Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RNF216 contributes to proliferation and migration of colorectal cancer via suppressing BECN1-dependent autophagy

Originally identified as an E3 ligase regulating toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, ring finger protein 216 (RNF216) also plays an essential role in autophagy, which is fundamental to cellular homeostasis. Autophagy dysfunction leads to an array of pathological events, including tumor formation. In this study, we found that RNF216 was upregulated in human colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues and cell lines, and was associated with progression of CRC. RNF216 promoted CRC cell proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo, largely by enhancing proteasomal degradation of BECN1, a key autophagy regulator and tumor suppressor. RNF216 restricted CRC cell autophagy through BECN1 inhibition under nutritional starvation conditions. RNF216 knockdown increased the autophagy, limiting CRC cell proliferation and migration. Moreover, BECN1 knockdown or autophagy inhibition restored proliferation and migration of RNF216-knockdown CRC cells. Collectively, our results suggested that RNF216 promoted CRC cell proliferation and migration by negatively regulating BECN1-dependent autophagy. This makes RNF216 as a potential biomarker and novel therapeutic target for inhibiting CRC development and progression.
Managing Software Quality Requirements

This research study explores current quality requirements (QR) management practices in Australian organisations focusing on the elicitation, handling processes, challenges faced, quantification methods used and interdependency management. This research was conducted through six mini case studies, examining organizations that varied in size, structure, industry and function. A mixed methodology was utilised through an online survey for gathering quantitative data and semi-structured interviews for gathering explanatory qualitative data. The results found that five out of the six organisations studied did not have a formal and defined process for the handling of QRs. Large organisations treated QRs are part of their overall project specifications, while smaller organisations saw the management of QRs as more ad hoc. When prioritising QRs, Accuracy was considered the most important priority followed by Security and Reliability. The main challenges that organisations face in their management of QRs is defining and quantifying these requirements.
The Dividend and Share Repurchase Policies of Canadian Firms

We empirically investigate dividend and share repurchase policies of Canadian firms. We have sent a questionnaire to the 500 largest non-financial Canadian companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, of which 191 usable responses were returned. These data are used to measure firm characteristics. We use several logit regression analyses to test the structure and determinants of the dividend and share repurchase choice. Our results are consistent with a structure in which the company first decides whether it wants to pay out cash to its shareholders or not. In the second stage the firm decides on the form of the payout: dividends, share repurchases or both. Payout is determined by free cash flow. The choice for dividends and repurchases depends on behavioral and tax preferences. Furthermore, the payout is less likely to be dividends if the company has executive stock option plans. Finally, we find evidence for the Brennan and Thakor (1990) model. According to this model the existence of asymmetric information amongst outsiders is associated with a preference for dividend payments over share repurchases.
Go/NoGo training improves executive functions in an 8-year-old child born preterm

espanolEl entrenamiento mediante tarea Go/NoGo mejora las funciones ejecutivas en un ninos de 8 anos nacido pretermino. El paradigma Go/NoGo es ampliamente usado para evaluar el control inhibitorio. Sin embargo, no ha sido implementado consistentemente como un recurso de entrenamiento. El control inhibitorio ha sido propuesto como clave para el mantenimiento del resto de las funciones cognitivas. Propusimos que un entrenamiento corto mediante una tarea Go/NoGo simple y facil de disenar producira mejoras significativas en la mayor parte de las funciones ejecutivas evaluadas. Se entreno mediante una tarea Go/NoGo visual durante 7 dias a un nino varon pretermino de 8 anos y con un control inhibitorio alterado. Se evaluaron atencion sostenida, alternante y dividida, flexibilidad cognitiva, capacidad visuo-espacial y control inhibitorio mediante pruebas neuropsicologicas estandarizadas para poblacion espanola. Se observaron mejoras importantes tanto en inhibicion como en el resto de las funciones cognitivas evaluadas. Esta es la primera vez que un entrenamiento de tan corto tiempo con una tarea Go/NoGo se relaciona con mejoras significativas en funciones humanas superiores. Este tipo de resultados refuerza el conocimiento actual de que el control inhibitorio juega un rol central en el mantenimiento del resto de funciones ejecutivas y demuestra que dichas funciones se pueden mejorar a nivel clinico con sistemas informaticos de bajo coste y de facil desarrollo EnglishThe Go/NoGo paradigm is the most important tool for the assessment of inhibitory control. However, it has not been implemented as a training source consistently. Inhibitory control has been proposed as a key process at the basis of multitude of superior cognitive functions. We propose that the training Go/NoGo paradigm is a simple, fast and easy-to-program and that it will conduce to significant improvements in most of the executive functions. An 8-year-old male child born preterm and with clear signs of inhibitory control dysfunction was trained with a visual Go/ NoGo Task for 7 consecutive days (≈ 4 minutes per day). Sustained, alternating and divided attention, cognitive flexibility, visuo-spatial capacity and inhibitory control were assessed with standardized neuropsychological tests for the Spanish population. Improvements in inhibition and other superior cognitive functions were observed. This is the first time that short-term training with a Go/NoGo Task has been linked to significant improvements in the human superior cognitive functions. This data reinforces previous knowledge which points out that inhibitory control plays a key role in the maintenance of the rest of executive functions, and it demonstrates that such functions can be improved at clinical levels by lowcost and easy to develop informatics systems
Le Inner core rotation from event-pair analysis

The last decade has witnessed an animated debate on whether the inner core rotation is a fact or an artifact. Here we examine the temporal change of inner core waves using a technique that compares differential travel times at the same station but between two events. The method does not require precise knowledge of earthquake locations and earth models. The pairing of the events creates a large data set for the application of statistical tools. Using measurements from 87 events in the South Sandwich Islands recorded at College, Alaska station, we conclude the temporal change is robust. The estimates of the temporal change range from about 0.07 to 0.10 s/decade over the past 50 yr. If we used only pairs with small inter-event distances, which reduce the influence of mantle heterogeneity, the rates range from 0.084 to 0.098 s/decade, nearly identical to the rate inferred by Zhang et al. [Zhang, J., Song, X.D. , Li, Y.C. , Richards, P.G. , Sun, X.L. , Waldhauser, F. , Inner core differential motion confirmed by earthquake waveform doublets, Science 309 (5739) (2005) 1357–1360. ] from waveform doublets. The rate of the DF change seems to change with time, which may be explained by lateral variation of the inner core structure or the change in rotation rate on decadal time scale. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Metallaxis‐FL: mutation‐based fault localization

Fault localization methods seek to identify faulty program statements based on the information provided by the failing and passing test executions. Spectrum‐based methods are among the most popular ones and assist programmers by assigning suspiciousness values on program statements according to their probability of being faulty. This paper proposes Metallaxis, a fault localization approach based on mutation analysis. The innovative part of Metallaxis is that it uses mutants and links them with the faulty program places. Thus, mutants that are killed mostly by failing tests provide a good indication about the location of a fault. Experimentation using Metallaxis suggests that it is significantly more effective than statement‐based approaches. This is true even in the case where mutation cost‐reduction techniques, such as mutant sampling, are facilitated. Additionally, results from a controlled experiment show that the use of mutation as a testing technique provides benefits to the fault localization process. Therefore, fault localization is significantly improved by using mutation‐based tests instead of block‐based or branch‐based test suites. Finally, evidence in support of the methods’ scalability is also given. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Institutional Investors and Crash Risk: Monitoring or Expropriation?

This study tests two opposing views of institutional investors – monitoring versus expropriation – by investigating whether institutional ownership is positively or negatively related to future firm-specific stock price crash risk. We present robust evidence that institutional ownership is positively associated with future stock price crash risk. After further classifying institutional investors into transient, dedicated, and quasi-indexer types, we show that the overall positive relation between institutional ownership and future stock price crash risk is driven primarily by transient institutions, with dedicated institutions serving a monitoring role in reducing future stock price crash risk. We also find that institutional ownership by public pension funds (bank trusts, investment companies, and independent investment advisors) is significantly negatively (positively) associated with future crash risk. We also find that opaque financial reporting exacerbates the impact of institutional investors on future stock price crash risk. The findings in this study are shown inter alia to be robust to endogeneity concerns and alternative institutional investment metrics.
The CBP parameter --- a useful annotation to aid SDF compilers

Memory consumption is an important metric for DSP software implementation [11]. In this paper, we develop a module characterization technique that promotes more economical use of memory resources at the system level. Our work is in the context of software synthesis from signal/video/ image processing applications expressed as synchronous dataflow (SDF) graphs. SDF is a restricted form of dataflow where each computational module (actor) consumes and produces a fixed number of data values (tokens) on each firing. Usually, no assumption is made about when during the execution of an actor, the tokens are actually consumed and produced; the firing of an actor is treated as an atomic event for most purposes. However, we show in this report that it is possible to concisely and precisely capture key properties pertaining to the relative times at which tokens are produced and consumed by an actor. We show this by introducing the consumedbefore-produced (CBP) parameter, which provides a general method for characterizing the token transfer of an SDF actor. Good bounds on the CBP parameter can aid an SDF compiler in performing more aggressive optimizations for reducing buffer sizes on the edges between actors. We formally define the CBP parameter; derive some useful properties of this parameter; illustrate how the value of the parameter is derived by examining in detail the multirate FIR filter, which is a fundamental actor in multirate signal processing applications; and examine CBP parameterizations for several other practical SDF actors. 1. Technical report UMIACS-TR-99-56, Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, September, 1999. S. S. Bhattacharyya was supported in this work by the US National Science Foundation (CAREER, MIP9734275) and Northrop Grumman Corp. 2 of 20 The CBP Parameter — a Useful Annotation to Aid SDF Compilers
Lamb wave analysis for non-destructive testing of concrete plate structures

Lamb waves are guided dispersive waves propagating in free plate structures (Lamb, 1917). By matching theoretical multimodal Lamb wave dispersion curves with experimental ones, shear wave velocity (Vs), Poisson's ratio (v), and thickness (d) of the tested plak structure can be evaluated. In this expanded abstract a practical approach for NDT of pavements and concrete structures utilizing multiple modes of Lamb wave dispersion curves is presented. Both the measuring procedure and the analysis scheme is described. A complete description of how to calculate theoretical Lamb wave dispersion curves and more details on this study were given in the original manuscript (Ryden et al. 2003).
Antiemetic effect of propofol administered at the end of surgery in laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy

Background Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) commonly occur after general anesthesia, especially in women. In this study, we evaluated the antiemetic efficacy of propofol administered at the end of surgery in highly susceptible patients undergoing a laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy. Methods A total of 107 women undergoing a laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy under general anesthesia were enrolled for this prospective, double-blind, randomized study. Fifteen minutes before the end of surgery, all patients received 50 µg fentanyl and 1 of following 3 doses; 0.5 mg/kg of propofol (propofol 0.5 group), 1 mg/kg of propofol (propofol 1.0 group), and normal saline (control group). All patients received intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). Emergence time, a visual analog scale for pain and nausea, duration of postanesthesia care unit (PACU) stay, and frequency of antiemetic use were recorded at 0-2, 2-24, and 24-48 hours postoperatively. Results The incidence of nausea significantly lower in the propofol 0.5 and propofol 1.0 groups than in the control group (12.1 vs 14.7 vs 40%). During the first postoperative 2 hours, antiemetics were less frequently administered in the propofol 0.5 and propofol 1.0 groups than in the control group (3.0 vs 5.9 vs 22.5%). Emergence time was slightly longer in the propofol 0.5 and propofol 1.0 groups than in the control group, but there was no significant difference in PACU stay time was observed between the 3 groups. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that low-dose propofol administration at the end of surgery may effectively reduce the incidence of PONV within 2 hours postoperatively in highly susceptible women undergoing a laparoscopiy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy and receiving opioid-based PCA.
Dying Professions: Exploring Emotion Management among Doctors and Funeral Directors

There are few more emotive experiences in life than death. Drawing on Arlie Hochschild’s concept of emotional labour, this article compares the emotional responsibilities of two groups of death professionals: doctors and funeral directors. It addresses the lack of comparative studies in the otherwise robust literature concerning emotional labour in the workforce. Through qualitative analysis, I identify how funeral directors and doctors believe they should feel in regard to death, how they manage these feelings, and the related consequences of this emotional labour. This analysis suggests that the emotion management of these professionals is primarily influenced by two key factors: prioritizing the emotions of others and stifling one’s own strong emotions. Differences became apparent in terms of how these factors are managed and what the related emotional consequences may be, due to the respective reliance of the funeral directors on surface acting and the doctors on deep acting emotion management strategies. In the future, it would be helpful to complement existing research with participant observation studies in order to better illuminate the meaning that emotional labour has for individuals in practice. Due to their unique position of encountering death as part of a job, death professionals have much to teach each other, as well as the broader population, about accepting and managing emotions related to mortality.
Reliability of Two Diameters Method in Determining Acute Infarct Size. Validation as New Imaging Biomarker

Background In order to select patients most likely to benefit for thrombolysis and to predict patient outcome in acute ischemic stroke, the volumetric assessment of the infarcted tissue is used. However, infarct volume estimation on Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) has moderate interrater variability despite the excellent contrast between ischemic lesion and healthy tissue. In this study, we compared volumetric measurements of DWI hyperintensity to a simple maximum orthogonal diameter approach to identify thresholds indicating infarct size >70 ml and >100 ml. Methods Patients presenting with ischemic stroke with an NIHSS of ≥ 8 were examined with stroke MRI within 24 h after symptom onset. For assessment of the orthogonal DWI lesion diameters (od-values) the image with the largest lesion appearance was chosen. The maximal diameter of the lesion was determined and a second diameter was measured perpendicular. Both diameters were multiplied. Od-values were compared to volumetric measurement and od-value thresholds identifying a lesion size of > 70 ml and > 100 ml were determined. In a selected dataset with an even distribution of lesion sizes we compared the results of the od value thresholds with results of the ABC/2 and estimations of lesion volumes made by two resident physicians. Results For 108 included patients (53 female, mean age 71.36 years) with a median infarct volume of 13.4 ml we found an excellent correlation between volumetric measures and od-values (r2 = 0.951). Infarct volume >100 ml corresponds to an od-value cut off of 42; > 70 ml corresponds to an od-value of 32. In the compiled dataset (n = 50) od-value thresholds identified infarcts > 100 ml / > 70 ml with a sensitivity of 90%/ 93% and with a specificity of 98%/ 89%. The od-value offered a higher accuracy in identifying large infarctions compared to both visual estimations and the ABC/2 method. Conclusion The simple od-value enables identification of large DWI lesions in acute stroke. The cutoff of 42 is useful to identify large infarctions with volume larger than 100 ml. Further studies can analyze the therapeutic utility of this new method. Trail Registration ClinicalTrials.org NCT00715533
THE EFFECTS OF DIPHTHERIA TOXIN ON THE CECROPIA SILKWORM

1. The metamorphosis of the Cecropia silkworm is accompanied by large and systematic changes in the insect's sensitivity to diphtheria toxin. 2. Injection of less than 1 gamma of toxin into mature caterpillars, prepupae, or developing adults causes cessation of development followed by delayed death 1 to 5 weeks later. 3. Dormant pupae, on the contrary, are resistant to 70 gamma of toxin and may survive even this enormous dose for over 4 weeks. One-hundredth of this dose, however, prevents pupae from initiating adult development. 4. Tetanus toxin, to which the insect is insensitive, failed to duplicate any of these effects. 5. Maximal sensitivity to diphtheria toxin is characteristic of those stages in the life history which depend on the presence and function of the cytochrome system. Resistance to the toxin, as in the case of the diapausing pupa, is correlated with the existence and utilization of metabolic pathways other than the usual cytochrome system. 6. This correlation persists within the individual insect. Thus, within the diapausing pupa, the toxin fails to affect the heart in which a normal cytochrome system is absent, but, within the same insect, causes a degeneration of the intersegmental muscles in which an intact cytochrome system is present. 7. These several lines of evidence are interpreted in support of the conclusion that diphtheria toxin acts by blocking the synthesis of one or more components in the cytochrome system.
GRID-based approach for power measurement in digital wireless communication systems

The combined use of multitaper estimation and wavelet thresholding has proved very attractive for achieving the true power spectrum of signals peculiar to digital wireless communication systems, and thus carrying out accurate and repeatable power measurements. Nevertheless, the computational burden induced is too heavy. The paper presents a GRID computing based approach to make the aforementioned digital signal-processing algorithms enforceable in a real-time context. All adopted software strategies are explained in detail along with major results concerning performance assessment and actual measurements.
Measuring young consumers’ sustainable consumption behavior: development and validation of the YCSCB scale

Purpose Promoting sustainable consumption among young consumers has become a key priority on the research agenda in such different fields as education for sustainable development, environmental psychology and consumer policy. Progress in this field has been hampered by a lack of sophisticated research instruments capable of measuring consumption behaviors that are relevant both in terms of their sustainability impacts and their suitability for teenagers. This study aims to address this research gap and presents a scale for young consumers’ sustainable consumption behaviors (YCSCB) in the areas of food and clothing. Design/methodology/approach The scale was developed in a two-step, mixed-methods approach. In an initial qualitative interview study, the actual behaviors of theoretically selected young consumers (n = 8) were identified with regard to acquiring, using and disposing of consumer goods in the areas of food and clothing. The YCSCB scale was constructed using the findings of this qualitative study and then validated in a subsequent quantitative study (n = 155). Findings The YCSCB scale is a valid and reliable scale to measure young consumers’ sustainable consumption behavior in the areas of food (n = 14 items) and clothing (n = 13 items). Originality/value The findings of this research provide a twofold contribution to advancing research on YCSCB. Firstly, it presents a consolidated scale that is explicitly constructed for teenagers and their consumption contexts. Secondly, it proposes a heuristic for developing more sophisticated measurements of SCB among young consumers that would allow a comparison between studies, is focused on behaviors (instead of confounding behaviors with intentions, attitudes or values) and is impact-oriented in terms of sustainability relevance.
Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species and Kidney Hypoxia in the Development of Diabetic Nephropathy

The underlying mechanisms in the development of diabetic nephropathy are currently unclear and likely consist of a series of dynamic events from the early to late stages of the disease. Diabetic nephropathy is currently without curative treatments and it is acknowledged that even the earliest clinical manifestation of nephropathy is preceded by an established morphological renal injury that is in turn preceded by functional and metabolic alterations. An early manifestation of the diabetic kidney is the development of kidney hypoxia that has been acknowledged as a common pathway to nephropathy. There have been reports of altered mitochondrial function in the diabetic kidney such as altered mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics, uncoupling, and cellular signaling through hypoxia inducible factors and AMP-kinase. These factors are also likely to be intertwined in a complex manner. In this review, we discuss how these pathways are connected to mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and how they may relate to the development of kidney hypoxia in diabetic nephropathy. From available literature, it is evident that early correction and/or prevention of mitochondrial dysfunction may be pivotal in the prevention and treatment of diabetic nephropathy.