Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-Angle Effector Function Analysis of Human Monoclonal IgG Glycovariants

Therapeutic performance of recombinant antibodies relies on two independent mechanisms: antigen recognition and Fc-mediated antibody effector functions. Interaction of Fc-fragment with different FcR triggers antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity and determines longevity of the antibody in serum. In context of therapeutic antibodies FcγRs play the most important role. It has been demonstrated that the Fc-attached sugar moiety is essential for IgG effector functionality, dictates its affinity to individual FcγRs and determines binding to different receptor classes: activating or inhibitory. In this study, we systematically analyze effector functions of monoclonal IgG1 and its eight enzymatically engineered glycosylation variants. The analysis of interaction of glycovariants with FcRs was performed for single, as well as for antigen-bound antibodies and IgGs in a form of immune complex. In addition to functional properties we addressed impact of glycosylation on the structural properties of the tested glycovariants. We demonstrate a clear impact of glycosylation pattern on antibody stability and interaction with different FcγRs. Consistent with previous reports, deglycosylated antibodies failed to bind all Fcγ-receptors, with the exception of high affinity FcγRI. The FcγRII and FcγRIIIa binding activity of IgG1 was observed to depend on the galactosylation level, and hypergalactosylated antibodies demonstrated increased receptor interaction. Sialylation did not decrease the FcγR binding of the tested IgGs; in contrast, sialylation of antibodies improved binding to FcγRIIa and IIb. We demonstrate that glycosylation influences to some extent IgG1 interaction with FcRn. However, independent of glycosylation pattern the interaction of IgG1 with a soluble monomeric target surprisingly resulted in an impaired receptor binding. Here, we demonstrate, that immune complexes (IC), induced by multimeric ligand, compensated for the decreased affinity of target bound antibody towards FcRs, showing the importance of the IC-formation for the FcR- mediated effector functions.
Impact of Somatic Mutations in the D-Loop of Mitochondrial DNA on the Survival of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate somatic mutations in the D-loop of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and their impact on survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. Materials and Methods Surgical specimen confirmed by pathological examination and corresponding non-cancerous tissues were collected from 120 oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. The sequence in the D-loop of mtDNA from non-cancerous tissues was compared with that from paired cancer samples and any sequence differences were recognized as somatic mutations. Results Somatic mutations in the D-loop of mtDNA were identified in 75 (62.5%) oral squamous cell carcinoma patients and most of them occurred in the poly-C tract. Although there were no significant differences in demographic and tumor-related features between participants with and without somatic mutation, the mutation group had a better survival rate (5 year disease-specific survival rate: 64.0% vs. 43.0%, P = 0.0266). Conclusion Somatic mutation in D-loop of mtDNA was associated with a better survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients.
‘What Theatre is All About’: Students' Experiences of the Swedish Theatre Arts Program

The arts program has been available for Swedish upper secondary school students since the beginning of the 1990s. The program, which has a nationally standardized curriculum, has become one of the most popular study programs. Currently, the upper secondary school system is subject to reform. This article examines students' experiences of choosing theatre as their main subject in upper secondary education. A preliminary analysis is presented which is based on data from an open-ended inquiry answered by thirty students. The students' responses actualize the dimension between drama as personal development and theatre as artistic performance. There seems to be consensus about theatre studies generating both personal development and specific skills. The students also appreciate the variation and stimulation that theatre brings compared with “ordinary” school subjects. This is true even for less-motivated students who claim that theatre helps them to make it through upper secondary school. “Theatre is underestimated—it does more for you than you believe” (Swedish upper secondary school student).
Multiculture and Community in New City Spaces

Convention suggests that multicultural areas tend to exhibit high levels of residential and educational segregation, high degrees of poverty and deprivation and low rates of contact between culturally distinct individuals and groups. By contrast, with the help of a case study of a fast growing English new town, this paper reflects on the experience of multicultural settlement in what might be described as an ordinary city: one in which that experience is relatively recent and whose identity is constantly in the process of being made and remade. It draws on qualitative research, based around semi-structured interviews, participant observation and the use of focus groups, to develop its conclusions. Moving beyond any notion that minority ethnic communities live ‘parallel lives’, the paper identifies and explores some of the ways in which the new city spaces of Milton Keynes are actively lived, negotiated and understood by the Ghanaian and Somali communities (and particularly by young people from those communities). It highlights the tensions between the ways in which difference is negotiated in practice and attempts to define communities through processes of governance.
Resilience Theory

Abstract This paper examines the theoretical assumptions of resiliency theory and tests these assumptions through a qualitative research design. Eighteen professionals were interviewed to gain a clearer understanding of what conditions practitioners thought act as buffers to life stress and contribute to coping and resilience. Themes that frequently emerged from the data included personal attitude, spirituality/religion, education, and multilevel attachments. The data identified important practice skills to enhance client resilience. Implications for practice and education are discussed.
Structuring Groups for Cooperative Learning

The college classroom is first and foremost a scene of recurrent interpersonal interactions where an instructor and 30 to 50 or more students all interact with one another. College faculty have traditionally viewed the interaction between the instructor and student and between the student and materials as the two most important sources of subject matter mastery, professional socialization, and intellectual and social development. As a result, considerable attention has been focused on the effects of the instructor’s behavior on student learning. For example, studies have investigated such things as instructors’ expectations of students’ ability to perform on academic tasks, warmth, empathy, and democraticness in dealing with students, distribution of reinforcers to students for achievement and appropriate social behavior, and feedback to the student concerning achievement and appropriate behavior. Similarly a great deal of attention has been directed toward constructing instructional materials that promote learning. For example, effective instructional materials are attractive in appearance, illustrated with figures, graphs, and even cartoons, take the student through a series of text and questions in a linear step-by-step manner, provide feedback and reinforcement either through showing the student he or she has gotten the right answer or through direct compliments (&dquo;you’re right! &dquo;), and contain preand post-tests to determine level of entry into the material and assess how well the material has been mastered.
Ethnic Minority Development in Vietnam: A Socioeconomic Perspective

The authors examine the latest quantitative evidence on disparities in living standards between and among different ethnic groups in Vietnam. Using data from the 1998 Vietnam Living Standards Survey and 1999 Census, they show that Kinh and Hoa ("majority") households have substantially higher living standards than"minority"households from Vietnam's other 52 ethnic groups. Subdividing the population into five broad categories, the authors find that while the Kinh, Hoa, Khmer, and Northern Highland minorities have benefited from economic growth in the 1990s, the growth of Central Highland minorities has stagnated. Disaggregating further, they find that the same ethnic groups whose living standards have risen fastest are those that have the highest school enrollment rates, are most likely to intermarry with Kinh partners, and are the least likely to practice a religion. The authors then estimate and decompose a set of expenditure regressions which show that even if minority households had the same endowments as Kinh households, this would close no more than a third of the gap in per capita expenditures. While some ethnic minorities seem to be doing well with a strategy of assimilating (both culturally and economically) with the Kinh-Hoa majority, other groups are attempting to integrate economically while retaining distinct cultural identities. A third group comprising the Central Highland minorities, including the Hmong, is largely being left behind by the growth process. Such diversity in the socioeconomic development experiences of the different ethnic minorities indicates the need for similar diversity in the policy interventions that are designed to assist them.
Antidepressant medications and the relative risk of suicide attempt and suicide.

OBJECTIVE Suicide by drug overdose is a major public health problem, and antidepressant medications are the most common agent involved. European studies suggest differences in the rates of suicide by overdose among antidepressants, but no reports have been published for the United States. We estimated the comparative risks of suicide attempts and suicides, and the relative risk of fatality in the event of an overdose for the major antidepressants currently marketed in the United States. DATA SOURCES Information regarding suicide attempts and suicides by antidepressant overdose was obtained from the published reports of the Drug Abuse and Warning Network and the annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, and corrected for differences in total annual prescriptions using data from the National Prescription Audit. RESULTS The risk of a suicide attempt did not appear to differ among antidepressants. The tricyclic antidepressants were associated with a higher rate of death in the event of an overdose than the newer nontricyclic antidepressants in both the annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers and the Drug Abuse and Warning Network data. The chance of death after an overdose was greater for desipramine hydrochloride than for other tricyclics. CONCLUSION The higher risk of suicide with tricyclics vs nontricyclics may be explained by a higher rate of death from overdose rather than more suicide attempts. Tricyclics carry the risk of greater cardiotoxicity. The basis for the even higher rate of death/overdose of desipramine is not known and requires further research. If these findings are replicated in a case-control study design, they have important implications for the choice of an antidepressant for the depressed patient at risk for suicidal behavior.
Confidence in judgment: Persistence of the illusion of validity.

An accumulating body of research on clinical judgment, decision making, and probability estimation has documented a substantial lack of ability of both experts and nonexperts. However, evidence shows that people have great confidence in their fallible judgment. This article examines how this contradiction can be resolved and, in so doing, discusses the relationship between learning and experience. The basic tasks that are considered involve judgments made for the purpose of choosing between actions. At some later time, outcome feedback is used for evaluating the accuracy of judgment. The manner in which judgments of the contingency between predictions and outcomes are made is discussed and is related to the difficulty people have in searching for discommoning information to test hypotheses. A model for learning and maintaining confidence in one's own judgment is developed that includes the effects of experience and both the frequency and importance of positive and negative feedback. Everyone complains of his memory and no one complains of his judgment. (La Rochefoucauld, 1959, p. 49)
Job demands, job resources and meaning at work

Purpose – This paper aims to identify longitudinal associations between job demands, job resources and experience of meaning at work.Design/methodolgy/approach – Using data from a longitudinal survey study among 6,299 employees in Danish eldercare who were divided into 301 work‐groups, experience of meaning at work was predicted from a series of job demands and job resources measured at individual level and group level.Findings – A combination of individual‐level and group‐level measures of job demands and job resources contributed to predicting meaning at work. Meaning at work at follow‐up was predicted by meaning at work at baseline, role ambiguity, quality of leadership, and influence at work at individual level and emotional demands at group level. Individual‐level measures of job demands and job resources proved stronger predictors of meaning at work than group‐level measures.Research limitations/implications – Psychosocial job demands and job resources predict experience of meaning at work.Practical.
Pupils’ perceptions of the foreign language learning experience

This article presents some of the findings relating to a study on pupils’ perceptions of the in-school foreign language learning experience. This represents one area of a larger, accelerated longitudinal study on the motivational perspectives of secondary school pupils learning German. What are the factors which influence pupils’ views of what goes on in the classroom? What are their likes and dislikes? How do they feel the in-school experience could be enhanced? Can this help identify what it is that leads to the apparent diminution in enthusiasm for learning (languages) between the ages of 11 and 13? The article also has a comparative dimension, as the same questions are asked in relation to the English-learning experience of comprehensive school pupils of the same age in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. What can be learned from these findings which may have a beneficial influence on how languages are taught?
Ultrasonographic Characteristics of Subacute Granulomatous Thyroiditis

Objective We wanted to describe the characteristic ultrasonography (US) features and clinical findings for making the diagnosis of subacute granulomatous thyroiditis. Materials and Methods A total of 31 lesions from 27 patients were confirmed as subacute granulomatous thyroiditis by US-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy. We analyzed the ultrasonographic findings such as the lesion's size, margin and shape, the discrepancy between length and breadth and the vascularity. The clinical findings such as acute neck pain or fever were reviewed. The follow-up clinical and ultrasonographic data were reviewed for 15 patients. Results The thyroid gland was found to be enlarged in five patients, it was normal size in 20 patients and it was smaller in two patients. All the lesions had focally ill-defined hypoechogenicity. Hypervascularity was not noted in any of the lesions. Painful neck swelling was present in 18 patients. An accompanying fever was documented in nine of the 18 patients. Twelve patients showed disappearance (n = 3) or a decreased size (n = 9) of their lesions on follow-up US. Conclusion The presence of ill-defined hypoechoic thyroid lesions without a discrete round or oval shape is characteristic for subacute granulomatous thyroiditis, and particularly when this is associated with painful neck swelling and/or fever.
Differences in uptake of mycobacteria by human monocytes: a role for complement

We investigated the influence of serum factors on the uptake of various species of mycobacteria by human peripheral blood monocytes (PBM). On the basis of the percentage of PBM involved during in vitro uptake, the mycobacteria were of two distinct groups. The mycobacteria of one group, which consisted of Mycobacterium avium complex and M. chelonae, were taken up by many PBM; the other group, consisting of M. tuberculosis, M. kansasii, M. fortuitum, and M. gordonae, were taken up by fewer PBM. M. scrofulaceum was intermediate to these two groups on the basis of its uptake by PBM. Serum depleted of complement by heating or treatment with cobra venom factor significantly reduced the extent of PBM involvement with M. avium complex, indicating that complement is an important serum component mediating the uptake of M. avium complex organisms. Preincubation of mycobacteria with serum containing 10 mM EGTA [ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid] and 10 mM MgCl2 resulted in uptake by a high percentage of PBM, while preincubation in heated serum or serum containing 10 mM EDTA resulted in a significantly reduced percentage of PBM involved in uptake of M. avium complex organisms, indicating that these organisms are activators of the alternative pathway of complement. Incubation of M. avium complex organisms in human serum consumed 51% of the hemolytic complement activity. Parallel experiments indicated that serum had a lesser effect on the uptake of M. tuberculosis. Thus, serum is important in in vitro M. avium complex uptake by PBM; complement has a major role in the effect of serum, but this role is less important with M. tuberculosis.
Electromigration and stress-induced-voiding in dual damascene Cu/low-k interconnects: a complex balance between vacancy and stress gradients

The influence of residual vacancy concentrations and stress gradients on electromigration both in the metal layer below and above copper via's with a diameter of 90nm integrated in low-k materials has been investigated. Variations in stress gradients and vacancy concentrations were created by applying different post-plating anneal conditions. The impact of these variations was quantified based on high temperature storage tests both at the optimum stress-induced-voiding temperature and around the copper stress free temperature. By linking the results from these high temperature storage tests to electromigration data, we observe residual vacancy concentrations contribute more to upstream electromigration, while downstream electromigration is more vulnerable to residual stress gradients.
Unravelling a Profession: The Case of Engineers in a British Regional Electricity Company

Abstract This paper explores the position of engineers within a British Regional Electricity Company following privatisation and examines the effects that privatisation had upon the engineering profession within the company. The change programme introduced had profound effects on the engineers within the organisation with engineering tasks being deskilled. A comparison is made between engineers in this environment and the accounting profession to demonstrate the parallels between the changes taking place within these two professions. Following the organisational change process the role of the engineer has arguably been “unravelled” from being a demarcated profession to one that resembles the archetypal British experience. The processes within the organisation which led to this “deprofessionalisation” of engineers can be viewed as “technologies of power” which changed the organisation as it attempted to “normalise” towards the dominant Power/Knowledge discourse. The inability for the engineering profession to prevent an erosion of their status is examined together with the effects that marginalising engineering has had for the organisation in terms of the repertoires that constitute organisational performance.
Discriminant and Criterion-Related Validity of Achievement Goals in Predicting Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis.

This study examined the discriminant and criterion-related validity of achievement goals in predicting academic achievement. Analysis of 151 studies yielded 172 independent samples (N = 52,986) with correlations among achievement goals and between achievement goals and academic achievement. The discriminant validity of achievement goals in the 2-, 3-, and 4-factor achievement models was sound, as the correlations among achievement goals ranged from . 00 to . 38. Approach motivations were associated with higher academic achievement, and avoidance motivations were associated with lower academic achievement. The criterion-related validity of each achievement goal (r = -.13 to .13) and the validities for the 2-, 3-, and 4-factor models were low. Integrating the findings regarding the discriminant and criterion-related validity revealed the 4-factor model as the best choice to facilitate the understanding of learning outcomes.
A Discrete Time Equivalent Martingale Measure

An equivalent martingale measure selection strategy for discrete time, continuous state, asset price evolution models is proposed. The minimal martingale law is shown to generally fail to produce a probability law in this context. The proposed strategy, termed the extended Girsanov principle, performs a multiplicative decomposition of asset price movements into a predictable and martingale component with the measure change identifying the discounted asset price process to the martingale component. However, unlike the minimal martingale law, the resulting martingale law of the extended Girsanov principle leads to weak form efficient price processes. It is shown that the proposed measure change is relevant for economies in which investors adopt hedging strategies that minimize the variance of a risk adjusted discounted cost of hedging that uses risk adjusted asset prices in calculating hedging returns. Risk adjusted prices deflate asset prices by the asset's excess return. The explicit form of the change of measure density leads to tractable econometric strategies for testing the validity of the extended Girsanov principle. A number of interesting applications of the extended Girsanov principle are also developed.