Effectiveness of Rich Document Representation in XML Retrieval

Information Retrieval (IR) systems are built with different goals in mind. Some IR systems target high precision that is to have more relevant documents on the first page of their results. Other systems may target high recall that is finding as many references as possible. In this paper we present a method of document representation called RDR to build XML retrieval engines with high specificity; that is finding more relevant documents that are mostly about the query topic. The Rich Document Representation (RDR) is a method of representing the content of a document with logical terms and statements. The conjecture is that since RDR is a better representation of the document content it will produce higher precision. On our implementation, we used the Vector Space model to compute the similarity between the XML elements and queries. Our experiments are conducted on INEX 2004 test collection. The results indicate that the use of richer features such as logical terms or statements for XML retrieval tends to produce more focused retrieval. Therefore it is a suitable document representation when users need only a few more specific references and are more interested in precision than recall

Blockade of LIRs as a new approach for diagnostics and treatment of ATLL malignancy

In the new world of medicine, one of the main concerns in the field of infectious diseases has been focused on Human T-cell Leukemia Virus type 1 (HTLV-1). During the infection, lymphocyte inhibitory receptors (LIRs) play a prominent role in the occurrence of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). These receptors include LAG3, PD-1, TIGIT, CD160, TIM3, and 2B4. First, we have collected all microarray information on the profile of HTLV-1 infected patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus (http://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/geo) database until March 2020, in order to identify the microarray related to evolutionary development of LTRs during various phases of HTLV-1 infection in human peripheral blood CD4+ T cells by searching for keywords such as “Human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-1)”, “Homo sapiens”, “ATLL”, and “Whole genome sequencing”. Considering the main goal of the study, we have only assessed data related to Homo sapiens particularly CD4+ T cell lineage from human subjects infected with HTLV-1. We evaluated these receptors in ATLL patients compared to healthy control (HC) individuals and HTLV-1 infected-asymptomatic carriers (ASCs). Out of all 18 identified records, we only selected and analyzed three studies: GSE19080, GSE33615, and GSE57259, which satisfied inclusion criteria with proper quality analysis of ATLL vs. normal, ATLL vs. asymptomatic carrier as well as asymptomatic carrier vs. normal. Unfortunately, we could not analyze various stages of ATLL malignancy (acute, lymphomatous, chronic and smoldering) in all included studies due to the lack of sufficient information. Finally, based on Benjamini–Hochberg False discovery rate (FDR), the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected for several categories. Hence, for the first time we demonstrated that the expression rate of LIRs in ATLL group was higher than either in asymptomatic carrier or healthy donor groups. As a conclusion, it seems that the blockade of LIRs has a pivotal role in diagnostics and treatment of ATLL malignancy

Puckering behavior in six new phosphoric triamides containing aliphatic six- and seven-membered ring groups and a database survey of analogous ring-containing structures

The influence of a N heteroatom on the ring conformations of six- and seven- membered aliphatic rings in six new C(O)NHP(O)-based phosphoric triamide structures (analysed by X-ray crystallography) is investigated. Additionally the influence of steric and crystal packing effects is also studied by the analysis of Hirshfeld surfaces. The results are compared to analogous structures with three- to seven- aliphatic membered rings deposited in the Cambridge Structural Database. In the newly determined structures, the six-membered rings only show the near-chair conformation with a maximum deviation of the θ puckering parameter of 4.4° from the ideal chair value of 0°/180°, while the seven-membered rings are found in different conformations such as near-chair, twist chair and twist sofa

Ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings: the WARNING call to action

Antibiotics are recognized widely for their benefits when used appropriately. However, they are often used inappropriately despite the importance of responsible use within good clinical practice. Effective antibiotic treatment is an essential component of universal healthcare, and it is a global responsibility to ensure appropriate use. Currently, pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to develop new antibiotics due to scientific, regulatory, and financial barriers, further emphasizing the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. To address this issue, the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery established an international multidisciplinary task force of 295 experts from 115 countries with different backgrounds. The task force developed a position statement called WARNING (Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group) aimed at raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance and improving antibiotic prescribing practices worldwide. The statement outlined is 10 axioms, or “golden rules,” for the appropriate use of antibiotics that all healthcare workers should consistently adhere in clinical practice

Rescue effects of Lactobacillus-containing bismuth regimens after Helicobacter pylori treatment failure

At present, it has been scientifically proven that Helicobacter pylori is associated with gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal diseases. Based to many studies, probiotics such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Saccharomyces, potentially are enable to reduce the severe clinical outcomes of gastrointestinal infections of this bacterium. Accordingly, the efficacy of Lactobacillus-containing bismuth quadruple therapy was measured by odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals. Overall, our statistical analysis results showed that Lactobacillus-containing bismuth quadruple therapy as rescue regimen, could have grater therapeutic effects during the treatment and eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection than non-probiotic treatment regimens in cases of treatment failure

Convalescent plasma therapy as a conventional trick for treating COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis study

Convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) is one of the well-known therapeutic protocols for treating infectious diseases that do not have special treatment or vaccine. Several documents confirm the clinical efficacy of this therapy for treating bacterial and viral infections. A comprehensive systematic search was conducted by August 2020 using global databases including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane library, Google scholar, medRxiv and bioRxiv. The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist was used to evaluate the included studies. Using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software version 2.2 (Biostat, Englewood, NJ, USA), the pooled data analysis process was performed. A total of 15 eligible articles were enrolled in the current quantitative synthesis. The statistical analysis showed that clinical improvement in the group of patients who had received convalescent plasma was significantly increased compared with the control group (OR: 2.23; 1.12-4.45 with 95% CIs; p value: 0.022; Q-value: 6.11; I2: 83.64; Eggers p value: 0.064; Beggs p value: 0.093). Furthermore, the rate of hospital discharge had increased in patients receiving CPT (OR: 2.92; 1.48-5.77 with 95% CIs; p value: 0.002; Q-Value: 4.32; I2: 53.80; Eggers p value: 0.32; Beggs p value: 0.50). Because there is currently no fully effective antiviral drug against the virus and it will take time to confirm the effectiveness of new drugs, CPT can be used as an alternative treatment strategy to improve the severe clinical manifestations of COVID-19

Evaluation of the Protective Effect of Nigella Sativa Oil on Testicular Tissue and Sperm Parameters in Adult NMRI Mice Treated with Para-nonylphenol

Introduction: Para-nonylphenol (p-NP) is an important environmental pollutant that can affect the male reproductive system through endocrine disruption and inducing of oxidative stressence. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the protective effect of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on testicular tissue and sperm parameters (count, motility, viability and morphology), sperm DNA and chromatin abnormalities against toxicity induced by p-NP in adult NMRI mice. Methods: Twenty-four adult male NMRI mice (32±3g) were divided into 4 groups (n=6): control, NSO (5ml/kg/day), p-NP (250mg/kg/day) and p-NP+NSO. After 34 days of oral treatment, the left testis was removed and used for histopathological observations. Left caudal epididymis was cut in the Ham’s F10 and released spermatozoa were utilized in order to analyze sperm motility, viability, number and morphology. Sperm chromatin quality was assessed by nuclear staining using acridine orange and aniline blue. The blood serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were also measured. The study data were analyzed utilizing one Way ANOVA and Tukey’s test, and P<0.05 was considered as the significant level. Results: A significant decrease was observed in the p-NP group in regard with the motility, viability, number, normal sperm morphology, diameter of seminiferous tubules and germinal epithelium thickness, whereas a significant increase was reported in regard with the diameter of the seminiferous tubules lumen and MDA levels compared to the control group. Above parameters were significantly compensated by Nigella sativa oil in p-NP+NSO group compared to Para-nonylphenol group. The application of Nigella sativa oil alone significantly increased the number, motility, normal morphology of the sperm and significantly decreased the MDA levels compared to the control group. Conclusion: The study results indicated that the Nigella sativa oil, as a potent antioxidant, could compensate for the toxicity induced by p-N

Helmand River Flow Modeling Using Copula and Seasonal Auto Regressive Moving Average

River flow modeling has special importance in water resources management. Since the actual river flow data are often low and they correlate and depend yearly and monthly, making the data similar to historical data is so difficult and complex. In this study, 50 year data and Seasonal Auto Regressive Moving Average (SARMA) and Clayton and Frank Copulas which are the prediction and simulation methods of the river flow molding, were used to generate random flow data of Helmand River. Results show, SARMA model forecasts minimum river flow data very good, but the generated data hasn’t correlation of historical data and usually the maximum river flow is greater than real data. Otherwise, Copula preserved concordance of real data and make the data that are similar to real river flow. Therefore it is proposed that Copula is used for Helmand river flow modeling. Also this method use for simulating other river flows and also using other Copulas for river flow modeling could have the subject of future researches