Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hydrolytic Degradation of Dental Composites

This study evaluated the hydrolytic degradation of two experimental (C1, C2) and two commercial composite (Tetric EvoCeram and Premise) prepared to be used in dental restorations. Two experimental composites and two commercial composites were undergoing hydrolytic degradation in three different medium: distilled water, artificial saliva and alcoholic solution (50/50). The samples were investigated immediately after polymerisation with halogen lamp Optilux 501 and after 33 days of immersion in all three medium, using Fourier transforms infrared analysis (FTIR). FT-IR spectra of samples from the same composite immersed in distilled water, artificial saliva and alcoholic solution, revealed mostly reducing the intensity of the characteristic peaks of Si-O-Si bond less Tetric composite immersed in artificial saliva, which peak intensity remains unchanged.
Community Pharmacists’ Involvement in Research in the United Kingdom

Puropse. To investigate the engagement of community pharmacists (CPs) with pharmacy research and identify barriers preventing them from doing so. In addition, to determine the training and research tools available to support CPs to take part in research. Methods. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to a sample of community pharmacies (n = 323) within five local authorities in England, and to a random sample of community pharmacies (n = 329) within Greater London in two stages. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data using Microsoft Excel. Following questionnaire completion, CPs were invited to take part in face-to-face and telephone interviews to further explore their views on research. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using coding and thematic analysis. Results. A total of 104 questionnaires were completed out of 652 distributed. Over half (56.7%) of respondents considered research to be important to their practice. Approximately 88% of respondents had completed some form of mandatory research in the past two years, while only 29% were involved in non-mandatory research. Over two-thirds (67.9%) wanted to engage with research in the future, with 22.2% of these being most interested in recruiting patients for research. Barriers to research included lack of time (90%) and lack of remuneration (60%). 20 community pharmacists were interviewed. Three themes were identified: 1. Interest in taking part in research; 2. Awareness, support and knowledge; 3. Resources as barriers. Conclusion. CPs recognise the importance of research in their current practice, however, the biggest barrier they face is time. Further training may be useful to ensure CPs are adequately prepared to undertake research activities.
A Descriptive Study on the Users and Utility of HIV/AIDS Helpline in Karnataka, India

Background: Globally, Telephone help-lines have proved their utility in several crisis situations. They were introduced in India for helping persons in need of counseling or emergency care such as victims of suicide, cardiac arrests, etc. The utility of such help-lines in HIV/AIDS has not been established . Hence this study done in ASHA Foundation, Bangalore. Objectives: To determine the characteristics of persons who access the HIV/AIDS helpline. To determine the reasons for calling the helpline. To identify the gaps in the provision of this service. Materials and Methods: Details on all calls received on ASHA Foundation's HIV/AIDS help line during the period January 2007 to December 2008, were entered on MS excel worksheet and analyzed using the SPSS software. Results: Majority of callers are male, are in the age group of 20-39 years and educated. The most common reasons for calling the helpline were for HIV testing, information about HIV/AIDS, care and support services and referrals to other services not linked to HIV/AIDS. Reasons for calling were linked to risk ( HIV testing, condom use etc) in younger persons, and to avail of care and support services in the older age-group. Conclusions: The main users of the HIV/AIDS helpline are urban ,young, educated males.
Child to adult body mass index in the 1958 British birth cohort: associations with parental obesity

OBJECTIVES To assess relations between the adiposity of children and their parents and to establish whether tracking of adiposity from childhood to adulthood varies according to the parental body mass index (BMI). METHODS Longitudinal data from the 1958 British birth cohort study were used (6540 men and 6207 women). The height and weight of the study subjects were measured at 7, 11, 16, 23 (self reported), and 33 years. Parental height and weight were self reported when their children were 11 years old. The children were classified into six parental BMI (weight/height2) groups. RESULTS At each age of follow up the mean BMI of the children increased as the parental BMI increased. Higher risks of adult (33 year) obesity were evident among children with overweight or obese parents: the odds for sons and daughters with two obese parents (compared with those with both parents of normal BMI) were 8.4 and 6.8, respectively. The children of two obese parents also showed the strongest child to adult tracking of BMI as indicated by the correlation between ages 7 and 33 (r = 0.46, 0.54, sons and daughters, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The children of obese and overweight parents have an increased risk of obesity. Subjects with two obese parents are fatter in childhood and also show a stronger pattern of tracking from childhood to adulthood. As the prevalence of parental obesity increases in the general population the extent of child to adult tracking of BMI is likely to strengthen.
A Patient-based Hospital Referral Decision Support System

In this study, an electronic referral system was developed for general practitioners to send referrals electronically to providers. The electronic referral system aims at improving referral decisions by involving patients in the process. A database of hospital services in Lagos metropolis was developed and hospitals distance information were retrieved and computed using Google map. A provider selection model that uses a multi-attribute decision making function was adapted and implemented. The provider selection model selects optimal provider based on patients and providers determinants which contained fourteen criteria for referral decision. In the system’s output, hospitals were ranked by computing the average between provider and patient feedback factors, this differs from existing systems as the implemented system shows how introduction of patient participation can affect recommended hospitals. In conclusion, the result of this work is expected to improve referral decision support and patient participation.
Distal Hemorrhoidectomy With ALTA Injection: A New Method for Hemorrhoid Surgery

Aluminum potassium sulfate and tannic acid injection (ALTA) is a useful and less-invasive treatment for internal hemorrhoids. However, it is not a treatment option for external hemorrhoidal diseases, including mixed hemorrhoids. Distal hemorrhoidectomy with ALTA injection involves surgical resection of external piles, followed by injection therapy on internal piles. We report technical details and the short-term results of this procedure in patients with mixed hemorrhoids. Seventy-two patients with mixed hemorrhoids treated between 2010 and 2011 were included. The main outcome measures were the short-term response and complication rates. At 28 days after surgery, the disappearance rate of prolapse was 100%. Three patients (4%) had postoperative complications, all minor in nature. No prolapse recurrence was observed within a median follow-up period of 6 months. Distal hemorrhoidectomy with ALTA injection appears to be a promising treatment option for patients with mixed hemorrhoids.
Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans during Terminal Skeletal Muscle Cell Differentiation : Possible Functions and Regulation of their Expression

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans are key molecules found associated with the cell surface and extracellular matrix (ECM). These macromolecules seem to be essential to achieve terminal skeletal muscle differentiation. In this review, we present data about the types of beparan suifate proteoglycans present in skeletal muscle cells, how their expression changes during differentiation and we propose some mechanisms that might be controlling and/or affecting their expression. Finally, we discuss some possible Functions for these heparan sulfate proteoglycans during skeletal muscle differentiation.
DNA-intercalators Causing Rapid Re-expression of Methylated and Silenced Genes in Cancer Cells

Epigenetic inactivation of tumor-suppressor and other regulatory genes plays a critical role in carcinogenesis. Transcriptional silencing is often maintained by DNA methyl transferase (DNMT)-mediated hypermethylation of CpG islands in promoter DNA. Nucleoside analogs including azacytidine and decitabine have been used to inhibit DNMT and re-activate genes, and are clinically used. Their shortcomings include a short half-life and a slow onset of action due to required nucleotide incorporation during DNA replication, which may limit clinical utility. It might be useful to begin to identify lead compounds having novel properties, specifically distinct and fast-acting gene desilencing. We previously identified chemicals augmenting gene expression in multiple reporter systems. We now report that a subset of these compounds that includes quinacrine re-expresses epigenetically silenced genes implicated in carcinogenesis. p16, TFPI2, the cadherins E-cadherin and CDH13, and the secreted frizzle-related proteins (SFRPs) SFRP1 and SFRP5 were desilenced in cancer cell lines. These lead compounds were fast-acting: re-expression occurred by 12-24 hours. Reactivation of silenced genes was accompanied by depletion of DNMT1 at the promoters of activated genes and demethylation of DNA. A model compound, 5175328, induced changes more rapidly than decitabine. These gene desilencing agents belonged to a class of acridine compounds, intercalated into DNA, and inhibited DNMT1 activity in vitro. Although to define the mechanism would be outside the scope of this initial report, this class may re-activate silenced genes in part by intercalating into DNA and subsequently inhibiting full DNMT1 activity. Rapid mechanisms for chemical desilencing of methylated genes therefore exist.
Retrograde endocannabinoid signaling in the cerebellar cortex

The regulation of Purkinje cell activity is important for motor behavior and motor learning. As the sole output cell of the cerebellar cortex, Purkinje cell firing is controlled by parallel fibers and climbing fiber synapses, and by inhibitory interneurons. Depolarization of Purkinje cells evokes endocannabinoid release that activates cannabinoid CB1 receptors expressed on boutons of its synaptic inputs to transiently decrease neurotransmitter release. In addition, associative activation of the excitatory inputs can liberate endocannabinoids to decrease synaptic strength for a prolonged duration. Here we review the different mechanisms of evoking endocannabinoid release and discuss the physiological role of endocannabinoids in mediating global modulation of synaptic strength, localized short-term associative plasticity and cerebellar long term depression
Lower bounds on systolic gossip

Gossiping is an information dissemination process in which each processor has a distinct item of information and has to collect all the items possessed by the other processors. We derive lower bounds on the gossiping time of systolic protocols, i.e. constituted by a periodic repetition of simple communication steps. In particular if we denote by n the number of processors in the network, then for directed networks and for undirected networks in the half-duplex mode any s-systolic gossip protocol takes at least g(s) log/sub 2/ n time steps, where g(4)=1.8133, g(6)=1.5310 and g(8)=1.4721. For the case s=4 this result is improved to 2.0218 log/sub 2/ n for directed butterflies of degree 2 and we show that the 2.0218 log/sub 2/ n and 1.8133 log/sub 2/ n lower bounds hold also respectively for undirected Butterfly and de Bruijn networks of degree 2 in the full-duplex case. Our results are obtained by means of new technique relying on two novel concepts in the field: the notion of delay digraph of a systolic protocol and the use of matrix norm methods.
Artemisinin-Resistant Mutants of Toxoplasma gondii Have Altered Calcium Homeostasis

ABSTRACT Artemisinin is a plant sesquiterpene lactone that has become an important drug for combating malaria, especially in regions where resistance to other drugs is widespread. While the mechanism of action is debated, artemisinin has been reported to inhibit the sarcoplasmic endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) in the malaria parasite. Artemisinin is also effective against Toxoplasma in vitro and in vivo, although it is less potent and, hence, is generally not used therapeutically to treat toxoplasmosis. To explore the mechanism of action, we generated chemically derived mutants of Toxoplasma gondii that were resistant to growth inhibition by this compound in vitro. Three artemisinin-resistant (ARTr) mutant clones that differed in their sensitivities in vitro by three- to fivefold compared with that of the wild-type parasites were obtained. ARTr mutants were cross-resistant to other derivatives of artemisinin, the most potent of which was artemisone. Resistance was not due to molecular alterations or differences in the expression of SERCA or other putative targets, such as proteins that code for multidrug resistance or translationally controlled tumor protein. ARTr mutants were resistant to the induction of protein secretion from micronemes, a calcium-dependent process that is triggered by artemisinin. ARTr mutants were not cross-resistant to secretion induced by thapsigargin but were more sensitive and were unable to regulate cytoslic calcium following treatment with this compound. These studies implicate calcium homeostasis in the mechanism of action of artemisinins against apicomplexan parasites.
Meet the players: local translation at the synapse

It is widely believed that activity-dependent synaptic plasticity is the basis for learning and memory. Both processes are dependent on new protein synthesis at the synapse. Here, we describe a mechanism how dendritic mRNAs are transported and subsequently translated at activated synapses. Furthermore, we present the players involved in the regulation of local dendritic translation upon neuronal stimulation and their molecular interplay that maintain local proteome homeostasis. Any dysregulation causes several types of neurological disorders including muscular atrophies, cancers, neuropathies, neurodegenerative, and cognitive disorders.
Allelic Loss of a Common Microsatellite Marker MYCL1

Purpose: Allelic loss involving chromosome arms 5q, 8p, 17p, and 18q is commonly detected in colorectal cancer (CRC). The short arm of chromosome 1 is also frequently affected in a whole range of cancer types, including CRC. Our aim in the present study was to determine whether allelic losses on 1p were likely to be of much value in predicting the prognosis of CRC cases. Experimental Design: Genomic DNA was prepared from tumor and corresponding normal tissue specimens from 90 patients who had undergone curative resection for CRC. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on chromosome arms 1p, 2p, 5q, 7q, 8p, 17p, 17q, and 18q was examined using 14 microsatellite markers, and possible correlations between LOH and clinicopathological factors (including tumor recurrence and patient survival) were investigated. LOH at the MYCL1 microsatellite marker at 1p34 was detected in 12 of 74 (16.2%) patients who were informative for this marker. Results: After controlling for tumor stage and gender and excluding findings for patients with remote metastasis, we found that patients who were positive for LOH at MYCL1 were 31 times more likely to experience recurrence than those who were negative for LOH at this locus (95% confidence intervals, 2.27-∞; P = 0.04). There were indications of a similar tendency for LOH at the 14-3-3-σ-TG microsatellite marker at 1p35, but we could find no evidence of a significant association between LOH at this site and tumor recurrence or patient survival. We were also unable to detect significant association between LOH at the various sites on 2p, 5q, 7q, 8p, 17p, 17q, and 18q and either tumor recurrence or patient survival. Conclusions: CRC patients whose tumors exhibited LOH at MYCL1 at chromosome 1p34 were likely to have a poor prognosis, suggesting that this marker may have clinical relevance.
Modification of cullin-1 by ubiquitin-like protein Nedd8 enhances the activity of SCF(skp2) toward p27(kip1).

The periodic expression of cell cycle proteins is important for the regulation of cell cycle progression. The amount of CDK inhibitor, p27(kip1), one such protein, seems to be regulated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. The ubiquitin ligase (E3) toward p27(kip1) is thought to be SCF(skp2). The activity of SCF(skp2) was increased by the addition of Roc1 protein to the complex. Furthermore, the ubiquitination of p27(kip1) seemed to be dependent on the phosphorylation of T187 of p27(kip1) because the mutant T187A was not ubiquitinated at all in an in vitro ubiquitination system. Cullin-1, a component of SCF, is modified by ubiquitin-like protein Nedd8. The modification site of cullin-1 was shown to be K696 because the K696R mutant was not modified. When the effect of the Nedd8 modification on the SCF(skp2) activity toward p27(kip1) was investigated, the activity was markedly decreased by using the Nedd8-unmodified mutant cullin-1 (K696R), indicating that the modification may play an important role on the SCF(skp2) activity toward p27(kip1).
CoLoR: a Coq library on well-founded rewrite relations and its application to the automated verification of termination certificates

Termination is an important property of programs, and is notably required for programs formulated in proof assistants. It is a very active subject of research in the Turing-complete formalism of term rewriting. Over the years, many methods and tools have been developed to address the problem of deciding termination for specific problems (since it is undecidable in general). Ensuring the reliability of those tools is therefore an important issue. In this paper we present a library formalising important results of the theory of well-founded (rewrite) relations in the proof assistant Coq. We also present its application to the automated verification of termination certificates, as produced by termination tools. The sources are freely available at http://color.inria. fr/.
Vision-based Hand Gesture Recognition for Human-Computer Interaction

In recent years, research efforts seeking to provide more natural, human-centered means of interacting with computers have gained growing interest. A particularly important direction is that of perceptive user interfaces, where the computer is endowed with perceptive capabilities that allow it to acquire both implicit and explicit information about the user and the environment. Vision has the potential of carrying a wealth of information in a non-intrusive manner and at a low cost, therefore it constitutes a very attractive sensing modality for developing perceptive user interfaces. Proposed approaches for vision-driven interactive user interfaces resort to technologies such as head tracking, face and facial expression recognition, eye tracking and gesture recognition. In this paper, we focus our attention to vision-based recognition of hand gestures. The first part of the paper provides an overview of the current state of the art regarding the recognition of hand gestures as these are observed and recorded by typical video cameras. In order to make the review of the related literature tractable, this paper does not discuss:
Inhibition of Aberrant Circulating Tfh Cell Proportions by Corticosteroids in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objective To observe the proportion of peripheral T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to assess the role of steroids on Tfh cells from SLE patients. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 42 SLE patients and 22 matched healthy subjects were collected to assess proportions of circulating CXCR5+PD1+/CD4+ T cells (Tfh), CD4+CCR6+ T cells (Th17-like) and CD19+CD138+ plasma cells by flow cytometry. 8 of the patients had their blood redrawn within one week after receiving methylprednisolone pulse treatment. Disease activity was evaluated by SLE disease activity index. To test the effect of IL-21 and corticosteroids on Tfh cells in vitro, PBMCs harvested from another 15 SLE patients were cultured with medium, IL-21, or IL-21+ dexamethasone for 24 hours and 72 hours. PBMCs from an independent 23 SLE patients were cultured with different concentrations of dexamethasone for 24 hours. Results Compared to normal controls, percentages of circulating Tfh cells, but not Th17 cells, were elevated in SLE patients and correlated with disease activity. Proportions of Tfh cells in SLE patients were positively correlated with those of plasma cells and serum levels of antinuclear antibodies. After methylprednisolone pulse treatment, both percentages and absolute numbers of circulating Tfh cells were significantly decreased. In vitro cultures showed an increase of Tfh cell proportion after IL-21 stimulation that was totally abolished by the addition of dexamethasone. Both 0.5 and 1 µM dexamethasone decreased Tfh cells dose dependently (overall p = 0.013). Conclusions We demonstrated that elevated circulating Tfh cell proportions in SLE patients correlated with their disease activities, and circulating levels of plasma cells and ANA. Corticosteroids treatment down-regulated aberrant circulating Tfh cell proportions both in vivo and in vitro, making Tfh cells a new treatment target for SLE patients.
A brushless exciter model incorporating multiple rectifier modes and Preisach's hysteresis theory

A brushless excitation system model is set forth that includes an average-value rectifier representation that is valid for all three rectification modes. Furthermore, magnetic hysteresis is incorporated into the d-axis of the excitation using Preisach's theory. The resulting model is very accurate and is ideal for situations where the exciter's response is of particular interest. The model's predictions are compared to experimental results.
Behavioral manipulation methods for insect pest-management.

We discuss methods using stimuli to manipulate behavior of a pest for the purpose of protecting a valued resource. The methods are divided into two categories: those that manipulate behavior over a long distance, e.g. volatile chemicals, visual, and auditory stimuli, and those that manipulate behavior at a short distance (<1 cm), e.g. involatile chemicals. Particular emphasis is placed on methods that have been developed through studies of pest behavior and on combining stimuli to increase efficacy. Future prospects for behavioral manipulation methods in pest management are discussed.