Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peripheral Immune Cell Gene Expression Changes in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated with First Line Combination Chemotherapy

Introduction Increasing evidence has shown that immune surveillance is compromised in a tumor-promoting microenvironment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and can be restored by appropriate chemotherapy. Methods To test this hypothesis, we analyzed microarray gene expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 30 patients with newly-diagnosed advanced stage NSCLC, and 20 age-, sex-, and co-morbidity-matched healthy controls. All the patients received a median of four courses of chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine for a 28-day cycle as first line treatment. Results Sixty-nine differentially expressed genes between the patients and controls, and 59 differentially expressed genes before and after chemotherapy were identified. The IL4 pathway was significantly enriched in both tumor progression and chemotherapy signatures. CXCR4 and IL2RG were down-regulated, while DOK2 and S100A15 were up-regulated in the patients, and expressions of all four genes were partially or totally reversed after chemotherapy. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR for the four up-regulated (S100A15, DOK2) and down-regulated (TLR7, TOP1MT) genes in the patients, and the six up-regulated (TLR7, CRISP3, TOP1MT) and down-regulated (S100A15, DOK2, IL2RG) genes after chemotherapy confirmed the validity of the microarray results. Further immunohistochemical analysis of the paraffin-embedded lung cancer tissues identified strong S100A15 nuclear staining not only in stage IV NSCLC as compared to stage IIIB NSCLC (p = 0.005), but also in patients with stable or progressive disease as compared to those with a partial response (p = 0.032). A high percentage of S100A15 nuclear stained cells (HR 1.028, p = 0.01) was the only independent factor associated with three-year overall mortality. Conclusions Our results suggest a potential role of the IL4 pathway in immune surveillance of advanced stage NSCLC, and immune potentiation of combination chemotherapy. S100A15 may serve as a potential biomarker for tumor staging, and a predictor of poor prognosis in NSCLC.
Non-invasive assessment of human multifidus muscle stiffness using ultrasound shear wave elastography: A feasibility study

There is a lack of numeric data for the mechanical characterization of spine muscles, especially in vivo data. The multifidus muscle is a major muscle for the stabilization of the spine and may be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic low back pain (LBP). Supersonic shear wave elastography (SWE) has not yet been used on back muscles. The purpose of this prospective study is to assess the feasibility of ultrasound SWE to measure the elastic modulus of lumbar multifidus muscle in a passive stretching posture and at rest with a repeatable and reproducible method. A total of 10 asymptotic subjects (aged 25.5 ± 2.2 years) participated, 4 females and 6 males. Three operators performed 6 measurements for each of the 2 postures on the right multifidus muscle at vertebral levels L2-L3 and L4-L5. Repeatability and reproducibility have been assessed according to ISO 5725 standard. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for intra- and inter-observer reliability were rated as both excellent [ICC=0.99 and ICC=0.95, respectively]. Reproducibility was 11% at L2-L3 level and 19% at L4-L5. In the passive stretching posture, shear modulus was significantly higher than at rest (µ < 0.05). This preliminary work enabled to validate the feasibility of measuring the shear modulus of the multifidus muscle with SWE. This kind of measurement could be easily introduces into clinical routine like for the medical follow-up of chronic LBP or scoliosis treatments.
Persuasive Influence Detection: The Role of Argument Sequencing

Automatic detection of persuasion in online discussion is key to understanding how social media is used. Predicting persuasiveness is difficult, however, due to the need to model world knowledge, dialogue, and sequential reasoning. We focus on modeling the sequence of arguments in social media posts using neural models with embeddings for words, discourse relations, and semantic frames. We demonstrate significant improvement over prior work in detecting successful arguments. We also present an error analysis assessing novice human performance at predicting persuasiveness.
In Situ, Real-Time Catabolic Gene Expression: Extraction and Characterization of Naphthalene Dioxygenase mRNA Transcripts from Groundwater

ABSTRACT We developed procedures for isolating and characterizing in situ-transcribed mRNA from groundwater microorganisms catabolizing naphthalene at a coal tar waste-contaminated site. Groundwater was pumped through 0.22-μm-pore-size filters, which were then frozen in dry ice-ethanol. RNA was extracted from the frozen filters by boiling sodium dodecyl sulfate lysis and acidic phenol-chloroform extraction. Transcript characterization was performed with a series of PCR primers designed to amplify nahAc homologs. Several primer pairs were found to amplify nahAc homologs representing the entire diversity of the naphthalene-degrading genes. The environmental RNA extract was reverse transcribed, and the resultant mixture of cDNAs was amplified by PCR. A digoxigenin-labeled probe mixture was produced by PCR amplification of groundwater cDNA. This probe mixture hybridized under stringent conditions with the corresponding PCR products from naphthalene-degrading bacteria carrying a variety of nahAchomologs, indicating that diverse dioxygenase transcripts had been retrieved from groundwater. Diluted and undiluted cDNA preparations were independently amplified, and 28 of the resulting PCR products were cloned and sequenced. Sequence comparisons revealed two major groups related to the dioxygenase genes ndoB anddntAc, previously cloned from Pseudomonas putida NCIB 9816-4 and Burkholderia sp. strain DNT, respectively. A distinctive subgroup of sequences was found only in experiments performed with the undiluted cDNA preparation. To our knowledge, these results are the first to directly document in situ transcription of genes encoding naphthalene catabolism at a contaminated site by indigenous microorganisms. The retrieved sequences represent greater diversity than has been detected at the study site by culture-based approaches.
Corporate Securities Fraud: Insights from a New Empirical Framework

Empirical analysis of corporate fraud faces a challenge because the commission of fraud is not directly observable. We observe only detected frauds. In this article, I introduce a new empirical model to address this partial observability of fraud. The new model generates new insights about not only the determinants of fraud commission and fraud detection but also the interaction between the two latent processes. I also show that the empirical models used in the existing literature can lead to incorrect assessment of corporate or public policies designed to combat fraud. (JEL G30, G34, K22) The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Yale University. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.
Pension systems in Latin America : concepts and measurements of coverage

This paper focuses on the coverage dimension, looking at empirical data in Latin America. Coverage of pension systems has slowly become a central issue in the policy debate in the region. After more than a decade of reforms and debates, the central problem of the pension systems in Latin America (how to protect most workers and their families from the economic risks caused by aging and retirement from the labor force) remains unsolved in countries were structural reforms were implemented, as well as in countries where reforms were limited to parametric adjustments and countries where no significant reforms were adopted. Proposals and debates over the last decade have been shaped by ideological positions and objectives that were not always related to the central goals of the programs, and should not be the driving force to shape the social security systems.
Pricing Interest-Rate Risk for Mortgage REITs

Using tax-qualified mortgage REITs over three periods (1976-79, 1980-82, and 1983-90), this paper investigates the pricing of interest-rate risk for mortgage REITs at equilibrium. A system of nonlinear equations is estimated to determine the monthly interest-rate risk premium over each of the three time intervals. There is evidence to support the hypothesis that interest-rate risk is not diversifiable and hence commands a risk premium.
Traffic Scene Segmentation Based on RGB-D Image and Deep Learning

Semantic segmentation of traffic scenes has potential applications in intelligent transportation systems. Deep learning techniques can improve segmentation accuracy, especially when the information from depth maps is introduced. However, little research has been done on the application of depth maps to the segmentation of traffic scene. In this paper, we propose a method for semantic segmentation of traffic scenes based on RGB-D images and deep learning. The semi-global stereo matching algorithm and the fast global image smoothing method are employed to obtain a smooth disparity map. We present a new deep fully convolutional neural network architecture for semantic pixel-wise segmentation. We test the performance of the proposed network architecture using RGB-D images as input and compare the results with the method that only takes RGB images as input. The experimental results show that the introduction of the disparity map can help to improve the semantic segmentation accuracy and that our proposed network architecture achieves good real-time performance and competitive segmentation accuracy.
Search, Price Setting and Inflation

A model of monopolistic competition in an inflationary environment is developed which embodies optimal sequential search, price dynamics and entry on the part of consumers and firms respectively. Equilibrium price strategies are (S, s); these bounds increase continuously with consumer search costs, and so does price dispersion. Indeed, the whole equilibrium varies smoothly from the competitive (Bertrand) to the monopolistic (Diamond (1971)) end of the spectrum. The latter's paradoxical result is explained as a limiting case where frictions on firms' side of the market (price adjustment costs) but not on buyers' (search costs) tend to zero. A positive relationship between (smooth and perfectly anticipated) inflation and price dispersion or uncertainty is established.
The Influence of Unemployment Benefits on Unemployment Duration: Evidence from Spain

: This paper analyses the duration of unemployment spells and the possible incidence of unemployment insurance on job search behaviour and voluntary duration of unemployment in Spain. To do so, a longitudinal data set containing information on unemployment recipients during the period 1987-93 is used. Hazard rates and survival profiles are constructed for the cohorts of unemployed workers entering the benefit system at different points in time, and a logit model of the probability of leaving the system before exhausting entitlement period is presented. The results do not support the view that the unemployed tend to intensify their job search when benefits are near exhaustion.
Sell-Side Analysts' Career Concerns During Banking Stresses

We propose a new approach to examine sell-side analysts’ career concerns by relating their forecast boldness to their employers’ news flows. Specifically, we use banking sector news to proxy for the severity of career concerns. Analysts follow more closely the consensus forecast when the prospects of the banking sector are negative (and vice versa). The effect is both economically and statistically significant after controlling for various firm, analyst, brokerage house, and forecasting characteristics, as well as sector and economy wide effects. The more established analysts, in terms of reputation and experience, are generally unaffected by banking sector news. In contrast, their less established peers tend to cluster their forecasts near the consensus after a sequence of negative news flows for banks. Collectively, our results support the notion that during banking stresses when job security is low analysts’ tendency to imitate others increases.
Hepatic stellate cell activation in vitro: Cell cycle arrest at G2/M and modification of cell motility

Hepatic fibrosis is a common response to chronic liver injury and is characterized by increased production of extracellular matrix components, whose major part is produced by hepatic stellate cells activated by inflammatory mediators to proliferate and migrate into the injured regions. GRX cells are a model of hepatic stellate cells characterized as myofibroblasts by morphological and biochemical criteria. We have recently shown that they respond to inflammatory mediators and cytokines present in the concanavalin A‐activated spleen cell supernatant (SCS) by quantitative changes in the expression of intermediate filaments. The present study investigated the effects of SCS and TNF‐α on the GRX cell proliferation and on the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. SCS and TNF‐α diminished the culture cell density, with an increase of cell [3H]thymidine incorporation and of cellular protein content, indicating an arrest in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, which was reversible 48 h after removal of SCS. This effect was abrogated by dibutiryl‐cAMP. Actin cytoskeleton reorganization was observed after 24 h treatment, indicating increased cell motility. Our results suggest that inflammation‐dependent activation of stellate cells occurs in ordered interaction and coordination of proinflammatory agents. The increase of cAMP levels activates the conversion of lipocytes into myofibroblasts and increases the number of cells that can participate in repair. Since cAMP retains cells in the G1 phase, cytokines of the TNF‐α group are required for cell proliferation inducing the entry into the S phase. The progression through the G2/M checkpoint is mediated again by increased cAMP levels. J. Cell. Biochem. 90: 387–396, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Line manager involvement in HRM: an inside view

Although line managers have always been involved in managing human resources (HR), it is within human resource management (HRM) that their involvement has been placed centre‐stage as a core element of an HR approach. This article reports findings from 40 interviews with line managers on their experiences in handling HR work that has been devolved to them, from a study of three different UK work organisations. The study finds that significant organisational benefits and costs exist from involving the line in HR work. The article concludes that participation of both line and HR managers in HRM needs to be re‐assessed, as line involvement in HRM is a problematic initiative for organisations to adopt.
The Effect of Information Quality on Optimal Portfolio Choice

Three types of agents acting on different information sets are considered: fully informed agents, insiders, and outsiders. Differences in information quality are shown to affect the properties of their optimal portfolios. For an outsider, the share of wealth invested in the stock is decreasing in the variance of the stock. However, for an insider, the effect of an increasing stock variance on the optimal portfolio weight is ambiguous. In a calibration to U.S. data, the confidence intervals of the insider's demand for the stock converge, whereas the outsider's confidence intervals become wider.
Status Quo in the Welfare Analysis of Tax Reforms

The welfare analysis of tax reforms most often consists of comparing the post-reform distribution of individual welfare with the pre-reform distribution or possibly that obtained from another reform as if they were completely independent. Such an "anonymous" approach does not take into account "changes" in individual situations, generally the main source of contention in any tax reform debate. This paper proposes a welfare criterion that allows comparison of reforms while taking into account individual status quo--i.e. pre-reform--situations. This is done by extending standard utilitarian social welfare criteria to the case where individual utilities depend on initial income and income change.
The Differences between Stock Splits and Stock Dividends: Evidence on the Retained Earnings Hypothesis

This paper investigates stock dividends and stock splits on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange (CSE), which is of interest because several of the more recent explanations for a stock market reaction can be ruled out. The main findings are that the announcement effect of stock dividends as well as stock splits is closely related to changes in a firm's payout policy, but that the relationship differs for the two types of events. A stock dividend implies an increase in nominal share capital and hence a decrease in retained earnings. Firms announcing stock dividends finance growth entirely by debt (explaining the need for an increase in nominal share capital) and retained earnings. Basically all firms announcing a stock dividend with a split factor of less than two can also afford to increase their total cash dividends permanently, at least proportionally to the increase in share capital, leading to a significant announcement effect of 4.23%. Firms announcing a stock dividend with a split factor of two or more also increase total cash dividends permanently, but less than proportionally to the increase in share capital. This leads to an insignificant announcement effect of 0.08%. These findings support a retained earnings/signaling hypothesis. For stock splits, no separate announcement effect was found when a firm's payout policy was controlled for. This lends support to the idea that a stock split per se is a cosmetic event on the CSE and is also consistent with the fact that making a stock split on the CSE is virtually cost free.
Creating Change? A Review of the Impact of Design and Technology in Schools in England

Introduction and Background The role of Design and Technology in schools in England is changing. These changes were heralded by the Government Green Paper 14–19: Extending Opportunities, Raising Standards (Department for Education and Skills [DfES], 2002), which proposed that education and training of 14–19year-olds should be delivered by a more flexible curriculum with a broad range of options. Beginning in September 2002, Design and Technology (D&T) is no longer a compulsory school subject from age 14: the age which marks the end of Key Stage 3 in the broadly-based National Curriculum in England. Students will have a statutory entitlement to opt to study D&T subjects, but also more freedom within what was recognized as a very crowded curriculum to select other subjects of their choice. It is anticipated that these changes will impact considerably on D&T provision in schools. But what exactly is D&T? How has it been taught in elementary and secondary schools to date and what impact has it had on pupils? These are some of the questions that researchers from the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE Centre) addressed in a literature review commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in England. This article is based upon that review (Harris & Wilson, 2003). In the following sections, we present the research evidence mainly from the UK regarding the origins of the concept of D&T, its unique educational components, and the impact it has had on the curriculum in England. These findings are summarized at the end of each section. The main aim of the review was to search for evidence of the impact of Design and Technology (D&T) on schools in England. Literature was identified that highlighted issues relating to: • The concept of D&T • The effect of including D&T as part of the National Curriculum in English schools • Gaps in the research evidence.
Financial Considerations and Technology Investment Patterns in a Network Industry

In this study, based on the reasoning that financial considerations in influence investment patterns within the context of a network industry, we evaluate the effects of lower access prices and cross subsidization on investments in bandwidth-expanding technology by local exchange carriers in the United States. Lower access prices and greater cross subsidization augment cash flow, and the availability of financial resources can be an important determinant of firms' investment strategies. We examine investments by firms in ISDN technology, the initial technology that enabled the communications sector firms we study to increase bandwidth and provide for greater access to the Internet for customers. Using recent five years' data, we identify access prices and cross subsidization as playing a key role in significant influencing investment in this new technology.
Company–Community Conflicts Over Diamond Resources in Kono District, Sierra Leone

Utilizing actor-oriented political ecology and social movements approaches, this article examines the dynamics surrounding company–community conflicts over diamonds in Sierra Leone, using Kono District as a case study. Surveys of 240 households in four diamondiferous chiefdoms, semiformal interviews, focus groups, and secondary data sources provided data for this article. Findings of this study show that post conflict mining reforms and actions of mining companies, the state and traditional leaders favor industrial mining expansion over artisanal mining. Such actions have reinforced unequal power relations over access to land and diamond mining rights to the disadvantage of mining communities and bred company–community conflicts in Kono District. The article argues that strategies that even out power differentials so that local communities benefit more from regulation relative to corporations and other powerful actors can improve the success of mining reforms and reduce the risk of community–company conflicts jeopardizing peace and security.
Assignment1 of the bovine tumor protein D52 gene (TPD52) to the distal half of BTA14 with somatic and radiation cell hybrid panel mapping

TPD52 belongs to the D52 gene family. D52 proteins act as signaling molecules, which may play a role as regulators of cell proliferation (Nourse et al., 1998). It is also suggested that the gene product acts differently in normal and tumor affected tissues and between fetal and adult tissues (e.g. Byrne et al., 1995; Tiacci et al., 2005). Chen et al. (1996) identified overexpression of the gene in tumor derived cell lines from multiple cancers. TPD52 in human and mouse is located on HSA8q21 and MMU3A1-A2, respectively. A bovine partial gene sequence of TPD52 was identified with the strategy of comparative mapping by annotation and sequence similarity (COMPASS) and according to the gene assignment in human a locus was predicted on Bos taurus (BTA) chromosome 14 (Ma et al., 1998). Several independent investigations give experimental proof that BTA14 is associated with different quantitative traits influencing milk production (Khatkar et al., 2004). The physical assignment of the bovine TPD52 gene by somatic cell and radiation cell hybrid mapping techniques presented in this report will enhance our knowledge about loci in trait associated BTA14 chromosome segments. Materials and methods