Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Claudin-4-targeted optical imaging detects pancreatic cancer and its precursor lesions

Objectives Novel imaging methods based on specific molecular targets to detect both established neoplasms and their precursor lesions are highly desirable in cancer medicine. Previously, we identified claudin-4, an integral constituent of tight junctions, as highly expressed in various gastrointestinal tumours including pancreatic cancer. Here, we investigate the potential of targeting claudin-4 with a naturally occurring ligand to visualise pancreatic cancer and its precursor lesions in vitro and in vivo by near-infrared imaging approaches. Design A non-toxic C-terminal fragment of the claudin-4 ligand Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (C-CPE) was labelled with a cyanine dye (Cy5.5). Binding of the optical tracer was analysed on claudin-4 positive and negative cells in vitro, and tumour xenografts in vivo. In addition, two genetically engineered mouse models for pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and pancreatic cancer were used for in vivo validation. Optical imaging studies were conducted using 2D planar fluorescence reflectance imaging (FRI) technology and 3D fluorescence-mediated tomography (FMT). Results In vitro, the peptide-dye conjugate showed high binding affinity to claudin-4 positive CAPAN1 cells, while claudin-4 negative HT1080 cells revealed little or no fluorescence. In vivo, claudin-4 positive tumour xenografts, endogenous pancreatic tumours, hepatic metastases, as well as preinvasive PanIN lesions, were visualised by FRI and FMT up to 48 h after injection showing a significantly higher average of fluorochrome concentration as compared with claudin-4 negative xenografts and normal pancreatic tissue. Conclusions C-CPE-Cy5.5 combined with novel optical imaging methods enables non-invasive visualisation of claudin-4 positive murine pancreatic tumours and their precursor lesions, representing a promising modality for early diagnostic imaging.
Sense of Family Coherence and the Utilization of Resources by First-Year Students

The primary aim of this article is to determine the relationship between students' family sense of coherence, their personal sense of coherence, and the extent to which students use potential sources of support. A biographical questionnaire, a use of resources questionnaire, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, the Family Sense of Coherence Scale and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale were completed by 145 first-year students. Only the Family Sense of Coherence and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale were completed by their parents. The results show a significant positive relationship between the way students experience family and personal sense of coherence and the importance of using sources of support. With regard to family coping strategies, significant differences were found between the way students and their parents experience obtaining social support, mobilizing the family to get and accept help, and the passive appraisal of a problem.
Hidden Men: Bearing witness to mandatory detention in Australia

The Australian government policy of mandatory immigration detention has been the subject of critique by human rights bodies and civil society. With many immigration detention facilities being located in remote sites, distance and expense means that few people get to observe detention practices in Australia directly. Through direct observations and through the voices of three men detained in the Curtin Immigration Detention Centre outside of the remote Western Australian town of Derby, the human costs of mandatory detention are presented and discussed. This is done through positioning this discussion as part of the process of bearing witness to mandatory detention in Australia.
The clinical application of deep touch pressure with a man with autism presenting with severe anxiety and challenging behaviour

Accessible summary • Many people who show challenging behaviour continue to be tranquilised and physically restrained. • There have been claims that deep pressure touch can be of beneficial in reducing agitation and distress, particularly in people with autism spectrum disorders. • Deep pressure touch is demonstrated to have a beneficial effect on extreme agitation, including lowering increased heart rate and respiration, as well as reducing the need for physical restraint and medication • This paper describes a ‘‘low tech’’ approach to the systematic use of deep pressure touch that can be readily applied in many settings Summary Although there have been claims of significant therapeutic benefits arising from the use of deep touch pressure techniques with children with autistic spectrum disorders, to date there have been few empirical investigations of its use with adults with autistic spectrum disorders and anxiety in clinical practice. This paper reports on the systematic use of deep touch pressure within a structured programme for a man with autism who was presenting with severe challenging behaviour. The programme led to significant reductions in the use of both physical restraint and medication, as well as appropriate physiological changes, with a parallel increase in the person's quality of life. The implications of this approach are discussed with regard to both theory and practice with the aim of increasing the provision of more appropriate forms of support for people who present with challenging behaviour.
Role of the Gag Matrix Domain in Targeting Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Assembly

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) particle formation and the subsequent initiation of protease-mediated maturation occur predominantly on the plasma membrane. However, the mechanism by which HIV-1 assembly is targeted specifically to the plasma membrane versus intracellular membranes is largely unknown. Previously, we observed that mutations between residues 84 and 88 of the matrix (MA) domain of HIV-1 Gag cause a retargeting of virus particle formation to an intracellular site. In this study, we demonstrate that the mutant virus assembly occurs in the Golgi or in post-Golgi vesicles. These particles undergo core condensation in a protease-dependent manner, indicating that virus maturation can occur not only on the plasma membrane but also in the Golgi or post-Golgi vesicles. The intracellular assembly of mutant particles is dependent on Gag myristylation but is not influenced by p6Gag or envelope glycoprotein expression. Previous characterization of viral revertants suggested a functional relationship between the highly basic domain of MA (amino acids 17 to 31) and residues 84 to 88. We now demonstrate that mutations in the highly basic domain also retarget virus particle formation to the Golgi or post-Golgi vesicles. Although the basic domain has been implicated in Gag membrane binding, no correlation was observed between the impact of mutations on membrane binding and Gag targeting, indicating that these two functions of MA are genetically separable. Plasma membrane targeting of Gag proteins with mutations in either the basic domain or between residues 84 and 88 was rescued by coexpression with wild-type Gag; however, the two groups of MA mutants could not rescue each other. We propose that the highly basic domain of MA contains a major determinant of HIV-1 Gag plasma membrane targeting and that mutations between residues 84 and 88 disrupt plasma membrane targeting through an effect on the basic domain.
Dynamic responses of Xenopus retinal ganglion cell axon growth cones to netrin‐1 as they innervate their in vivo target

Netrin‐1 influences retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon pathfinding and also participates in the branching and synaptic differentiation of mature RGC axons at their target. To investigate whether netrin also serves as an early target recognition signal in the brain, we examined the dynamic behavior of Xenopus RGC axons soon after they innervate the optic tectum. Time‐lapse confocal microscopy imaging of RGC axons expressing enhanced yellow fluorescent protein demonstrated that netrin‐1 is involved in early axon branching, as recombinant netrin‐1 halted further advancement of growth cones into the tectum and induced back branching. RGC growth cones exhibited differential responses to netrin‐1 that depended on the degree of differentiation of the axon and the developmental stage of the tadpole. Netrin‐1 decreased the total number of branches on newly arrived RGC growth cones at the target, but increased the dynamic branching of more mature arbors at the later developmental stage. To further explore the response of axonal growth cones to netrin, Xenopus RGC axons were followed in culture by time‐lapse imaging. Exposure to netrin‐1 rapidly increased the forward advancement of the axon and decreased the size and expanse of the growth cone, while also inducing back branching. Taken together, the differential in vivo and in vitro responses to netrin‐1 suggest that netrin alone is not sufficient to induce the cessation of growth cone advancement in the absence of a target but can independently modulate axon branching. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel role for netrin on RGC axon branch initiation as growth cones innervate their target. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 72: 628–648, 2012
Fast Scanning Tomosynthesis for the Detection of Pulmonary Nodules: Diagnostic Performance Compared With Chest Radiography, Using Multidetector-Row Computed Tomography as the Reference

Objectives:To evaluate the diagnostic performance of fast scanning tomosynthesis in comparison with that of chest radiography for the detection of pulmonary nodules, using multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) as the reference, and to assess the association of the true-positive fraction (TPF) with the size, CT attenuation value, and location of the nodules. Materials and Methods:The institutional review board approved this study, and written informed consent was obtained from all patients. Fifty-seven patients with and 59 without pulmonary nodules underwent chest MDCT, fast scanning tomosynthesis, and radiography. The images of tomosynthesis and radiography were randomly read by 3 blinded radiologists; MDCT served as the reference standard. Free-response receiver-operating characteristic (FROC) and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, Cochran-Armitage trend or Fisher exact test, a conditional logistic regression model, and McNemar test were used. Results:Both FROC and ROC analyses revealed significantly better performance (P < 0.01) of fast scanning tomosynthesis than radiography for the detection of pulmonary nodules. For fast scanning tomosynthesis, the average TPF and false-positive rate as determined by FROC analysis were 0.80 and 0.10, respectively. For both fast scanning tomosynthesis and radiography, the average TPF increased with increasing nodule size and CT attenuation values, and was lower for subpleural nodules (all P < 0.01). Conclusions:The diagnostic performance of fast scanning tomosynthesis for the detection of pulmonary nodules was significantly superior to that of radiography. The TPF was affected by the size, CT attenuation value, and location of the nodule, in both fast scanning tomosynthesis and radiography.
The Two Facets of Conscientiousness: Interaction of Achievement Orientation and Dependability in Predicting Managerial Execution Effectiveness

The two facets of conscientiousness, achievement orientation and dependability, have frequently been found to relate to performance outcomes in different manners. However, little research has examined the interaction between these two facets. In this article we examine the main effect and interaction of these two facets in predicting managerial execution. Using two separate samples of Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) students (N = 167 in Study 1 and N = 269 in Study 2), we found that dependability but not achievement orientation had a direct positive association with coworkers’ rating on managerial execution. More important, there was an interaction effect between these two facets. Dependability was strongly associated with execution among managers with high achievement orientation, but not among managers with low achievement orientation.
Effects of Hypercapnic Hypoxia on the Clearance of Vibrio campbellii in the Atlantic Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

Callinectes sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab, encounters hypoxia, hypercapnia (elevated CO2), and bacterial pathogens in its natural environment. We tested the hypothesis that acute exposure to hypercapnic hypoxia (HH) alters the crab’s ability to clear a pathogenic bacterium, Vibrio campbellii 90–69B3, from the hemolymph. Adult male crabs were held in normoxia (well-aerated seawater) or HH (seawater with Po2 = 4 kPa; Pco2 = 1.8 kPa; and pH = 6.7–7.1) and were injected with 2.5 × 104 Vibrio g−1 body weight. The animals were held in normoxia or in HH for 45, 75, or 210–240 min before being injected with Vibrio, and were maintained in their respective treatment conditions for the 120-min duration of the experiment. Vibrio colony-forming units (CFU) ml−1 hemolymph were quantified before injection, and at 10, 20, and 40 min afterward. Total hemocytes (THC) ml−1 of hemolymph were counted 24 h before (−24 h), and at 10 and 120 min after injection. Sham injections of saline produced no change in the bacterial or hemocyte counts in any treatment group. Among the groups that received bacterial injections, Vibrio was almost completely cleared within 1 h, but at 10-min postinjection, Vibrio CFU ml−1 hemolymph was significantly higher in animals held in HH for 75 and 210–240 min than in those held in normoxia. Within 10 min after crabs were injected with bacteria, THC ml−1 significantly decreased in control and HH45 treatments, but not in the HH75 and HH210–240 treatments. By 120 min after injection of bacteria, hemocyte counts decreased in all but the HH45 group. These data demonstrate that HH significantly impairs the ability of blue crabs to clear Vibrio from the hemolymph. These results also suggest that HH alters the normal role of circulating hemocytes in the removal of an invading pathogen.
Sex Differences in Choice of College Science Majors

The process of choosing a scientific major was examined in a nationally representative sample of male and female college students of above-average ability. Science majoring was predicted by different constellations of factors for male and female students. Women who were attending a 4-year college, who reported having been influenced by high school teachers and guidance counselors in making plans for college, and who placed a high priority upon aspects of their future family and personal lives were less likely to major in science than their female peers. High socioeconomic status, positive assessments of their high schools, and attending a 4-year college predicted science majoring for men.
Immune Enhancement of Skin Carcinogenesis by CD4+ T Cells

In a transgenic model of multi-stage squamous carcinogenesis induced by human papillomavirus (HPV) oncogenes, infiltrating CD4+ T cells can be detected in both premalignant and malignant lesions. The lymph nodes that drain sites of epidermal neoplasia contain activated CD4+ T cells predominantly reactive toward Staphylococcal bacterial antigens. HPV16 mice deficient in CD4+ T cells were found to have delayed neoplastic progression and a lower incidence of tumors. This delay in carcinogenesis is marked by decreased infiltration of neutrophils, and reduced activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9, an important cofactor for tumor progression in this model. The data reveal an unexpected capability of CD4 T cells, whereby, proinflammatory CD4+ T cells, apparently responding to bacterial infection of dysplastic skin lesions, can inadvertently enhance neoplastic progression to invasive cancer.
New Algorithmic Techniques for Large Scale Volumetric Data Visualization on Parallel Architectures

Volume visualization is widely used as an effective approach for the visual exploration, computational analysis, and manipulation of volumetric datasets. Due to the dramatic advances in imaging instruments and computing technologies, such datasets are now appearing at a very fast rate with increasingly larger sizes in many engineering, science and medical applications. Isosurface and direct volume rendering(DVR) are two of the most widely used techniques to render such datasets. This dissertation introduces novel techniques for rendering isosurfaces and volumes, and extends these techniques to multiprocessor architectures. We first focus on cluster-based techniques for isosurface extraction and rendering using polygonal approximation. We present a new simple indexing scheme and data layout approach, which enable scalable and efficient isosurface generation. This algorithm is the first known parallel algorithm to achieve provable load balancing on multiprocessor systems. We also develop an algorithm to generate isosurfaces using ray-casting on multi-core processors. Our method is based on a hybrid strategy that begins with an object order traversal of the data followed by ray-casting on ordered sets of an adaptive number of subcubes, one set for each small group of pixels on the image. We develop a multithreaded implementation, which uses new dynamic load balancing techniques that start with an image partitioning for the initial stage and then perform dynamic allocation of groups of ray-casting tasks among the different threads. The strategy ensures almost equal loads among the cores while maintaining spatial data locality. This scheme is extended to perform direct volume rendering and is shown to achieve similar improvements in terms of overall performance, load balancing, and scalability. We conduct a large number of tests for all our algorithms on the University of Maryland Visualization Cluster and on the 8-core Clovertown platform using a wide variety of datasets such as Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability dataset (7.5GB for each time step) and Visible Human dataset (∼1GB). We obtain results that consistently validate the efficiency and the scalability of our algorithms. In particular, the overall performance of our hybrid ray-casting scheme achieves an interactive rendering rate on high resolution (1024 2) screens for all the datasets tested.
Effects of amphetamine and methylphenidate on attentional performance and impulsivity in the mouse 5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task

Background: Few studies have investigated the effects of conventional attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication in the mouse 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT), and rat studies have yielded inconsistent results. Objective: We aimed to examine the effects of acute methylphenidate (MPH) and amphetamine (AMPH) treatment in the mouse 5-CSRTT. Methods: Trained male C57Bl/6J mice were tested in a variable stimulus duration schedule. Effects of AMPH (0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg) and MPH (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg) on discriminative accuracy, omissions, and premature responses were assessed. Saline treatment data determined high- and low-attentive (LA), and high- and low-impulsive (LI) subgroups according to the upper and lower 30th percentiles, respectively. Results: In the LA subgroup accuracy was improved by 0.5 mg/kg AMPH and 2 mg/kg MPH, while no effect was found in the high-attentive (HA) subgroup. Premature responses were increased by 1 mg/kg AMPH and 0.5 mg/kg MPH for all animals, and by 1 mg/kg AMPH for the LI subgroup. Conclusions: The use of variable stimulus duration, along with the division into high- and LA, and high-and LI subgroups, may improve the sensitivity of the 5-CSRTT when investigating drug effects on attention and impulsivity.
RECONCILIATION IN DOMESTIC GOATS

The aim of this study was to test whether domestic goats (Capra hircus) reconciled after experimentally induced conflicts. After conflicts, goats showed a higher frequency of affiliative contacts (muzzle-muzzle and muzzle-body contacts, allogrooming) and of lying in proximity than in control observations. Besides, renewed aggression was more frequent after conflicts, and both the victim and the aggressor showed a higher frequency of displacement activities (scratching and selfgrooming), possibly indicating an anxious emotional state. Post-conflict friendly reunions reduced the frequency of displacement activities in the victim, but not in the aggressor. These results provide evidence of post-conflict reconciliation in domestic goats and suggest that one of the functions of reconciliation is to reduce the victim's arousal or anxiety.
Citizenship Norms and the Participation of Young Adults in a Democracy

This paper explores the changing trend in citizensh ip norms among young citizens from various ethnic grou ps in Malaysia and the extent to which it influences the participa tion of young citizens in political and civil issues. Embedded in democratic constitutions are the rights and freedoms that acco mpany citizenship, and these rights and freedoms include participation . Participation in democracies should go beyond voting; it should incl ude taking part in the governance process. The political process is no t at risk even though politics does not work as it did in the past . A national sample of 1697 respondents between the ages of 21 and 40 y ears were interviewed in January 2011. The findings show that respondents embrace an engaged-citizenship norm more than they do the traditional duty-citizen norm. Among the ethnic gro ups, the Chinese show lower means in both citizenship norms compared with other ethnic groups, namely, the Malays and the Indians. The duty-citizen norm correlates higher with political participation than with civic participation. On the other hand, the engaged-citiz en norm correlates higher with civic participation than with political participation. Keywords—citizenship norms, political participation, civic participation, youths, globalization
A novel DA-based architecture for efficient computation of inner-product of variable vectors

Distributed arithmetic (DA) has been widely used for area-time efficient implementation of inner-products, where one of the vectors is fixed and known a priori. Computation of inner-product of a pair of variable vectors, however, is required very often for matrix-multiplication of different forms, and implementation of digital filters of unknown coefficients and variable lengths. But the possibility of using DA for the computation of inner-product of variable vectors is yet to be explored. In this paper, we analyse the design issues relating to DA-based implementation of inner-product of variable vectors, and derive a novel area-time efficient flexible solution for the bit-parallel DA-based implementation of inner-product of variable vectors and variable inner-product lengths. It is found that the proposed structures are nearly 34% faster than the conventional multiplier-based implementation in average for different inner-product lengths (N = 8, 16, 32 and 64) and for input word-lengths, L = 8 and L = 16. Moreover, proposed designs offer saving of nearly 22% and 36% area-delay product (ADP) and saving of nearly 16% and 24% power delay product (PDP) over the multiplier-based designs for L = 8 and L = 16, respectively, in average, for various inner-product lengths.