Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Periodontal status and hyperlipidemia: statin users versus non-users.

BACKGROUND The association between serum lipids and periodontal disease has been studied predominantly in patients with chronic periodontitis with limited data available regarding periodontal status of patients with hyperlipidemia. Meanwhile, the impact of statins on the periodontal health of the population also remains largely underexplored. This study aims to assess the periodontal status among patients with hyperlipidemia and users of statins. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, 94 patients with hyperlipidemia (50 receiving statins and 44 receiving non-pharmacologic therapy) and 46 control individuals who were normolipidemic underwent periodontal examination (plaque index, gingival index [GI], probing depth [PD], and clinical attachment level [CAL]). Biochemical parameters measured included serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. RESULTS PD and GI were significantly higher in patients with hyperlipidemia who were non-statin users compared with the normolipidemic individuals (P <0.001 [PD] and P <0.05 [GI]) and the statin group (P = 0.001 [PD] and P <0.05 [GI]). Periodontal parameters between statin users and the normolipidemic group did not differ significantly. After adjusting for confounders, positive and significant correlations were observed between PD and TG, and TC and LDL, whereas CAL shared correlation with TC and LDL. GI was correlated with TG and TC. Regression analyses revealed that whereas TC was associated significantly with PD (P <0.001), LDL showed significant association with CAL (P = 0.013). TG showed significant association with GI (P = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that relative to the general population, patients with hyperlipidemia are more prone to periodontal disease. Also, within the limits of this study, statins have a positive impact on periodontal health.
Erythropoietin inhibits apoptosis in breast cancer cells via an Akt-dependent pathway without modulating in vivo chemosensitivity

Evidence for erythropoietin signaling has been shown in several nonhematopoietic tissues, including many tumor types. Clinically, recombinant erythropoietin treatment of malignancy-related anemia has yet to be definitively associated with any modulation of chemotherapy or radiotherapy efficacy. Preclinically, recombinant erythropoietin has been shown to increase tumor oxygenation, but the direct effects of recombinant erythropoietin on tumor cells that express erythropoietin receptor are not yet fully characterized. This study examined the effects of exogenous recombinant erythropoietin on rodent mammary adenocarcinoma cells (R3230) in vitro and in vivo, and determined the effects of systemic recombinant erythropoietin on tumor growth delay in Taxol treatment. We showed that systemic recombinant erythropoietin treatment of rats bearing R3230 mammary carcinomas induced an increase in phospho-Akt levels within tumor cells. This was associated with a decrease in the frequency of apoptotic cells in tumors from recombinant erythropoietin–treated animals, but did not noticeably affect tumor growth rate. In vitro studies revealed that not only does recombinant erythropoietin induce Akt phosphorylation, but it also stimulates phosphorylation of p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinases, Erk1 and Erk2. Activation of erythropoietin-mediated signaling in R3230 cells was associated with dose-dependent inhibition of apoptosis in response to Taxol treatment and serum starvation, an effect that was blocked by the addition of a phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor. Despite its cytoprotective effects in vitro, recombinant erythropoietin did not significantly affect tumor growth delay in Taxol treatment. This study shows direct recombinant erythropoietin–mediated activation of specific intracellular signaling pathways in mammary adenocarcinoma cells in vivo and in vitro. Modulation of tumor apoptosis pathways by recombinant erythropoietin may have negative consequences by decreasing the chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity of erythropoietin receptor–positive breast tumors, although it did not have any obvious effects on growth with or without chemotherapy in this model. [Mol Cancer Ther 2006;5(2):356–61]
Monitoring of the 2011 Super Algal Bloom in Indian River Lagoon, FL, USA, Using MERIS

During the spring of 2011 an unprecedented “Super” algal bloom formed in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), with Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations over eight times the historical mean in some areas and lasted for seven months across the IRL. The European Space Agency’s MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) platform provided multispectral data at 665 and 708 nm, which was used to quantify the phytoplankton Chl a by fluorescence while minimizing the effects of other water column constituents. The three objectives were to: (1) calibrate and validate two Chl a algorithms using all available MERIS data of the IRL from 2002 to 2012; (2) determine the accuracy of the algorithms estimation of Chl a before, during, and after the 2011 super bloom; and (3) map the 2011 algal bloom using the Chl a algorithm that was proven to be effective in other similar estuaries. The chosen algorithm, Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCI), was positively correlated with the in-situ measurements, with an R2 value of 0.798. While there was a significant (62.9 ± 25%) underestimation of Chl a using MERIS NDCI, the underestimation appears to be consistent across the data and mostly in the estimations of lower concentrations, suggesting that a qualitative or ratio analysis is still valid. Analysis of the application of the NDCI processed MERIS data provided additional insights that the in-situ measurements were unable to record. The time series MERIS Chl a maps along with in-situ water quality monitoring data depicted that the 2011 IRL bloom started after a heavy rainfall in March 2011 and peaked in October 2011 after a decrease in temperature. The bloom collapse also coincided with heavy rainfall and rapidly decreasing temperatures and salinity through October to November 2011.
Silencing of miRNA-148a by hypermethylation activates the integrin-mediated signaling pathway in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a pivotal role in carcinogenesis by suppressing oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Various studies have identified numerous miRNAs and their diverse targets; however, the consequences of dysregulated miRNAs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remain unclear. For this study, we found that miR-148a is downregulated through hypermethylation in NPC biopsies and NPC cell lines compared with adjacent normal and NP cells respectively. Promoter assays demonstrated that upstream stimulatory factor 1 (USF1) is a crucial transcription factor that activates miR-148a promoter activity. EMSA assays confirmed that purified USF1 binds better toward the unmethylated than the methylated CG-containing USF1 consensus probe. The ectopic expression of miR-148a inhibits cell migration in NPC cells through the suppression of integrin-mediated signaling by targeting VAV2, WASL and ROCK1. Biochemical and functional assays provided supporting evidence that these 3 genes are the downstream targets of miR-148a in NPC cells. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting analysis revealed that the 3 oncogenic targets of miR-148a were overexpressed in NPC biopsies, suggesting that the inactivation of miR-148a caused by DNA methylation promotes NPC progression. Overall, our findings revealed that miR-148a can act as tumor suppressor miRNA and serve as a biomarker as well as a therapeutic target for NPC.
Pyridine Nucleotide Redox Potential in Erythrocytes of Saudi Subjects with Sickle Cell Disease

Key antioxidant defense reactions in RBCs are linked to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+). The ratio of reduced (NAD(P)H) to total pyridine nucleotide pool [(NAD(P)T i.e. NAD(P)H plus NAD(P)+], which is known as redox potential, reflects the redox status of erythrocytes. Through the utilization of a spectrophotometric cycling assay, the NAD+ and NADP+ redox potentials were determined in erythrocytes from normal Saudi subjects and those with sickle cell disease (SCD). The sickle erythrocytes NADH/NADT ratio (0.386) was reduced compared to the normal ratio (0.464). This reduction appears to be due to a significant increase in oxidized NAD+ in sickle RBCs. However, the value of the redox potential of erythrocytes in Saudi subjects with SCD is slightly higher than that reported for comparable African Americans. Although the high fetal hemoglobin is the main factor in the amelioration of the clinical course exhibited by Saudi sickle cell patients, it is assumed that the slight improvement in the redox potential may play a part in this process. This is supported by a relatively uninhibited glycolytic pathway in the erythrocytes of Saudi subjects with SCD with a higher level of NADH than their African American counterparts.
Kurz- und Langzeitprognose von Dünndarmkolikern nach Kolikoperation

Zusammenfassung Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war, die Prognose von Pferden nach chirurgisch therapierter Dünndarmkolik mithilfe von Kurz- und Langzeitüberlebensraten hinsichtlich ihres Zusammenhangs mit präoperativ und intraoperativ ermittelten Befunden zu untersuchen. Material und Methoden: Es erfolgte eine retrospektive Auswertung der Krankenakten von Pferden, die wegen Kolik laparotomiert wurden und eine pathologische Veränderung im Dünndarm aufwiesen. Der prä- und postoperative Verlauf der 233 die Aufstehphase überlebenden Patienten wurde hinsichtlich präoperativer Parameter bei Klinikeintritt (Rektaltemperatur, Herzfrequenz, Atemfrequenz, Hämatokrit, Plasmaproteingehalt, Kolikdauer bis Klinikeintritt, Kolikverlauf, Verhalten bei Klinikeintritt, Maulschleimhautfarbe, kapilläre Rückfüllzeit, Bauchhöhlenpunktat) und intraoperativer Befunde (bestehende Veränderungen der Darmfarbe, Dünndarmresektion, Resektatlänge, Kolikursache) ausgewertet. Ferner erfolgte eine Auswertung des postoperativen Krankheitsverlaufes bis zur Entlassung aus der Klinik sowie ein und 5 Jahre danach. Ergebnisse: Die Überlebensrate aller Patienten betrug bei Entlassung aus der Klinik 81%, nach einem Jahr 66% und nach 5 Jahren 35%. Präoperativ erhobene Befunde mit Einfluss auf die 1-Jahres-Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeit waren der Kolikverlauf vor Klinikeintritt und der Hämatokrit bei der Erstuntersuchung. Kolikursachen mit Dünndarmstrangulation resultierten in einer schlechteren Kurzzeitprognose (80%) als Kolikursachen ohne Dünndarmstrangulation (90%). Dagegen war die Durchführung einer Dünndarmresektion im Vergleich zu einer Kolikoperation ohne Dünndarmresektion nicht mit einer schlechteren Prognose assoziiert. Schlussfolgerung und klinische Relevanz: Aus den Ergebnissen wird abgeleitet, dass sich eine Dünndarmresektion weder auf die Kurzzeitüberlebensrate noch die Langzeitüberlebensrate auswirkt.
SIFT Based Approach for Automatic Image Registration

Automatic image registration (AIR) is still a present challenge for the remote sensing community. Although a wide variety of AIR methods have been proposed in the last few years, there are several drawbacks which avoid their common use in practice. The recently proposed scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) approach has already revealed to be a powerful tool for the abstention of tie points in general image processing tasks, but it has a limited performance when directly applied to remote sensing images. In this paper, a new AIR method is proposed based on the combination of image segmentation and SIFT, complemented by a robust procedure of outlier removal. This combination allows for an accurate abstention of tie points for a pair of remote sensing images, being a powerful scheme for AIR. Both synthetic and real data have been considered in this work for the evaluation of the proposed methodology, comprising medium and high spatial resolution images, and single-band, multispectral, and hyper spectral images. A set of measures which allow for an objective evaluation of the geometric correction process quality has been used. The proposed methodology allows for a fully automatic registration of pairs of remote sensing images, leading to sub pixel accuracy for the whole considered data set. Furthermore, it is able to account for differences in spectral content, rotation, scale, translation, different viewpoint, and change in illumination.
Affymetrix GeneChip® system: moving from research to the clinic

Affymetrix Inc.’s GeneChip® technology has become the industry standard in microarray-based research. Due to the high density of content per array that can be achieved today (an industry leading 6.5 million features) the GeneChips can be used for high-throughput mutation detection, single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping, expression profiling and detection of chromosomal aberrations. This in turn opens the way for clinical applications in genetics, cytogenetics, pharmacogenetics, oncology and pathogen recognition. Establishing standards is a central issue in improving data quality and, in combination with automatic, easy-to-interpret reports, will form the basis of the clinical applicability. Future pricing policies and the resolving of ethical considerations will also dictate the technology’s full translation from research into clinical laboratories.
Treatment of recurrent oral ulcers with mometasone furoate lotion

Sir, Recurrent aphthous stomatitis appears rather suddenly and causes much discomfort for several days. The condition seems to be due to a cytokine cascade that leads to an enhanced cell-mediated immune response to an antigenic stimulus within the oral epithelium.1 To modulate this abnormal response, corticosteroids are used, and topical agents are preferred, as they have fewer side-effects. The problem with these agents resides in their being presented in an adherent paste or gel vehicle, which requires the affected area of the mucosa to be dried first, and then a thin layer of …
Swainsonine, a potent mannosidase inhibitor, elevates rat liver and brain lysosomal alpha-D-mannosidase, decreases Golgi alpha-D-mannosidase II, and increases the plasma levels of several acid hydrolases.

Swainsonine, a toxic plant alkaloid reported to be the agent that induces in animals a neurological condition very similar to the hereditary lysosomal storage disease mannosidosis, and to inhibit the formation of complex glycoproteins of the asparagine-linked class, was recently shown [D.R. P. Tulsiani, T.M. Harris, and O. Touster, (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 7936-7939] to be a highly potent and specific inhibitor of Golgi mannosidase II in addition to being a strong inhibitor of lysosomal mannosidase. In the present study the effect of administered swainsonine on tissue enzyme levels was investigated. The activity of Golgi mannosidase II was markedly decreased (22% of control) without changes occurring in the activities of several other Golgi enzymes. However, the effects of swainsonine on lysosomal enzymes was unexpected. In liver, acid mannosidase increased markedly, instead of decreasing as would be expected from a compound reported to induce a mannosidosis-like condition. Similarly, the principal change in brain was a substantial increase in lysosomal mannosidase levels. In plasma, most lysosomal enzymes increased. These results indicate that the pathological effects of swainsonine are not solely attributable to its being an inhibitor of lysosomal alpha-D-mannosidase and are probably a consequence of abnormal processing of glycoproteins.
Real-time Blacklisting of Bots based on Spam Analyis

In this paper, we describe how analyzing spam can contribute to the identication of bots. This is done by producing a user dened real-time blacklist based on spam messages. Blacklist analysis shows that blacklisting is not an ecient technique in ghting spam. The analysis also helps in deciding the examination period the blacklist should consider for dierent tresholds.
La transmisión de valores a jóvenes socialmente desfavorecidos a través de la actividad física y el deporte. Estudio múltiple de casos : Getafe, L'Aquila y Los Ángeles

El proposito de esta investigacion es valorar el impacto de un programa fisico-deportivo de 10 semanas de duracion con alumnos socialmente desfavorecidos de educacion secundaria. Este programa esta basado en el Modelo de Responsabilidad creado por Donald Hellison y se desarrollo con estudiantes de tres centros educativos de caracteristicas similares situados en Getafe (Espana), L’Aquila (Italia) y Los Angeles (Estados Unidos). Un total de 51 alumnos participaron en este estudio (40 chicos y 11 chicas), con edades comprendidas entre los 15 y los 19 anos, y procedentes de 11 nacionalidades diferentes. Para la realizacion de esta investigacion se ha empleado exclusivamente la metodologia cualitativa, en concreto el estudio multiple de casos. El proceso de recogida de datos ha consistido en obtener informacion de diferentes fuentes tales como notas de campo escritas por el profesor, cuestionarios y diarios escritos por los alumnos, y entrevistas realizadas al final del programa tanto a los participantes como a varios de los profesores de cada una de las escuelas. Los resultados de este estudio muestran un cambio positivo progresivo en el comportamiento de los estudiantes mas problematicos y un impacto favorable en las escuelas donde se realizo. Tambien hubo una mejoria significativa en las actitudes de los alumnos en relacion a los aspectos clave del Modelo de Responsabilidad como respeto, participacion y esfuerzo, y autonomia personal. No obstante, los resultados relacionados con los ultimos Niveles de Responsabilidad (i.e., liderazgo y transferencia) no fueron tan positivos, por lo que es razonable afirmar que la corta duracion del programa (10 semanas) hizo mas dificil consolidar los niveles superiores del Modelo de Responsabilidad. Asimismo, el estudio multiple de casos revela que las percepciones de los participantes en relacion a este programa fisico-deportivo basado en el Modelo de Responsabilidad con respecto a experiencias previas en otras clases de Educacion Fisica fueron muy positivas y estan relacionadas con seis temas: aspectos estructurales, contenido del programa, metodologia de ensenanza, rigurosidad del profesor, estrategias de reflexion y oportunidades para el liderazgo. Palabras clave : educacion en valores, jovenes desfavorecidos, deporte, actividad fisica, modelo de responsabilidad Director : Javier Duran Gonzalez - Ano de lectura : 2008
Actividad in vitro de ertapenem frente a enterobacterias provenientes de la comunidad en siete ciudades de Colombia

Objetivo. Evaluar los perfiles de sensibilidad in vitrode ertapenem y comparar su actividad con la de otros antibioticos de uso clinico para Enterobacteriaceas de la comunidad en Colombia. Materiales y metodos. Estudio descriptivo en el cual se recolectaron aislamientos clinicos de Enterobacterias provenientes de la comunidad de once hospitales de siete ciudades de Colombia. Los aislamientos se probaron con diferentes antibioticos–incluido el ertapenem– mediante la tecnica de microdilucion en caldo y la utilizacion de suspensiones bacterianas segun las recomendaciones vigentes del Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI). En un grupo de bacterias con fenotipo compatiblecon la produccion de β-lactamasas de espectro extendido (BLEE), se realizo la prueba confirmatoria de BLEE de Vitek®. Resultados. Se recolectaron 448 cepas; las sitios de aislamiento mas frecuentes fueron la piel ylos tejidos blandos (48%), el tracto genitourinario(27%) y las secreciones intraabdominales (16%). La sensibilidad dle ertapenem en todos los aislamientosfue de 100%. Los otros antibioticos presentaron comportamientos variables para cada especie bacteriana.Se resalta que Es cherichia coli presento 26% de resistencia a las quinolonas. De los 10 aislamientos de E. coli y 5 de Klebsiella con fenotipo sugestivo de produccion de BLEE, 4 y 2, respectivamente, se confirmaron como BLEE positivos mediante la pruebaconfirmatoria.
Handling polysemy in description logic ontologies

Semantic Web technology highly depends on the quality of ontology as it reduces or eliminates conceptual confusion and reuses knowledge. In order to enhance quality of ontology, there is one major problem with lexical representation of ontology. Current lexical representation is term which may have different meanings, i.e., the term is polysemous, this can result in frustrating misunderstanding and ambiguity during the management and application of ontology. To solve this problem, sense is used to replace term as the lexical representation of concepts and properties for its unique meaning. The process of handling polysemy is to automatically disambiguate terms in ontology by using its surrounding ontology symbols and its nearby terms in annotated documents using this ontology. The right sense is assigned to a target term by maximizing the relatedness between the target and its neighbors. Experiments show our method has good performance. Comparing with the best word sense disambiguation method, the concept precision is almost 2 times than the precision of noun, and the property precision is almost 3 times than the precision of verb. The last experiment proves that our method is also effective in a semi-automatic process.
Introduction to Continuum Biomechanics

Abstract This book is concerned with the study of continuum mechanics applied to biological systems, i.e., continuum biomechanics. This vast and exciting subject allows description of when a bone may fracture due to excessive loading, how blood behaves as both a solid and fluid, down to how cells respond to mechanical forces that lead to changes in their behavior, a process known as mechanotransduction. We have written for senior undergraduate students and first year graduate students in mechanical or biomedical engineering, but individuals working at biotechnology companies that deal in biomaterials or biomechanics should also find the information presented relevant and easily accessible.Table of Contents: Tensor Calculus / Kinematics of a Continuum / Stress / Elasticity / Fluids / Blood and Circulation / Viscoelasticity / Poroelasticity and Thermoelasticity / Biphasic Theory
An lower ISM band frequency synthesizer and GMSK data modulator

In this paper a high resolution fractional-N RF frequency synthesizer is presented which is controlled by a fourth-order digital sigma-delta modulator allowing the synthesizer to be digitally modulated directly at RF. For data transmission a simplified digital filter which makes use of sigma-delta quantized tap coefficients is included which provides built in GMSK pulse shaping. The synthesizer makes use of two custom chips, with only a simple off chip loop filter and VCO required. The synthesizer operates from a single three volt supply and the two chips consume a total of 32 mW.
Integrating natural and social science perspectives on plant disease risk, management and policy formulation

Plant diseases threaten both food security and the botanical diversity of natural ecosystems. Substantial research effort is focused on pathogen detection and control, with detailed risk management available for many plant diseases. Risk can be assessed using analytical techniques that account for disease pressure both spatially and temporally. We suggest that such technical assessments of disease risk may not provide an adequate guide to the strategies undertaken by growers and government to manage plant disease. Instead, risk-management strategies need to account more fully for intuitive and normative responses that act to balance conflicting interests between stakeholder organizations concerned with plant diseases within the managed and natural environments. Modes of effective engagement between policy makers and stakeholders are explored in the paper, together with an assessment of such engagement in two case studies of contemporary non-indigenous diseases in one food and in one non-food sector. Finally, a model is proposed for greater integration of stakeholders in policy decisions.