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001 for FEV1; P-interaction = 0.028 for FVC). Women had a higher CRP (P = 0.006), but a weaker association between CRP and lung function (P-interaction less then 0.001 for FEV1; P-interaction less then 0.001 for FVC). The indirect effects of current smoking on lung function via CRP were significant in both men and women, with 7.76%-19.40% of the total effect being mediated. Conclusions CRP mediates the association between smoking and lung function. The gender difference in the risk effect of smoking on lung function might be partially explained by the different susceptibility to inflammatory process in men and women.Background and objective Ultrasound is the non-radioactive imaging modality used in the diagnosis of various diseases related to the internal organs of the body. Thymidine The presence of speckle noise in ultrasound image (UI) is inevitable and may affect resolution and contrast of the image. Existence of the speckle noise degrades the visual evaluation of the image. The despeckling of UI is a desirable pre-processing step in computer-aided UI based diagnosis systems. Methods This paper proposes a novel method for despeckling UIs using pre-trained residual learning network (RLN). Initially, RLN is trained with pristine and its corresponding noisy images in order to achieve a better performance. The developed method chooses a pre-trained RLN for despeckling UIs with less computational resources. But the training procedure of RLN from scratch is computationally demanding. The pre-trained RLN is a blind despeckling approach and does not require any fine tuning and noise level estimation. The presented approach shows superiority in the removal of speckle noise as compared to the existing state-of-art methods. Results To highlight the effectiveness of the proposed method the pristine images from the Waterloo dataset has been considered. The proposed pre-trained RLN based UI despeckling method resulted in a better peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index measure (SSIM) at different speckle noise levels. The no-reference image quality approach is adopted to ensure robustness of the established method for real time UI. From results it is obvious that, the performance of the proposed method is superior than the existing methods in terms of naturalness image quality evaluator (NIQE). Conclusions From the experimental results, it is clear that the proposed method outperforms the existing despeckling methods in terms of both artificially added and naturally occurring speckle images.Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate three licorice-derived polyphenols (glabridin, licochalcone A, licoricidin) as well as cinnamon oil for their antimicrobial activities against major endodontic pathogens Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces israelii, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia, Porphyromonas endodontalis, and Candida albicans. The synergistic interactions between the four compounds and chlorhexidine were assessed on E. faecalis. Lastly, the biocompatibility of the tested compounds was assessed using human gingival fibroblasts. Design Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal microbicidal concentrations (MMC) were determined using a microplate dilution assay. A luminescence assay monitoring adenosine triphosphate was used to assess the antimicrobial activity of the tested compounds against E. faecalis biofilm. The synergistic effects of the tested compounds in association with chlorhexidine were evaluated using the checkerboard technique. Cytotoxicity toward human gingival fibroblasts was assessed by determination of cell metabolic activity using a colorimetric assay. Results Cinnamon oil showed the strongest microbicidal activity. Licochalcone A, licoricidin, and glabridin had MIC values ranging from 1.56 to 25 μg/mL against the six endodontic bacterial pathogens. The natural plant compounds were active to various extents against E. faecalis embedded in a biofilm. Synergistic antibacterial effects between chlorhexidine and the compounds, mainly glabridin, were observed against E. faecalis. Following a 2-h exposure, licochalcone A, licoricidin, and glabridin demonstrated no cytotoxicity toward gingival fibroblasts at concentrations up to 50 μg/mL, while cinnamon oil and, to a lesser extent, chlorhexidine displayed some cytotoxicity. Conclusions The present study provides evidence that the natural plant compounds tested show promise as root canal disinfection agents.Though sludge foaming often occurs and thus causes serious membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs), the fouling mechanisms related with the foaming phenomenon have not been well addressed, hindering better understanding and solving foaming problem. In this work, it was interestingly found that, the foulants during the foaming period possessed extremely high specific filtration resistance (SFR) (over 1016 m kg-1) and strong adhesion ability to membrane surface. Chemical characterization showed that the proteins (178.57 mg/L) and polysaccharides (209.21 mg/L) in the foaming sample were about 6.4 times and 5.4 times of those in the supernatant sample, suggesting existence of a mechanism permitting continuous production of these foulants in the MBR during the foaming period. It was revealed that the fouling caused by foams was associated with gel layer filtration process, and the extremely high SFR can be interpreted by chemical potential change in the gel filtration process depicted in Flory-Huggins theory. Meanwhile, analyses by the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) theory showed that the strong adhesion ability stemmed from the high interaction energy between the foaming foulants and membrane surface. In addition, 16S rDNA gene sequencing identified that the abundance of the foaming related bacteria species in the sludge suspension during the foaming period was more than 10 times of that during the non-foaming period. This study offered new mechanism insights into foaming fouling in MBRs.Background Dysphagia is a common symptom and may be a cause of death in patients with spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). However, little is known about at which disease stage dysphagia becomes clinically relevant. Therefore, our study aims to investigate the prevalence of dysphagia in different disease stages of SCA 1, 2, 3 and 6. Methods We studied 237 genetically confirmed patients with SCA 1, 2, 3, 6 from the Clinical Research Consortium for SCAs and investigated the prevalence of self-reported dysphagia and the association between dysphagia and other clinical characteristics. We further stratified ataxia severity and studied the prevalence of dysphagia at each disease stage. Results Dysphagia was present in 59.9% of SCA patients. Patients with dysphagia had a longer disease duration and more severe ataxia than patients without dysphagia (patients with dysphagia vs. without dysphagia, disease duration (years) 14.51 ± 8.91 vs. 11.22 ± 7.82, p = .001, scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia [SARA] 17.90 ± 7.74 vs. 13.04 ± 7.51, p = .000). Dysphagia was most common in SCA1, followed by SCA3, SCA 6, and SCA 2. Dysphagia in SCA1 and 3 was associated robustly with ataxia severity, whereas this association was less obvious in SCA2 and 6, demonstrating genotype-specific clinical variation. Conclusion Dysphagia is a common clinical symptom in SCAs, especially in the severe disease stage. Understanding dysphagia in SCA patients can improve the care of these patients and advance knowledge on the roles of the cerebellum and brainstem control in swallowing.Objectives were to determine the effects of a dose of PGF2α administered 2 days before timed artificial insemination (AI) on LH pulsatility, characteristics of the pre-ovulatory follicle, and pregnancy per artificial insemination (P/AI) in anovular dairy cows, particularly in cows not subjected to hyperthermia. In experiment 1, 2,011 lactating Holstein cows had ovaries scanned by ultrasound to determine corpus luteum (CL) presence and only those without a CL in two consecutive exams were enrolled (n = 437). Cows had the estrous cycle synchronized with an estradiol-progesterone based protocol starting on experiment Day -11 and timed AI on Day 0. Cows were assigned randomly to receive a single dose of 25 mg of PGF2α as dinoprost on Day -4 (1PGF, n = 222) or two doses of 25 mg each of PGF2α, one on Day -4 and one on Day -2 (2PGF, n = 215). Rectal temperatures were evaluated on the day of AI and 7 days later and cows were classified as being normothermic ( less then 39.1 °C) or hyperthermic (≥39.1 °C). Ovulatory increased P/AI compared with 1PGF in normothermic cows (23.1 [18/78] vs. 43.7% [31/71]), but not in hyperthermic cows. In experiment 2, administration of 25 mg of dinoprost in 2PGF resulted in concentrations of PGFM 26-fold greater than 1PGF in the first 6 h after treatment (48 vs. 1,242 pg/mL). Cows receiving 2PGF had smaller basal LH concentration (0.57 vs. 0.46 ng/mL) and less frequent LH pulses (4.5 vs. 3.9 pulses/6 h), but duration of the LH surge was longer for 2PGF than 1PGF (13.1 vs. 15.5 h). Treatment with 2PGF increased the diameter and volume of the pre-ovulatory follicle, and concentration of estradiol (115 vs. 262 ng/mL) and total follicular estradiol content (124 vs. 505 ng) compared with 1PGF. Collectively, these results suggest that PGF2α has a role in fertility of anovular cows that is unrelated to its luteolytic effect.Background Evidence-based practice (EBP) is considered a key competence for practicing high-quality and safe nursing. However, undergraduate nursing programs continue to provide traditional classroom teaching strategies that have limitations in facilitating the development of critical competences for engaging in EBP in real clinical contexts. Objective and design The purpose of this study was to develop a web-based experiential learning program aimed at improving the engagement and experience of nursing students in EBP. A quasi-experimental research with non-equivalent control-group with non-synchronized design was used to describe the process of program development and the innovative learning method, and discuss the outcomes of the program. Methods The experimental group was exposed to a web-based experiential learning program, while the control group received traditional learning with written material. Self-reported EBP scores (knowledge and skills, attitude, and practice) and clinical-questioning confidence were evaluated to assess the effects of the program. Results The result showed that web-based experiential learning strategies were effective in significantly improving the EBP knowledge and skills score (F = 12.29, p = .001) and the score for confidence in asking clinical questions (F = 12.14, p = .001). The attitudes toward EBP (F = 0.75, p = .389) and practice score (F = 3.22, p = .076) did not show a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group. Conclusion The web-based experiential learning was found to be an effective method for enhancing the EBP competence of nursing students. Based on the study results, we suggest using web-based experiential learning to supplement the traditional learning method or as the mainstream learning method for nursing students.