Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhanced Tolerance to Environmental Stress in Transgenic Plants Expressing the Transcriptional Coactivator Multiprotein Bridging Factor 1c1[w]

Abiotic stresses cause extensive losses to agricultural production worldwide. Acclimation of plants to abiotic conditions such as drought, salinity, or heat is mediated by a complex network of transcription factors and other regulatory genes that control multiple defense enzymes, proteins, and pathways. Associated with the activity of different transcription factors are transcriptional coactivators that enhance their binding to the basal transcription machinery. Although the importance of stress-response transcription factors was demonstrated in transgenic plants, little is known about the function of transcriptional coactivators associated with abiotic stresses. Here, we report that constitutive expression of the stress-response transcriptional coactivator multiprotein bridging factor 1c (MBF1c) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) enhances the tolerance of transgenic plants to bacterial infection, heat, and osmotic stress. Moreover, the enhanced tolerance of transgenic plants to osmotic and heat stress was maintained even when these two stresses were combined. The expression of MBF1c in transgenic plants augmented the accumulation of a number of defense transcripts in response to heat stress. Transcriptome profiling and inhibitor studies suggest that MBF1c expression enhances the tolerance of transgenic plants to heat and osmotic stress by partially activating, or perturbing, the ethylene-response signal transduction pathway. Present findings suggest that MBF1 proteins could be used to enhance the tolerance of plants to different abiotic stresses.
Circulating Methylated-DCR2 Gene in Serum as an Indicator of Prognosis and Therapeutic Efficacy in Patients with MYCN Nonamplified Neuroblastoma

Background:MYCN amplification (MNA) in neuroblastoma is a strong indicator of poor prognosis. However, some MYCN nonamplified (non-MNA) cases show poor outcomes, and examining the status of the gene requires an operation, which may have surgical complications. Therefore, a new marker is needed to identify cases of non-MNA neuroblastomas with poor prognoses using less risky procedures. Aberrant hypermethylation of the DCR2 promoter has recently been associated with rapidly progressing neuroblastoma. We aimed to develop a noninvasive DCR2 methylation assay for patients with neuroblastoma using serum DNA, which predominantly originates from tumor-released DNA. Methods: Using DNA-based real-time PCR, we simultaneously quantified a methylated-DCR2 specific sequence (M) and a reference sequence (R) located in the promoter region in serum DNA, and evaluated DCR2 methylation status as M/R ratios in 86 patients with neuroblastoma. Results: Serum DCR2 M/R ratios were strongly correlated with those in the tumor (r = 0.67; P = 0.002). DCR2 methylation was associated with stage both in the whole neuroblastoma group and in the non-MNA group (P < 0.001), and DCR2-methylated patients showed significantly poorer 5-year event-free survival in the whole neuroblastoma group (43% versus 84%; P < 0.001), especially in the non-MNA group (12% versus 96%;P < 0.001). Among five DCR2-methylated patients whose clinical courses were followed, serum M/R ratios were close to 0 in the patients in remission, whereas the ratios increased in patients who relapsed. Conclusions: Detection of methylated-DCR2 in serum DNA has promise as a noninvasive assay for predicting prognosis and therapeutic efficacy in neuroblastoma, especially in non-MNA cases. Furthermore, it might be a sensitive marker of tumor recurrence in DCR2-methylated cases.
Tapping and Fostering Students' Emotional Intelligence through Service-learning Experiences

Today’s business students will chart their career paths through a rapidly changing, highly interdependent world of relationships and networks. In addition to traditional business school knowledge, students need cognitive, behavioral and affective skill sets, along with opportunities for civic engagement. This exploratory study of courseembedded service-learning, incorporating Cherniss and Goleman’s emotional intelligence construct, found that students’ service-learning experiences tapped and fostered the personal and social emotional intelligence competencies associated with professional effectiveness. Incorporating service-learning, with a focus on increasing emotional intelligence, offers a promising approach for business schools to reinforce and increase students’ civic values as well as to enrich their personal and inter-personal emotional intelligence insights and skill development. This approach will strengthen the curricula and teaching practices of business schools to better prepare students for their roles as responsible leaders in creating and managing sustainable businesses and partnerships for our global-collective future.
Vasomotor hot flashes and heart rate variability: a placebo-controlled trial of postmenopausal hormone therapy

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to compare the responses of heart rate variability (HRV) with hormone therapy in recently postmenopausal women with and without vasomotor hot flashes. MethodsSeventy-two women with and 78 women without hot flashes were randomized to receive transdermal estradiol gel (1 g/day), oral estradiol alone (2 mg/day), oral estradiol combined with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA; 5 mg/day), or placebo for 6 months. Time- and frequency-domain measures of HRV were assessed using 24-hour electrocardiographic recordings at baseline and after hormone therapy. ResultsAt baseline, the cardiac variables were similar in women with and without hot flashes. In women with hot flashes, the mean 24-hour heart rate and nighttime heart rate showed a tendency toward reduction in estradiol-only users compared with those taking placebo and those taking estradiol combined with MPA. In women with hot flashes, oral estradiol versus transdermal estradiol reduced nighttime HRV in the time domain (triangular index, −27 ± 36 vs +8 ± 36, P = 0.042). In women without hot flashes, the use of oral estradiol with MPA reduced time-domain HRV (SD of all normal-to-normal intervals; −11 ± 13 ms, P = 0.048, and square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent normal-to-normal intervals; −6 ± 8 ms, P = 0.036). The women with hot flashes had more supraventricular ectopic beats when using oral estradiol with MPA than when using oral estradiol only (71 ± 128 vs 12 ± 11, P = 0.018). ConclusionsOral estrogen, especially when combined with MPA, may have adverse effects on HRV in women with and without hot flashes, whereas transdermal estradiol showed no such effects. Furthermore, women with hot flashes receiving oral estrogen combined with MPA are possibly more prone to cardiac arrhythmias than are women using estrogen only.
SHAPE BIAS SPECIAL SECTION The shape of thought

When children learn the name of a novel object, they tend to extend that name to other objects similar in shape ‐ a phenomenon referred to as the shape bias. Does the shape bias stem from learned associations between names and categories of objects, or does it derive from more general properties of children’s understanding of language and the world? We argue here for the second alternative, presenting evidence that the shape bias emerges early in development, is not limited to names, and is intimately related to how children make sense of categories.
Systemic therapy for advanced adrenal cancer

The systemic management of advanced adrenal cancer remains a major therapeutic dilemma as it is both highly resistant to systemic agents and very rare epithelial neoplasm making clinical investigation a significant challenge. The role of mitotane, systemic chemotherapy and novel targeted agents are reviewed. J. Surg. Oncol. 2012; 106:643–646. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Personal development planning; an evaluation of student perceptions

Personal development planning (PDP) is delivered differently across institutions and has been labelled a ‘chaotic conception’. The key concepts are around supporting, planning and reviewing learning whilst developing self-awareness. This paper uses a qualitative approach to capture the voices of a sample of students studying at a UK north-west university at two points of time, the end of their first and final year. Two main ways of scaffolding PDP are explored, the use of workbooks for goal-setting and reflection and studying in peer learning groups. The workbooks become less useful over time whilst meeting in peer learning groups become more important. The students felt goal-setting was valuable as a tool they would use in the future and also that reflection against their goals was crucial to success. This approach however wasn’t for everyone but even the dismissal of the philosophy by some came with an awareness of why it didn’t work and how it might have helped. Overall the sample were positive about PDP and this strengthened over the three years of study, thereby showing the ideas behind this concept do have a valuable place within the undergraduate curriculum.
Rapid categorization of natural scenes in monkeys: target predictability and processing speed

Three monkeys performed a categorization task and a recognition task with briefly flashed natural images, using in alternation either a large variety of familiar target images (animal or food) or a single (totally predictable) target. The processing time was 20 ms shorter in the recognition task in which false alarms showed that monkeys relied on low-level cues (color, form, orientation, etc.). The 20-ms additional delay necessary in monkeys to perform the categorization task is compared with the 40-ms delay previously found for humans performing similar tasks. With such short additional processing time, it is argued that neither monkeys nor humans have time to develop a fully integrated object representation in the categorization task and must rely on coarse intermediate representations.
David vs. Goliath: An Analysis of Asymmetric Mixed-Strategy Games and Experimental Evidence

Mixed strategies are widely used to model strategic situations in diverse fields such as economics, marketing, political science, and biology. However, some of the implications of asymmetric mixed-strategy solutions are counterintuitive. We develop a stylized model of patent race to examine some of these implications. In our model two firms compete to develop a product and obtain a patent. However, one firm values the patent more because of its market advantages, such as brand reputation and distribution network. Contrary to some intuition, we find that the firm that values the patent less is likely to invest more aggressively in developing the product and will also win the patent more often. We argue that the reason for these counterintuitive results is inherent in the very concept of mixed strategy solution. In a laboratory test, we examine whether subjects’ behavior conforms to the equilibrium predictions. We find that the aggregate behavior of our subjects is consistent with the game-theoretic predictions. With the help of the experience-weighted attraction (EWA) learning model proposed by Camerer and Ho (1999), we show that adaptive learning can account for the investment behavior of our subjects. We find that the EWA learning model tracks the investment decisions of our subjects well, whether we hold out trials or an entire group of subjects. (Competitive Strategy; RD Marketing; Decision Analysis; Learning; Experimental Economics)
An Induced Additive-Noise Model for Non-Coherent Discrete-Time Memoryless Rayleigh Fading Channels

This paper investigates a non-coherent discrete-time memoryless Rayleigh fading chan- nel. A logarithmic transform converts it into an induced channel with additive noise that is in- dependent of the channel input. From this per- spective, it is natural and convenient for us to revisit many known results and gain several new insights. In particular, we specify a class of sim- ple log-scale uniform channel input distributions that performs well for moderate to high signal-to- noise ratio (SNR). Furthermore, for this class of input distributions, its limiting continuous distri- bution is asymptotically capacity-achieving in the sense that the gap between the resulting mutual information and the channel capacity approaches zero as SNR becomes large. The induced channel modeling approach can also be applied to analyz- ing other performance metrics such as the cutoff rate and the error exponent, as well as be ex- tended to certain multiple-antenna channels and multiple access channels.
IMPACT OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP ON CAREER MATURITY OF THE ADOLESCENTS OF KOLKATA

In modern industrial societies, the passage from childhood to adulthood is marked by a long transitional period known as adolescence (Latin word meaning “to grow up”). Of the many different relationships an individual forms over the course of the life span, the relationship with parents is perhaps the most important. Early adolescence marks an important turning point in the parent-child relationship. As the child enters adolescence, the biological, cognitive, and emotional changes of the period spark transformations in the parent-child relationship. Early adolescence is a time during which the child's urges for independence may challenge parents' authority, as the young adolescent strives to establish a sense of emotional autonomy, or individuation. The teen years can be an exciting time as a teen looks ahead to future career choices. The amount of time parents spend with an adolescent, the career choices of the parents and family environment all influence the adolescent’s career choices. Against this backdrop, the purpose of the present study was to find out the influence of parent-child relationship on their career maturity. 200 subjects belonging to the age group of 16 to 18 years were selected randomly from the higher secondary schools of Kolkata. A general information schedule and two standardized tests namely, Crite’s Career Maturity Inventory (CMI) by Nirmala Gupta (Indian adaptation,1989) and Parent Child Relationship Scale (PCRS) by Nalini Rao (2001) were used for the purpose of data collection. After scoring the responses the data were subjected to statistical analysis in SPSS-16. The descriptive statistics, analysis of variance and multiple regressions were computed. The findings reveal that majority of the sample have average career maturity. Multiple regression analysis indicates that the correlations were positive and significant. Among the different dimensions, parents’ love and protection had significant contribution towards the career maturity of the adolescents. These findings have implications in adolescent career counseling.
Detection of Myocardial Metabolic Abnormalities by 18F-FDG PET/CT and Corresponding Pathological Changes in Beagles with Local Heart Irradiation

Objective To determine the efficacy of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in the detection of radiation-induced myocardial damage in beagles by comparing two pre-scan preparation protocols as well as to determine the correlation between abnormal myocardial FDG uptake and pathological findings. Materials and Methods The anterior myocardium of 12 beagles received radiotherapy locally with a single X-ray dose of 20 Gy. 18F-FDG cardiac PET/CT was performed at baseline and 3 months after radiation. Twelve beagles underwent two protocols before PET/CT: 12 hours of fasting (12H-F), 12H-F followed by a high-fat diet (F-HFD). Regions of interest were drawn on the irradiation and the non-irradiation fields to obtain their maximal standardized uptake values (SUVmax). Then the ratio of the SUV of the irradiation to the non-irradiation fields (INR) was computed. Histopathological changes were identified by light and electron microscopy. Results Using the 12H-F protocol, the average INRs were 1.18 ± 0.10 and 1.41 ± 0.18 before and after irradiation, respectively (p = 0.021). Using the F-HFD protocol, the average INRs were 0.99 ± 0.15 and 2.54 ± 0.43, respectively (p < 0.001). High FDG uptake in irradiation field was detected in 33.3% (4/12) of 12H-F protocol and 83.3% (10/12) of F-HFD protocol in visual analysis, respectively (p = 0.031). The pathology of the irradiated myocardium showed obvious perivascular fibrosis and changes in mitochondrial vacuoles. Conclusion High FDG uptake in an irradiated field may be related with radiation-induced myocardial damage resulting from microvascular damage and mitochondrial injury. An F-HFD preparation protocol used before obtaining PET/CT can improve the sensitivity of the detection of cardiotoxicity associated with radiotherapy.
The Effects of Text Absent and Text Present Conditions on Summarization and Recall of Text

The effects of text absent and text present conditions during summary writing were investigated. It has been hypothesized that: (a) text absent summarization (i.e., instructing subjects to read a text and then summarize it without referring back to the text) increases the quality of processing during summarization, and (b) this higher qualify processing enhances recall. Sixth-grade students summarized an expository text in either a text absent or text present condition, and subsequently were asked to do an oral free recall of the text. Regression analyses indicated that text absent summarization resulted in lower summary content in general, but in greater summary depth for more able readers. Further regression analyses indicated that summary depth resulted in increased recall in general, whereas summary content was only associated with recall for text absent summarizers; text absence alone did not result in greater recall. These findings suggest that text absent summarization may be beneficial, but only for subjects who are competent summary writers or able readers.
PTPN14 Forms a Complex with Kibra and LATS1 Proteins and Negatively Regulates the YAP Oncogenic Function*

Background: Transcriptional co-activators YAP/TAZ are pivotal effectors of the Hippo pathway and their dysfunction promote epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and malignant transformation. Results: PTPN14 interacts with Kibra and activates LATS1 (upstream negative regulator of YAP). Conclusion: PTPN14 and Kibra activate LATS1 and negatively regulate the YAP oncogenic function. Significance: Study of the YAP regulatory mechanism is crucial for understanding its role in the physiological and pathological processes. The Hippo signaling pathway regulates cellular proliferation and survival, thus exerting profound effects on normal cell fate and tumorigenesis. Pivotal effectors of this pathway are YAP/TAZ, transcriptional co-activators whose dysfunction contributes to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and malignant transformation. Therefore, it is of great importance to decipher the mechanisms underlying the regulations of YAP/TAZ at various levels. Here we report that non-receptor tyrosine phosphatase 14 (PTPN14) interacts with the Kibra protein. The interaction between PTPN14 and Kibra is through the PPXY domain of PTPN14 and WW domain of Kibra. PTPN14 and Kibra can induce the LATS1 activation independently and cooperatively. Interestingly, activation of LATS1 by PTPN14 is dependent on the C terminus of PTPN14 and independent of the upstream mammalian STE20-like kinase (MST) proteins. Furthermore, we demonstrate that PTPN14 increases the LAST1 protein stability. Last, overexpression of Kibra rescues the increased cell migration and aberrant three-dimensional morphogenesis induced by knockdown of PTPN14, and this rescue is mediated through the activation of the upstream LATS1 kinase and subsequent cytoplasmic sequestration of YAP. In summary, our results indicate a potential regulatory role of PTPN14 in the Hippo pathway and demonstrate another layer of regulation in the YAP oncogenic function.
Fast recovery of non-negative sparse signals under heterogeneous noise

In this paper we consider recovering non-negative sparse signals under heterogeneous noise from a Bayesian inference perspective. To induce sparsity and non-negativity simultaneously, we assign a rectified Gaussian scale mixture prior to the signal of interest. With such a prior, the signal posterior is analytically intractable. To handle this, we employ an approximate approach to simplify the inference process and obtain the marginal posteriors approximately. Moreover, to reduce the high computational cost, we use a conjugate gradient based scheme to implement the above process. Based on these efforts, we develop a novel recovery algorithm for the problem of interest. Results of numerical experiments demonstrate that the algorithm can achieve high recovery accuracy as well as low computational cost.
Impact of the repressive personality style on the measurement of psychological distress in children and adolescents with chronic illness: an example from hemophilia.

Described the impact of the repressive personality style on the measurement of psychological distress among children and adolescents with hemophilia. Two groups were compared on parent and self-report measures of anxiety and depression: a nondefensive group (n = 34) with low distress; and a highly defensive group (n = 26) who were identified as having a repressive personality style and who also reported low distress. Consistent with hypotheses, highly defensive children reported comparable levels of anxiety and lower levels of depression than nondefensive children. On the other hand, mothers of highly defensive children and adolescents described them as more distressed than mothers of nondefensive (self-assured) children. Findings underscore the importance of including data from other informants, (e.g., parents, teachers, or peers) to avoid misleading findings based on self-reports of anxiety and depression obtained from highly defensive children.
Simple Variance Swaps

The large asset price jumps that took place during 2008 and 2009 disrupted volatility derivatives markets and caused the single-name variance swap market to dry up completely. This paper defines and analyzes a simple variance swap, a relative of the variance swap that in several respects has more desirable properties. First, simple variance swaps are robust: they can be easily priced and hedged even if prices can jump. Second, simple variance swaps supply a more accurate measure of market-implied variance than do variance swaps or the VIX index. Third, simple variance swaps provide a better way to measure and to trade correlation. The paper also explains how to interpret VIX in the presence of jumps.