ex ante. Implications: Findings shed light on the potential of the IFRS model to conform to countries whose accounting systems are remarkably disparate – as it was in Portugal – and offer an agenda for regulators and local and international policymakers. Originality and value: This study contributes to the accounting literature on IFRS adoption by providing empirical evidence from a European country that posited an a priori adverse context.
Design for Social Accessibility Method Cards

This article is an extended version of our 2018 ASSETS paper entitled, “Incorporating Social Factors in Accessible Design. ” In our ASSETS paper, we demonstrated the viability of the Design for Social Accessibility perspective through a series of user-centered workshops with professional designers. With this expanded article, we conducted a follow-up research study with a user-centered design course that examined the use of Design for Social Accessibility Method Cards over a longer design cycle, specifically as the method and cards contributed to a term-long project, rather than just a workshop. We also offer a new analysis on work leading to the development of Design for Social Accessibility, with a focus on how practical considerations in the design process influence how designers engage accessible design. We found that the concrete and real-life scenarios in the Design for Social Accessibility Method Cards helped mediate useful interactions between student designers and deaf and hard-of-hearing users. In addition, we identified how practical choices in investigating strategies for socially accessible design enabled designers to center disabled perspectives. The contributions of this work—when added to the findings of our ASSETS 2018 paper on incorporating social factors—demonstrate the viability of Design for Social Accessibility by providing: (1) empirical data showing that designers can use the Design for Social Accessibility perspective and method cards to generate accessible designs and appropriately engage deaf and hard-of-hearing users to incorporate social considerations; and (2) a summative analysis highlighting practical steps for how designers can use the Design for Social Accessibility perspective and methods cards to create accessible designs.
Fractional Interaction of Financial Agents in a Stock Market Network

Abstract In this study, we present a model which represents the interaction of financial companies in their network. Since the long time series have a global memory effect, we present our model in the terms of fractional integro-differential equations. This model characterize the behavior of the complex network where vertices are the financial companies operating in XU100 and edges are formed by distance based on Pearson correlation coefficient. This behavior can be seen as the financial interactions of the agents. Hence, we first cluster the complex network in the terms of high modularity of the edges. Then, we give a system of fractional integro-differential equation model with two parameters. First parameter defines the strength of the connection of agents to their cluster. Hence, to estimate this parameter we use vibrational potential of each agent in their cluster. The second parameter in our model defines how much agents in a cluster affect each other. Therefore, we use the disparity measure of PMFGs of each cluster to estimate second parameter. To solve model numerically we use an efficient algorithmic decomposition method and concluded that those solutions are consistent with real world data. The model and the solutions we present with fractional derivative show that the real data of Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange Market always seek for an equilibrium state.
Morphometric characterization of the Giant Pouched Rat (Cricetomys Waterhouse 1840) in the forest zone of South Western Nigeria

Abstract This study was carried out to identify distinguishing morphometric characters between taxa from the genus Cricetomys in the rainforest. Specimens were captured from localities in the rainforest zone of South Western Nigeria, and 22 classic morphometric distances were taken on the skulls. Statistical analysis of morphometric data was carried out using principal component analysis and canonical variate analysis. In the principal component analysis, zygomatic width, rostrum depth, mandible length, incisive foramen length, and interorbital width represent the heaviest loading characters involved in separating male specimens of C. emini from C. gambianus. Among males, morphometric separation of these two species of Cricetomys was found to concur with pelage characterizations. Female specimens of C. emini and C. gambianus, however, could not be distinctly separated morphometrically, but nasal length, upper diastema length, rostrum depth, mandible length, mandible depth, zygomatic width, and parietal width are among the heaviest loadings involved in their partial separation. Moreover, morphometric data and pelage patterns do not produce identical characterizations of female specimens. Findings from this study reinforce the view that pelage characterizations are not entirely reliable in distinguishing taxa within Cricetomys. The morphometric characters identified in this study will contribute to more a reliable identification of giant pouched rat species within forests of Africa.
Presence of Intestinal Lectin-binding Glycoproteins on the Cell Surface of Lactobacillus acidophilus

The presence of intestinal lectin-binding glycoproteins on the cell surface of Lactobacillus acidophilus group lactic acid bacteria was examined. The cell-surface components were extracted with 2 m guanidine hydrochloride, and electrophoresed by SDS–PAGE followed by electroblotting. Several glycoproteins were detected on the blots of the extracts from 7 of the 11 strains tested. The distribution of glycoproteins seemed to be specific for strains rather than for species. β-Galactoside-specific lectin was extracted from chicken intestine, and then was labeled with horseradish peroxidase. The binding of the lectin to glycoproteins detected was assayed by a ligand blotting procedure using the labeled lectin. The lectin-binding glycoproteins estimated to be 60.2 and 43.0 kDa, respectively, were detected from strain L. acidophilus JCM1132T, but not from other strains. The binding was inhibited in the presence of lactose, indicating that the binding was specific. Presumably, the interaction between bacterial cel.
Toxicogenomics and Human Disease Risk Assessment

Complete sequencing of human and other genomes, availability of large-scale gene expression arrays with ever-increasing numbers of genes displayed, and steady improvements in protein expression technology can have a great impact on the field of toxicology. However, we are a long way from devising effective standards for human risk assessments based upon these technologies. Current impediments to effective application of these technologies include appropriate normalization procedures (as “there is no fixed point in transcript space”), confirmation of data quality and demonstration of the functional significance of responses observed. Providing risk assessors with statistically and functionally unconfirmed, large-scale gene expression data sets that generally defy interpretation is not an appropriate approach. We propose that a logical process of data generation be developed, with risk assessment in mind from the outset. The basic principles of toxicology should be applied to selection of experimental systems, dose and duration of exposure, along with appropriate statistical analyses and biological interpretation. If mechanistically based interspecies extrapolation of risk is to be undertaken, suitable biochemical or other follow-up studies should be completed to confirm functional significance of transcriptional changes.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger: How hepatocytes survive prolonged cholestasis

The goals of the current study are to examine the extent and mechanisms of apoptosis in cholestatic liver injury and to explore the role of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) in protection against bile acid-induced apoptosis. Cholestatic liver injury was induced by bile duct ligation in Wistar rats. Furthermore, primary cultures of rat hepatocytes were exposed to glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA), tauroursodeoxycholic acid, taurochenodeoxycholic acid, and to cytokines. Apoptosis was determined by TUNEL staining, active caspase-3 staining, and by activation of caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-3. Limited hepatocyte apoptosis and increased expression of NF-kappaB-regulated anti-apoptotic genes A1 and cIAP2 were detected in cholestatic rat liver specimens. Bcl-2 expression was restricted to bile duct epithelium. In contrast to taurochenodeoxycholic acid and tauroursodeoxycholic acid, GCDCA induced apoptosis in a Fas-associated protein with death domain-independent pathway in hepatocytes. Although bile acids do not activate NF-kappaB, NF-kappaB activation by cytokines (induced during cholestasis) protected against GCDCA-induced apoptosis in vitroby upregulating A1 and cIAP2. GCDCA induces apoptosis in a mitochondria-controlled pathway in which caspase-8 is activated in a Fas-associated protein with death domain-independent manner. However, bile acid-induced apoptosis in cholestasis is limited. This could be explained by cytokine-induced activation of NF-kappaB-regulated antiapoptosis genes like A1 and cIAP2.
Effects of some thermal treatments on chlorophyll and carotenoids concentration from spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) and savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Sabauda L.) leaves

In this research paper we studied the effect of some thermal treatments on chlorophyll, carotenes and xanthophylls content from spinach and savoy cabbage leaves. Were analysed fresh samples and samples blanched (approx. 98 °C for 5 min), boiled (20 min) and frozen after blancing prior (at approx. 18 °C for 2 months). The concentrations of chlorophyll and carotenoids were determined spectrophotometrically. Of the two analyzed vegetables, spinach had the highest concentration of chlorophyll (total chlorophyll 515.47 mg/gfor fresh spinach, respectively 289.07 mg/gfor fresh savoy cabbage. The more aggressive thermal treatment, in terms of the reduction of the chlorophyll concentration in both vegetables was boiled, followed by freezing. Blanching resulted in the lowest losses of chlorophylls. After the thermal treatments applied, the most significant losses for both the spinach and savoy cabbage, have been recorded for the chlorophyll "b". From experimental data it was observed that spinach is richer in carotenoid compounds than savoy cabbage (total carotenoids in fresh spinach: 98.17 μg/g, fresh savoy cabbage 72.46 μg/g). The most important loss of carotenoids, both in the case of spinach and savoy cabbage leaves, occur after boiling, and the lowest losses recorded after blanching. Boiling led to the loss of carotenoids higher for cabbage (34.45%) than for spinach (24.78%). Blanching and freezing after preliminary blanching caused higher losses of carotenoids in spinach than in cabbage.
The Effect of Individual Factors on the Adoption of Mobile Banking Within Banks in Iraq

The business of banking has dramatically changed during the past decade. Swift technological progress has impacted the banking sector worldwide. The m-banking system is among the greatest technological developments in the banking sector. In the context of banking, the adoption and decision to utilise m-banking is influenced by a number of individual determinants. In spite of the wide-ranging availability of academic writing, studies pertaining to the individual circumstances of developing countries is inadequate. Iraqi m-banking is in its formative phase, hence this study offers important directions for banks in Iraq to substantively improve their technological services by understanding critical individual factors. Therefore, this study aims to design and develop an m-banking model using individual circumstances. In order to obtain the objectives of this current research, the researcher employed a quantitative method. A autonomously managed survey questionnaire was carried out on 210 chosen banks employees in Iraq. This study utilises the SPSS as an instrument to analyse the study. The core determinants ascertained to have a marked favourable part in the adoption of m-banking adoption entail: Knowledge and Skills, Attitude Towards, Trust, and Motivation. The outcomes possess significant consequences and are immensely valuable for the researchers in the Academia and banking sector professionals.
A Novel Remote Access Control for the Real-time Streaming Data of IP Cameras

The massive consumer often has security concerns about Internet transmissions, and the remote access of the IP Camera is also full of challenges from the consumer market for privacy and security. In this context, when the user account of the security monitoring system is maliciously used, the security protection mechanism provided by the IP Camera itself is one of the topics most concerned to consumers. In order to improve the security of the remote connection of IP Camera, based on SIP protocol and practical experience, this study designs a set of feasible processes for the management of public key, which will help consumers protect their privacy rights in using the security monitoring system and the security when remotely operating the IP Camera. Finally, the experiment results prove that it will not impact the users’ experience when accessing the IP Camera remotely.
Pattern Matching over Encrypted Data

Pattern matching is one of the most fundamental and important paradigms in several application domains such as digital forensics, cyber threat intelligence, or genomic and medical data analysis. While it is a straightforward operation when performed on plaintext data, it becomes a challenging task when the privacy of both the analyzed data and the analysis patterns must be preserved. In this paper, we propose new provably correct, secure, and relatively (compared to similar existing schemes) efficient public and private key based constructions that allow arbitrary pattern matching over encrypted data while protecting both the data to be analyzed and the patterns to be matched. That is, the entity that will perform pattern matching will learn nothing about the patterns to be searched as well as the data to be inspected, except the presence or the absence of a set of ”unknown” patterns (the entity charged to perform pattern matching will not have access to the analysis patterns plain-texts). Compared to existing solutions, the constructions we propose has some interesting properties: (1) the size of the ciphertext is linear to the size of plaintext and independent of the sizes and the number of the analysis patterns; (2) the sizes of the issued trapdoors are constant on the size of the data to be analyzed; and (3) the search complexity is linear on the size of the data to be inspected and is constant on the sizes of the analysis patterns. The conducted evaluations show that our constructions drastically improve the performance of the most efficient state of the art solution.
Nutraceutical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Cyperus Esculentus (Tiger Nut) Against Urinary Tract Infection Pathogens

Phytochemical composition, antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A, C and E) and antimicrobial properties of methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of Cyperus esculentus (tiger nut) activity against human urinary tract infection pathogens (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia) were evaluated to validate the medicinal potential of this nut. The total polyphenol, flavonoid and alkaloid contents were determined according to Folin-Ciocalteu method, Aluminum colorimetric method and Harborne method respectively. Antioxidant vitamins were determined using standard procedures while the Disc diffusion method was employed in evaluating the antimicrobial activity of the extracts. The results indicated that the bioactive compounds (total phenol, flavonoids and alkaloids) determined quantitatively were present in appreciable concentration in both extracts. However, the concentration of these bioactive compounds determined was significantly higher in the methanol extract than the ethyl acetate extract. This implied that methanol may be a better solvent for extraction. Antioxidant vitamins composition in the different extracts indicated that tiger nut contained appreciable amount of these vitamins. However, the concentrations of these vitamins were considerably higher in the methanol extract, with vitamin E exceeding the daily recommended intake by international standards in both extracts. The susceptibility of these isolates towards the tiger nut extracts was compared with each other and with gentamycin, which was used as a positive control. All plant extracts showed antimicrobial activities against the selected microorganisms at various concentrations and the methanol extract was found to be most effective compared to ethyl acetate extract. Methanol extract exhibited maximum antibacterial activity against E.coli (12.0±1.0 at 100mg/ml) while ethyl acetate extract exhibited maximum antimicrobial activity against Klebsiella pneumonia (11.0 ±1.2 mm at 100mg/ml). The results obtained in this study clearly demonstrated higher and broad spectrum antibacterial activity of tiger nut extracts on all three UTI isolates and this which may be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds and other phytochemicals. These results further authenticates the medicinal importance of tiger nut as it vast and diverse bioactive compounds of immense pharmaceutical importance.
End-Hall Processing with a Nonplanetary Rotating Stage

Process uniformity requires more care with nonplanetary rotating stages. The ion beam is often directed toward the center of the stage in an attempt to utilize as much of it as possible. This results in a low ion-current density near the edge of the stage and a poor overall uniformity. Good uniformity is obtained with a nonplanetary rotating stage by directing the ion beam closer to the edge of the stage than its center. Directing the ion beam in this manner reduces the fraction of the ion beam intercepted by the stage, but this reduction is necessary to obtain good uniformity.