Search Results (4)

The paper focuses on the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Egypt, which has one of the highest rates of HCV in the world. The high prevalence is linked to several factors, including the use of injection drugs, poor sterilization practices in medical facilities, and low public awareness. This paper introduces a hyOPTGB model, which employs an optimized gradient boosting (GB) classifier to predict HCV disease in Egypt. The model’s accuracy is enhanced by optimizing hyperparameters with the OPTUNA framework. Min-Max normalization is used as a preprocessing step for scaling the dataset values and using the forward selection (FS) wrapped method to identify essential features. The dataset used in the study contains 1385 instances and 29 features and is available at the UCI machine learning repository. The authors compare the performance of five machine learning models, including decision tree (DT), support vector machine (SVM), dummy classifier (DC), ridge classifier (RC), and bagging classifier (BC), with the hyOPTGB model. The system’s efficacy is assessed using various metrics, including accuracy, recall, precision, and F1-score. The hyOPTGB model outperformed the other machine learning models, achieving a 95.3% accuracy rate. The authors also compared the hyOPTGB model against other models proposed by authors who used the same dataset. Full article

Since there are no data in the literature regarding the comparison of the marginal adaptation of hydraulic sealers when used with a single-cone technique or through thermomechanical compaction, this study aimed to evaluate the behavior of four different endodontic sealers used with the two above-mentioned obturation techniques by evaluating the marginal gap existing between the obturation materials and the dentinal walls through scanning electron microscopy. Given this objective, a total of 104 single-rooted, straight canal teeth were selected and divided into four subgroups according to the selected endodontic sealer ((AH) Plus Bioceramic Sealer (AHP), EndoSequence BC Sealer HiFlow (ES), C-Root SP (CR), and GuttaFlow Bioseal (GF)). Each tooth was decoronated and instrumented with the HyFlex EDM/CM systematics up to 30.04. After irrigation procedures, the teeth of each subgroup were divided into two groups and obturated according to two different obturation techniques: the single-cone technique (SC) and the thermomechanical compaction technique (TC). After the required sealer setting time, each tooth was sectioned in three parts at 3, 6, and 9 mm from the apex, and each section was observed with a scanning electron microscope. The marginal gap of each sample was measured using G* Power Software v3.1, and the statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by a post hoc Dunn’s test. Results showed that there were not any statistically significant differences in terms of the marginal gap between the two different above-mentioned obturation techniques for each sealer, except for the middle third of root canals, where a statistically significant difference was found for AHP, ES, and GF sealers. In conclusion, the thermomechanical compaction of hydraulic sealers and gutta-percha guarantees better sealing than the single-cone technique when the root canal shape is not rounded. Full article

The primary domain/leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor, Elongated Hypocotyl (HY5), is crucial for the photomorphogenesis of seedlings. Here, we identified BcHY5 as a regulator of hypocotyl length from the non-heading Chinese cabbage (NHCC) variety ‘Suzhouqing’, which encoded a protein comprised 164 amino acid residues. Ectopic expression of BcHY5 in Arabidopsis shortens the length of the hypocotyl. Additionally, we discovered a protein called BcBBX24 containing the B-BOX (BBX) domain, which is the interacting partner of BcHY5. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and GST pull-down assays revealed that BcHY5 interacted with BcBBX24. Additionally, by physically binding to the promoter of BcHY5, BcBBX24 inhibited the transcriptional activity of BcHY5. Therefore, our findings reveal a transcriptional mechanism through which light response occurs in NHCC seedlings, where BcHY5 can interact with BcBBX24 and BcBBX24 can prevent BcHY5 transcription. Full article

The emergence of resistance to antifungal drugs has made the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) very challenging. Among natural substances, biosurfactants (BS) produced by Lactobacillus have gained increasing interest in counteracting Candida infections for their proven anti-adhesive properties and safety profile. In the present study, liposomes (LP-BS) or liposomes coated with hyaluronic acid (HY-LP-BS) were prepared in the presence of the BS isolated from the vaginal strain Lactobacillus crispatus BC1 and characterized in terms of size, ζ potential, stability and mucoadhesion. The anti-biofilm activity of free BS, LP-BS and HY-LP-BS was investigated against different Candida albicans and non-albicans strains (C. glabrata, C. lusitaniae, C. tropicalis, C. krusei and C. parapsilosis), clinically isolated from patients affected by VVC. The inhibition of biofilm formation and the dispersal of pre-formed biofilm were evaluated. The obtained phospholipid vesicles showed suitable size for vaginal application and good stability over the storage period. HY-LP-BS exhibited good mucoadhesive properties and the best anti-biofilm profile, both in preventing or limiting the surface colonization by a broad spectrum of Candida species. In conclusion, the formulation of a novel antifungal agent derived from the vaginal microbiota into mucoadhesive nanocarriers appears to be a promising biotherapeutic strategy to counteract vulvovaginal candidiasis. Full article