A Similarity Based Approach to Omission Finding in Ontologies

With the growing interest in using ontologies in semanticallyenabledapplications, the interest in enhancing the quality of such ontologieshas grown as well. Standard reasoning services focus on certainobvious dimensions of quality, e.g., to detect inconsistencies and incoherence.In addition, bespoke tools have been presented to address thecompleteness dimension of quality, e.g., missing entailments. These toolsare usually focused on very restricted subsets of all the possible missingentailments, i.e., only atomic subsumptions. We present a new protocolto detect both existing invalid entailments and missing valid entailments.We also present a case study to evaluate the usefulness of the presentedprotocol for ontology validation purpose

Effects of Clinical Training and Case Difficulty on the Radiographic Quality of Root Canal Fillings Performed by Dental Students in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of training duration and case difficulty on the radiographic quality of root canal fillings performed by dental students in Saudi Arabia. Methods and Materials: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted at King Saud University. Root canal treatments performed by 55 dental students from 2012-2014 were included in the study. Each student treated at least five teeth during the first year of clinical endodontic training and another five teeth during the second year. Case difficulty was assessed based on tooth position in the dental arch and preoperative conditions. The radiographic quality of the root canal filling was evaluated by two endodontists blinded to treatment completion date. The evaluation criteria were adequate obturation, presence of mishaps and preparation taper. The data were statistically analysed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses; and the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Inadequate obturation and mishaps were significantly less prevalent in teeth treated after 2 years of clinical training. The odds ratios for inadequate obturation and mishaps increased significantly as tooth position moved posteriorly. Inadequate obturation and more mishaps were significantly more prevalent in teeth with preoperative conditions. Preparation taper was not significantly affected by training duration or case difficulty. Conclusion: The quality of root canal fillings performed by Saudi students was adversely affected by case difficulty. The radiographic quality of root canal fillings improved significantly after 2 years of clinical training. Preparation taper outcome is likely dependent on the preparation technique and instrument taper.Keywords: Obturation Density; Obturation Length; Preparation Taper; Procedural Accident; Root Canal Treatmen

Knowledge Questions from Knowledge Graphs

We address the novel problem of automatically generating quiz-style knowledge questions from a knowledge graph such as DBpedia. Questions of this kind have ample applications, for instance, to educate users about or to evaluate their knowledge in a specific domain. To solve the problem, we propose an end-to-end approach. The approach first selects a named entity from the knowledge graph as an answer. It then generates a structured triple-pattern query, which yields the answer as its sole result. If a multiple-choice question is desired, the approach selects alternative answer options. Finally, our approach uses a template-based method to verbalize the structured query and yield a natural language question. A key challenge is estimating how difficult the generated question is to human users. To do this, we make use of historical data from the Jeopardy! quiz show and a semantically annotated Web-scale document collection, engineer suitable features, and train a logistic regression classifier to predict question difficulty. Experiments demonstrate the viability of our overall approach

Localized TWIST1 and TWIST2 basic domain substitutions cause four distinct human diseases that can be modeled in C. elegans

Twist transcription factors, members of the basic helix-loop-helix family, play crucial roles in mesoderm development in all animals. Humans have two paralogous genes, TWIST1 and TWIST2, and mutations in each gene have been identified in specific craniofacial disorders. Here we describe a new clinical entity, Sweeney-Cox syndrome, associated with distinct de novo amino acid substitutions (p.Glu117Val and p.Glu117Gly) at a highly conserved glutamic acid residue located in the basic DNA binding domain of TWIST1, in two subjects with frontonasal dysplasia and additional malformations. Although about one hundred different TWIST1 mutations have been reported in patients with the dominant haploinsufficiency Saethre-Chotzen syndrome (typically associated with craniosynostosis), substitutions uniquely affecting the Glu117 codon were not observed previously. Recently, subjects with Barber-Say and Ablepharon-macrostomia syndromes were found to harbor heterozygous missense substitutions in the paralogous glutamic acid residue in TWIST2 (p.Glu75Ala, p.Glu75Gln, and p.Glu75Lys). To study systematically the effects of these substitutions in individual cells of the developing mesoderm, we engineered all five disease-associated alleles into the equivalent Glu29 residue encoded by hlh-8, the single Twist homolog present in C. elegans. This allelic series revealed that different substitutions exhibit graded severity, in terms of both gene expression and cellular phenotype, which we incorporate into a model explaining the various human disease phenotypes. The genetic analysis favors a predominantly dominant-negative mechanism for the action of amino acid substitutions at this highly conserved glutamate residue and illustrates the value of systematic mutagenesis of C. elegans for focused investigation of human disease processes

Effect of semaphorin 3E on airway smooth muscle cell in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Introduction: Our objective is to investigate whether Semaphorin 3E (sema3E) regulates human airway smooth muscle cell (HASMC) proliferation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: HASMCs and tissues were isolated from COPD patients. Sema3E and plexinD1 expressions were studied using Q-PCR, FACS, IHC and immunoblotting. Cell proliferation was evaluated using FACS. Results: HASM cells from COPD patients express p61kDa-Sema3E isoform and plexinD1 at mRNA and protein level. Lung tissue from COPD and healthy subjects display Sema3E immunoreactivity. Treatment with Sema3E inhibits HASM cell proliferation mediated by PDGF in healthy, but not in COPD. HASM cells from COPD patient display surface expression of Sema3E. Conclusion: The absence of effect of recombinant Sema3E in COPD is due the constitutive expression and release of p61kDa-Sema3E isoform, which may account for airway remodeling in COPD.May 201

Biodentine or Mineral Trioxide Aggregate as Direct Pulp Capping Material in Mature Permanent Teeth with Carious Exposure? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

SUMMARY Objective To evaluate the success rate of direct pulp capping (DPC) with Biodentine in mature permanent teeth with carious vital pulp exposure compared to that of DPC with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis. Data Sources The two authors searched independently the literature published through July 31, 2020, in five electronic databases (PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science Core Collection, the Wiley Online Library, and the SCOPUS database). Study Selection The research protocol was previously registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42020192511). Clinical studies that met the inclusion criteria were chosen and independently screened by the authors. Data Extraction A custom-designed spreadsheet was used to extract the data. The quality of each study was evaluated by means of the revised Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) tool or the ROB of nonrandomized studies of interventions tool. Data Synthesis Three randomized controlled trials and one retrospective study met the inclusion criteria. Only one study had a high risk of bias. The included studies reported data on a total of 95 participants with an age range of 8–51 years. No significant difference was observed in the overall treatment outcome when comparing Biodentine with MTA (Risk ratio=1.00, 95% confidence interval [0.93–1.07], p=1.00). Conclusions Biodentine had comparable clinical and radiographic success to that of MTA when used as a DPC agent in mature permanent teeth with carious vital pulp exposure. Additional high-quality studies are needed. </jats:sec