Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An in-vitro evaluation of the efficacy of garlic extract as an antimicrobial agent on periodontal pathogens: A microbiological study

With the rise in bacterial resistance to antibiotics, there is considerable interest in the development of other classes of antimicrobials for the control of infection. Garlic (Allium sativum Linn.) has been used as medicine since ancient times and has long been known to have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. This study was undertaken to assess the inhibitory effect of garlic on Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, to assess the time-kill curve of P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans, and to determine the antiproteolytic activity of garlic on P. gingivalis. Ethanolic garlic extract (EGE) and aqueous garlic extract (AGE) were prepared and the inhibitory effects of these extracts for two periodontal pathogens (P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans) were tested. Antiproteolytic activity on protease of P. gingivalis was determined. 25 microliter (μl), 50 μl, and 75 μl of AGE showed 16 mm, 20 mm, and 25 mm zone of inhibition, respectively, on P. gingivalis. The AGE showed greater bacteriostatic activity against the P. gingivalis with minimum inhibitory concentration determined at 16.6 μl/ml. The time-kill assay of AGE and EGE were compared for P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans. AGE showed better antiproteolytic activity on total protease of P. gingivalis compared to the EGE. Thus, the study concludes the antimicrobial activity of garlic extract against periodontal pathogens, P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans. Its action against P. gingivalis includes inhibition of total protease activity, and this raises the possibility that garlic may have therapeutic use for periodontitis and possibly other oral infections.
Naturally occurring immunoglobulin Mantibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in Japanese populations

SUMMARY Varying degrees of naturally occurring immunoglobulin (Ig) M antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii were observed in almost all of adult Japanese populations negative for IgG antibodies as determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The antibody activity was reduced by absorption of sera with Toxoplasma soluble antigen or by 2-mercapto-ethanol treatment of the IgM fraction after sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Umbilical cord sera had almost no detectable IgM antibodies, and the ELISA value in infants increased with age until 1 year. Most paired sera collected from adults at a 1-year interval showed constant IgM antibody levels, suggesting retention of natural IgM antibodies throughout their lives without changing ELISA values of ≥ 0·1/year. Polar staining was observed in immunofluorescent studies for 14 serum samples with natural IgM antibody levels of ≥ 0·5, while samples obtained from a pregnant woman with natural IgM antibody levels of ≥ 0·9 reacted to the whole organism as was observed in positive sera of acute patients. Western blotting analysis revealed that natural IgM antibodies were directed to multiple antigen molecules. The band pattern differed slightly from one serum to another, but almost consistent patterns were observed in sera sequentially obtained from an adult over 4 years.
Quality Management in Electronics Manufacturing after Implementation of RoHS Directive

The improvement of electronic interconnection systems reliability after implementation of EU Directive RoHS is currently one of the main goals in development of electronic equipment assembly. In fact, the reliability of equipment is created mainly during design and production stage. But these phases should be proceeded by research phase. During this phase the ecologically friendly materials and ecologically friendly technologies have to be selected and evaluated. Investigation of Pb-free technology for small producers of electronic equipment (SME 's) were made in Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) in frame of GreenRoSE Project financed by EC. First part of our work was concentrated on analyze the influence of reflow oven parameters setup on soldering temperature profile and related with it electrical and mechanical properties of solder joints. On the base of performed experiments the optimal oven parameters were selected and test samples were manufactured. Finally, the reliability data of SAC and SnPb solder on PCBs with Sn and SnCu HASL finishes were investigated and compared.
The Tetrahymena meiotic chromosome bouquet is organized by centromeres and promotes interhomolog recombination

Summary In order to form crossovers and to undergo reductional segregation during meiosis, homologous chromosomes must pair. In Tetrahymena, meiotic prophase nuclei elongate immensely, and, within the elongated nucleus, chromosomes are arranged with telomeres assembled at one pole and centromeres at the opposite pole. This organisation is an exaggerated form of the bouquet, a meiotic chromosome arrangement that is widely conserved among eukaryotes. We show that centromere function is crucial for the formation of Tetrahymena’s stretched bouquet and, thereby, for homologue pairing. This finding adds to previous reports of the importance of centromeres in chromosome pairing in budding yeast and in Drosophila. Tetrahymena’s bouquet is an ataxia telangiectasia- and RAD3-related (ATR)-dependent meiotic DNA damage response that is triggered by meiotic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), suggesting that the bouquet is needed for DSB repair. However, in the present study we show that although homologous pairing is impeded in the absence of the bouquet, DSB repair takes place nevertheless. Moreover, recombinational DSB repair, as monitored by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, takes place only after exit from the bouquet stage. Therefore, we conclude that the bouquet is not required for DSB repair per se, but may be necessary for the alignment of homologous loci in order to promote homologous crossovers over alternative repair pathways.
BIOCOMPATIBILITY TESTS ON THE INTRAOCULAR VISION AID IOVA

Intraocular miniaturized image transmission systems are developed to restore vision in patients with irreversible destruction of the anterior ocular segment (i.e. chemical burns, explosion trauma, trachoma) and high risk for corneal transplantation, provided that the posterior ocular segment is intact. To ensure safety of such a device biocompatibility tests were conducted. In the present study the effects of light and temperature in various intensities and the toxicity of the implanted materials on neural function in the rabbit retina in-vivo was investigated. All tests give encouraging results concerning the feasibility of intraocular miniaturized image transmission systems.
Analysis of Interest Rate Impact on the Profitability Level of the Banking System in Albania during the Period 2005 -2014

This study is an analysis of the movement and impact of interest rates on the profitability level of the banking system in Albania. This analysis covers a 10-year timeframe (is organized in three time segments - before, during and after the financial crisis), taking into consideration the critical point of the years 2008-2009 considered as the â€œpeakâ€ of the global financial crisis. Such separation is made in order to see the possible changes of each period of time and to identify the impact differences of this factor in each period of study. This study is based on the hypothesis that the decrease of the interest rate has positively affected the income increase from interest as a result of the impact of two factors, negative levels of Gaps and an increased level of spread toward the average assets. As a matter of fact, it has neutralized on a certain level the other risks such as that of the loan which has dominated over the other risks. This paper is based on an empirical study with secondary quantitative and qualitative data. This study provides a considerable contribution in the framework of identification of factors affecting the profitability of the banking system in Albania, namely in the context of interest rate; In addition, this study aims at highlighting the importance of open Gaps minimization for the efficient profitability increase of the financial system.
The Protective Action Decision Model: Theoretical Modifications and Additional Evidence

The Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) is a multistage model that is based on findings from research on people's responses to environmental hazards and disasters. The PADM integrates the processing of information derived from social and environmental cues with messages that social sources transmit through communication channels to those at risk. The PADM identifies three critical predecision processes (reception, attention, and comprehension of warnings or exposure, attention, and interpretation of environmental/social cues)—that precede all further processing. The revised model identifies three core perceptions—threat perceptions, protective action perceptions, and stakeholder perceptions—that form the basis for decisions about how to respond to an imminent or long‐term threat. The outcome of the protective action decision‐making process, together with situational facilitators and impediments, produces a behavioral response. In addition to describing the revised model and the research on which it is based, this article describes three applications (development of risk communication programs, evacuation modeling, and adoption of long‐term hazard adjustments) and identifies some of the research needed to address unresolved issues.
Unsupervised feature coding on local patch manifold for satellite image scene classification

This paper presents an improved unsupervised feature learning (UFL) pipeline to discover intrinsic structures of local image patches as well as learn good feature representations automatically for image scenes. In our method, the original image patch vectors embedded in the high-dimensional pixel space are first mapped into a low-dimensional intrinsic space by linear manifold techniques, and then k-means clustering is performed on the patch manifold to learn a dictionary for feature encoding. To generate the feature representation for each local patch, triangle encoding method is applied with the learned dictionary on the same patch manifold. Finally, the holistic scene representations are obtained via the bag-of-visual-words (BOW) framework. We apply the proposed method on an aerial scene dataset. Experiments on the dataset show very promising results and demonstrate that our UFL pipeline can generate very effective local features for image scenes.
Monitoring 6‐thioguanine nucleotide concentrations in Japanese children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease

Background and Aim: 6‐Mercaptopurine (6‐MP) and azathioprine (AZA) are widely used as maintenance therapy in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, proper 6‐thioguanine nucleotide (6‐TGN) concentrations in Japanese children with IBD have not been reported.
The Association between Board Composition and Corporate Pension Policies

This study examines the role of board composition in the determination of pension policies. The results suggest that the proportion of outside directors serving on the board is positively related with pension plan funding levels. In addition, the proportion of outside directors mitigates the relation between financial distress risk and plan underfunding. Last, as firms approach distress, boards with a greater proportion of outside directors tend to allocate a lower fraction of plan assets to riskier securities. Together, our findings suggest that outside directors are mindful of their obligations toward pension plan beneficiaries.
Ultrastructure of the reproductive system of the black swamp snake (Seminatrix pygaea). IV. Occurrence of an ampulla ductus deferentis

The distal end of the ductus deferens of Seminatrix pygaea (Cope) differs from more proximal portions of the tube by possessing a highly fluctuated epithelium. Similar morphology has been reported in this area in one lizard and some mammals and the region has been designated in these taxa as the ampulla ductus deferentis. In this study, light and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the posterior ductus deferens in S. pygaea and compare the histology in this region to more proximal regions of the duct and to descriptions of the ampulla of other species. Seminatrix pygaea stores sperm throughout the ductus deferens during the entire year. The epithelium of the ductus deferens is not secretory, but the presence of numerous small apical vesicles indicates a role in fluid absorption. In addition to the highly folded epithelium, clusters of sperm nuclei are more intimately associated with the apical ampullary epithelium than elsewhere in the ductus deferens. No evidence of phagocytosis of sperm was found. In contrast, the ampulla of mammals and presumably the lizard Calotes versicolor is glandular and phagocytic. The common character shared by the squamates and mammals with specializations in this area is the folded epithelium, and whether this is due to shared ancestry with amniotes or is homoplastic is unresolved. J. Morphol. 262:714–730, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sensitivity and specificity of the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis according to disease duration: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Objective: To evaluate the ability of the widely used ACR set of criteria (both list and tree format) to diagnose RA compared with expert opinion according to disease duration. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted in PubMed and Embase databases. All articles reporting the prevalence of RA according to ACR criteria and expert opinion in cohorts of early (<1 year duration) or established (>1 year) arthritis were analysed to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of ACR 1987 criteria against the “gold standard” (expert opinion). A meta-analysis using a summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was performed and pooled sensitivity and specificity were calculated with confidence intervals. Results: Of 138 publications initially identified, 19 were analysable (total 7438 patients, 3883 RA). In early arthritis, pooled sensitivity and specificity of the ACR set of criteria were 77% (68% to 84%) and 77% (68% to 84%) in the list format versus 80% (72% to 88%) and 33% (24% to 43%) in the tree format. In established arthritis, sensitivity and specificity were respectively 79% (71% to 85%) and 90% (84% to 94%) versus 80% (71% to 85%) and 93% (86% to 97%). The SROC meta-analysis confirmed the statistically significant differences, suggesting that diagnostic performances of ACR list criteria are better in established arthritis. Conclusion: The specificity of ACR 1987 criteria in early RA is low, and these criteria should not be used as diagnostic tools. Sensitivity and specificity in established RA are higher, which reflects their use as classification criteria gold standard.
The Majority Report - Can we use big data to secure a better future?

With the widely adopted use of social media, it now becomes a common platform for calling supporters for civil unrest events. Despite the noble aims of these civil unrest events, sometimes these events might turn violent and disturb the daily lives of the general public. This paper aims to propose a conceptual framework regarding the study of using online social media data to predict offline civil unrest events. We propose to use time-series metrics as the prediction attributes instead of analyzing message contents because the message contents on social media are usually noisy, informal and not so easy to interpret. In addition, we showed using accuracy as the performance metrics could be misleading as civil unrest events were the minority class. Thus, we suggest to use additional tactics to handle the imbalanced class prediction problem. We propose to use a combination of oversampling the minority class and using feature selection techniques to tackle the imbalanced class problem. The current results shown that use of time-series metrics to predict civil unrest events is a possible solution to the problems of handling the noise and unstructured format of social media data contents in the process of analysis and predictions. In addition, we have showed that the combination of special techniques to handle imbalanced class outperformed other classifiers without using such techniques.
Seroprevalence and Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in a Rural Ugandan Population

The aim of the study was to determine in a rural population the age-and sex-specific prevalence and incidence rates of serological reactivity of 5 common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their association with HIV-1 antibody status. Of the adult population of two villages (529 adults aged 15 years or more) 294 provided an adequate blood specimen both on enrolment and at 12 months. The sera were tested at 3 collaborating laboratories for antibodies against HIV-1, Treponema pallidum, Haemophilus ducreyi, Chlamydia trachomatis and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2). A sample of 45 children were tested for HSV-1 and HSV-2. Seroprevalence rates in adults on enrolment were 7.8% for HIV-1, 10.8% for active syphilis, 10.4% for H. ducreyi, 66.0% for C. trachomatis, 91.2% for HSV-1 and 67.9% for HSV-2. Males were significantly more likely than females to be seropositive for H. ducreyi (15.6% versus 6.6%), but less likely to be HSV-2 antibody positive (57.0% versus 74.4%). Reactivity to H. ducreyi, C. trachomatis and HSV-2 rose with increasing age. In contrast, active syphilis showed no age trend. All STDs tended to be more common in those HIV-1 seropositive. Incidence rates over the 12 months were nil for HIV-1, 0.5% for syphilis, 1.2% for H. ducreyi, 11.3% for C. trachomatis, and 16.7% for HSV-2. The results of this exploratory study indicate that all STDs included are common in this rural population. The high HSV-2 prevalence rate among adolescents suggests that HSV-2 may be an important risk factor for HIV-1 infection. HSV-2 serology may be a useful tool to monitor sexual behaviour interventions in young people.
Cord Blood KL-6, a Specific Lung Injury Marker, Correlates with the Subsequent Development and Severity of Atypical Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Background: A considerable number of preterm infants may have been exposed to inflammation in utero and may be born with an inflamed lung. Objectives: To determine the impact of antenatal lung injury and inflammatory response on the pathogenesis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) according to its clinical pattern, using KL-6 (as a lung injury marker) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (as a marker of inflammatory response). Methods: In this case-control study, a total of 74 infants (<32 weeks of gestation) including BPD with minimal early lung disease (‘atypical’; 21 infants), BPD with significant early lung disease (‘classic’; 29 infants) and the non-BPD (24 infants) groups underwent KL-6 and CRP in cord blood determinations. Results: The cord plasma KL-6 levels were significantly higher in the atypical and the total BPD groups than in the non-BPD group (median = 60.9 vs. 34.5 U/ml, p = 0.031; 43.5 vs. 34.5 U/ml, p = 0.02). However, the cord plasma CRP levels were not significantly different among the study groups. The cord plasma KL-6 levels in patients with atypical BPD were significantly higher in infants with moderate or severe BPD than in infants with mild BPD (median = 88.3 vs. 41.5 U/ml, p = 0.041) and were found to be significantly correlated with the duration of oxygen therapy (r = 0.502, p = 0.024). Conclusions: The present study shows that cord plasma KL-6, a specific lung injury marker, is increased and objectively reflects disease severity in atypical BPD.
The Research of Financial Distress Restructuring

Abstrac This paper sets up models for the financial distress restructuring strategies in both cases that the interests of shareholder and manager are consistent or not in order to study the effect of restructuring strategies on the condition of “information asymmetry”. Through the quantitative analysis of earning expectations of the shareholder, manager and creditor, this paper studied the optimal strategy of all the parties and their changes. Finally, this paper found that the two sides’ optimal restructuring strategies to deal with financial distress were different when the interests of shareholder and manager were inconsistent. The manager could damage the benefits of the shareholder to maximize self-interest using his information advantage and domination. This article also addresses some corresponding recommendations to solve this issue.
A Principal-Agent Approach to Foreign Economic Policy: State-Business Relations during U.S. Debt Crisis Management

U.S. officials often rely on American corporations to achieve public policy objectives within the international economy. For example, commercial banks played an integral role in U.S. debt crisis management efforts. The reliance on American businesses to achieve policy ends challenges theoretical assumptions about relations between private firms and the American state. It also forces analysts to develop new methodological tools for analyzing policy implementation. When foreign policy outcomes depend on the behavior of private firms, traditional models must be modified to account for the complexity of state-business relations in a globalized political economy. To analyze the contribution of American firms to U.S. economic policy objectives, this paper draws upon institutionalist approaches to social science. Institutional analysis, and in particular economic views of organizations, focus on the role of incentives and information asymmetries in inter-organizational relations. This paper develops an analytic framework based on principal-agent theory and uses it to assess U.S. efforts to manage the global debt crisis.
The impact of college cost on low-income students at private (not-for-profit), four-year institutions in New England

It is clear that the public and policymakers are qu stioning the value of a college education in terms of attainment and affordability. The goal of the study was to examine the impact of college cost on low-income students at pr ivate (not-for-profit), four-year institutions in New England from 2006 through 2011. By examining pr ice, institutional characteristics, financial aid, and student persistence, the study i dent fied through a series of descriptive statistics, crosstabulations, and regression analys es those factors that affected the graduation rates of low-income students preand post-implemen tation of the Higher Education Opportunity
Spectrum Auctions in Latin America and Europe

This article studies radioelectric spectrum auctions. The main auction designs of one and multiple objects are briefly presented, emphasizing the combinatorial clock auction for multiple objects which has properties that make it attractive when auctioning several blocks of the spectrum. This is important because experience shows that a good design is fundamental for the success of an auction. An econometric estimation of the determinants of the price of the auctioned spectrum is performed, based on 160 observations of 20 Latin American and European countries from 1993 to 2015. We control for Gross Domestic Product, the Nasdaq telecom shares price index, population density and mobile penetration, and dummy variables for the speculative bubble of telecom shares prices previous to 2001 and spectrum caps, and use a reduced form log-linear regression to find out that low frequency bands (700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz) are the most expensive, followed by medium ones (1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2000 MHz and 2100 MHz) that are a bit cheaper, and the highest frequency bands (2500 MHz and 2600 MHz) that turn out to be the cheapest.