Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mycobacterium tuberculosis 19-kDa Lipoprotein Inhibits IFN-γ-Induced Chromatin Remodeling of MHC2TA by TLR2 and MAPK Signaling1

During infection of macrophages, prolonged signaling by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) or its 19-kDa lipoprotein (LpqH; Rv3763) inhibits IFN-γ-induced expression of several immune function genes, including class II transactivator (CIITA), which regulates class II MHC. Mtb does not inhibit early IFN-γ signaling events, e.g., Stat1α activation. This study analyzed downstream mechanisms that regulate the transcription of MHC2TA, the gene encoding CIITA. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that IFN-γ induced acetylation of histones H3 and H4 at the CIITA promoter IV (pIV). In contrast, IFN-γ-dependent histone acetylation at CIITA pIV was inhibited by Mtb or 19-kDa lipoprotein. Mtb 19-kDa lipoprotein also inhibited IFN-γ-dependent recruitment of Brahma-related gene 1, a chromatin remodeling protein, to CIITA pIV. Mtb 19-kDa lipoprotein did not inhibit histone acetylation in TLR2−/− macrophages. Furthermore, 19-kDa lipoprotein did not inhibit CIITA expression or IFN-γ-dependent histone acetylation of CIITA pIV in macrophages treated with inhibitors of MAPKs p38 or ERK. Thus, CIITA expression was inhibited by TLR2-induced MAPK signaling that caused histone hypoacetylation at CIITA pIV and suppression of CIITA transcription. Chromatin remodeling at MHC2TA is a novel target of inhibition by Mtb. These mechanisms may diminish class II MHC expression by infected macrophages, contributing to immune evasion by Mtb.
High-density array analysis of DNA methylation in Tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cell lines

Roughly two-thirds of all breast cancers are ERα-positive and can be treated with the antiestrogen, Tamoxifen, however resistance occurs in 33% of women who take the drug for more than 5 y. Aberrant DNA methylation, an epigenetic mechanism that alters gene expression in cancer, is thought to play a role in this resistance. To develop an understanding of Tamoxifen-resistance and identify novel pathways and targets of aberrant methylation, DNA from MCF-7 breast cancer cells and Tamoxifen-resistant derivatives, TMX2–11 and TMX2–28, were analyzed using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. Normalizing against MCF-7 values, ERα-positive TMX2–11 had 4000 hypermethylated sites and ERα-negative TMX2–28 had over 33 000. Analysis of CpG sites altered in both TMX2–11 and TMX2–28 revealed that the Tamoxifen-resistant cell lines share 3000 hypermethylated and 200 hypomethylated CpGs. ZNF350 and MAGED1, two genes hypermethylated in both cell lines, were examined in greater detail. Treatment with 5-aza-2′deoxycitidine caused a significant reduction in promoter methylation of both ZNF350 and MAGED1 and a corresponding increase in expression in TMX2–28. A similar relationship between methylation and expression was not detected in TMX2–11. Our findings are indicative of the variable responses to methylation-targeted breast cancer therapy and highlight the need for biomarkers that accurately predict treatment outcome.
Lymphatic filariasis baseline survey in two sentinel sites of Ogun state, Nigeria

Introduction In preparation for Mass Drug Administration by National Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme, a baseline epidemiological investigation on lymphatic filariasis (LF) was conducted in two sentinel sites of Ogun State, Nigeria. The study was carried out in Ado-Odo Ota and Abeokuta South Local Government Areas (LGAs) to determine LF prevalence, microfilarial density and the abundance of Wucheraria bancrofti in the mosquito vectors. Methods Microscopic examination of thick blood smears of 299 and 288 participants from Ado-Odo Ota and Abeokuta South LGAs was conducted. Visual observations of clinical manifestations of chronic infection and questionnaire administration were also conducted. Indoor resting mosquitoes were collected using the pyrethrum spray technique and CDC light traps and mosquitoes were dissected for filarial larvae. Results Microfilaria prevalences were 4.0% and 2.4% in Ado-odo Ota and Abeokuta South LGAs. The microflarial density (mfd) was 30.6mf/ml and 23.9 mf/ml in the same areas. No clinical manifestations of the infection were found at both sites. Knowledge of LF by inhabitants was very low in the two areas. Anopheles gambiae s.l and Culex species mosquitoes were collected but none was found positive for stage L3 infective larvae. Conclusion Mass awareness campaigns on the goal of mass drug administration, cause of LF, mode of transmission, the relationship between infection and clinical signs/symptoms is advocated so as to increase acceptance and support of the control programme by the community.
Foot Function in Diabetic Patients after Partial Amputation

The function of partially amputated feet in 10 patients with diabetes mellitus was studied. First-step bilateral barefoot plantar pressure distribution and three-dimensional kinematic data were collected using a Novel EMED platform and three video cameras. Analysis of the plantar pressure data revealed a significantly greater mean peak plantar pressure in the feet with transmetatarsal amputation (TMA) than in the intact feet of the same patients. The heels of the amputated feet had significantly lower mean peak plantar pressures than all the forefoot regions. A significantly greater maximum dynamic dorsiflexion range of motion was seen in the intact compared with the TMA feet. However, no difference was noted in the static dorsiflexion range of motion between the two feet and there was, therefore, a trend for the TMA feet to use less of the available range of motion. Given the altered kinematics and elevated plantar pressures noted in this study, careful postsurgical footwear management of feet with TMA would appear to be essential if ulceration is to be prevented.
Construct Validity and Measurement Invariance of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–III Form A

The aim of this study was to apply the Rasch model to an analysis of the psychometric properties of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--III Form A (PPVT--IIIA) items with struggling adult readers. The PPVT--IIIA was administered to 229 African American adults whose isolated word reading skills were between third and fifth grades. Conformity of the adults' performance on the PPVT--IIIA items was evaluated using the Winsteps software. Analysis of all PPVT--IIIA items combined did not fully support its use as a useful measure of receptive vocabulary for struggling adult readers who were African Americans. To achieve an adequate model fit, Items 73 through 156 were analyzed. The items analyzed showed adequate internal consistency reliability, unidimensionality, and freedom from differential item functioning for ability, gender, and age, with a minor modification. With an appropriate treatment of misfit items, the results supported the measurement properties, internal consistency reliability, unidimensionality of the PPVT--IIIA items, and measurement invariance of the test across subgroups of ability, age, and gender.
The gravitational Hamiltonian in the presence of non-orthogonal boundaries

This paper generalizes earlier work on Hamiltonian boundary terms by omitting the requirement that the spacelike hypersurfaces intersect the timelike boundary orthogonally. The expressions for the action and Hamiltonian are calculated and the required subtraction of a background contribution is discussed. The new features of a Hamiltonian formulation with non-orthogonal boundaries are then illustrated in two examples.
The UJIpenchars Database: a Pen-Based Database of Isolated Handwritten Characters

The availability of large amounts of data is a fundamental prerequisite for building handwriting recognition systems. Any system needs a test set of labelled samples for measuring its performance along its development and guiding it. Moreover, there are systems that need additional samples for learning the recognition task they have to cope with later, i.e. a training set. Thus, the acquisition and distribution of standard databases has become an important issue in the handwriting recognition research community. Examples of widely used databases in the online domain are UNIPEN, IRONOFF, and Pendigits. This paper describes the current state of our own database, UJIpenchars, whose first version contains online representations of 1,364 isolated handwritten characters produced by 11 writers and is freely available at the UCI Machine Learning Repository. Moreover, we have recently concluded a second acquisition phase, totalling more than 11,000 samples from 60 writers to be made available in short as UJIpenchars2.
Reading Achievement and the Social-Cultural Frame of Reference of Afro- American Children

Inarguably, the reading achievement of a preponderance of AfroAmerican children, particularly those from inner-city working class backgrounds, remains deplorably low. It can be asserted that if one's pattern of reading non-proficiency is not altered by adulthood, he/she will be poorly equipped to handle adequately the immense informational demands that must be negotiated in a technologically advanced, post-industrial society' as is the United States. In the past two decades, largely through the impetus of the war on poverty, the low reading achievement level of ethnic minorities has been one of the prime concerns of individuals attempting to alleviate social problems. The condition of low reading achievement among Afro-American children has been widely and convincingly documented. However the etiology for the low reading performance and the appropriate strategies to facilitate reading proficiency are subjects of considerable debate. Much of the work has been done from what is referred to as the deviancy perspective.2 Those persons who have been victimized by poor reading achievement are characteristically blamed for their failures. Thus, there has been a seemingly incessant intellectual search to find the factor(s) possessed by the Afro-American child or located in his/her immediate ecological environment to hold responsible for the inadequate pattern of performance. Spearheaded in the 1960s by the work of Bereiter and Engel-
Effects of mineral trioxide aggregate and formocresol on vital pulp after pulpotomy of primary molars: An in vivo study

Background: Preservation of pulp vitality is of utmost importance to the normal physiological functioning of tooth in situ and physiological process of exfoliation in a tooth affected by disease or trauma. Pulpotomy serves such a purpose using various medicaments applied directly on vital pulp. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate clinically and radiographically the effects of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and formocresol (FC) as a pulp dressing after coronal pulp amputation (pulpotomy) in primary molars prospectively over a period of 1 year. Materials and Methods: Thirty-three healthy children, aged between 5 and 8 years, requiring pulp therapy were selected after clinical and radiographic assessment. A total of 50 maxillary and mandibular primary molars were treated by the conventional pulpotomy technique. The teeth were divided into two equal groups. In Group A, FC was used as the pulp dressing agent, and in Group B, MTA was used before restoration with stainless steel crowns. The research employed was a prospective study. The teeth treated were assessed postoperatively after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. The observations were tabulated and statistically analyzed. Results: Clinically, both the groups showed 100% success at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. At 3 months, the radiographic success rates of FC and MTA were 92% and 96%, respectively, and at 6 and 12 months, the radiographic success rates of FC and MTA were 88% and 96%, respectively. Conclusion: MTA showed a higher success rate than FC and may be a favorable material for pulpotomy in primary molars whose pulps have been compromised by a carious or mechanical pulp exposure
Management of adult choledochal cyst.

INTRODUCTION Choledochal cyst is a rare benign biliary disease mostly presenting during childhood. Adult presentation is rare and associated diseases and complications are common. This paper aims to review the management of adult patients who presented to our institution with choledochal cyst, focusing on their presentation, preoperative investigations, surgical treatment given and postoperative course. METHODS A retrospective review of all our choledochal cyst patients from January 2000 to August 2004 was performed. Data collected included demographics and clinical information. RESULTS There were ten patients, eight female (80 percent) and two male (20 percent). The average age at presentation was 38.6 (range 16-81) years. The commonest presenting complaints were obstructive biliary disease (nine out of ten, 90 percent). There were seven Type I (70 percent), one type IVA (10 percent), one type IVB (10 percent) and one (10 percent) with Caroli's disease. Two patients had concomitant cholangiocarcinoma (20 percent). Three patients had associated cystolithiasis and one patient had pancreatitis. One patient had early cirrhosis due to her disease. Six patients underwent total cyst excision with a Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. One patient who previously had a biliary bypass underwent further resection of her cyst and Whipple's operation because of development of cholangiocarcinoma in the distal remnant cyst. They are currently well with no surgical complications. The average length of follow-up was 16 months (range six months to three years). CONCLUSION Adult patients with choledochal cyst have associated biliary problems such as the presence of cholangiocarcinoma, cystolithiasis, cholecystitis and liver cirrhosis with portal hypertension. They tend to present similar to obstructive biliary disease. The best surgical option for these patients is a total cyst excision together with a Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy.
Social Cognitive Processing in Violent Male Offenders

Social cognitive processing deficits are widely believed to play a central causal role in aggressive behaviour. In this study 76 adult male prisoners (38 violent, 38 non-violent) were presented with a video scenario depicting an interpersonal provocation and asked to rate their experience of anger and the likelihood of them acting aggressively in response to the provocation. It was hypothesized that violent offenders would predict that they would be more likely to act aggressively, feel higher levels of anger, and report hostile attributions following an interpersonal provocation than non-violent offenders, but that hostile attributions would be associated with aggression only in those who scored higher on a measure of trait anger. While the results indicated that violent offenders reported significantly higher levels of trait anger and an increased tendency for hostile attributions than their non-violent counterparts, the interaction was non-significant. This suggests that hostile attributions may play a more important role than trait anger in predicting future acts of aggression, and has implications for the development of rehabilitation programmes in the treatment of anger and aggression in offenders.
If the Metaphor Fits, Why Not Wear It? The Teacher as Executive

Many years ago I was taught a way of engaging in scientific theorizing. It called for using metaphors to think about the problem of concern. Under the tutelage of Richard Snow of Stanford, we talked of ways to conceptualize the teacher's role by means of such metaphors. We played "The teacher as " game. Among the metaphors that gained the most acceptance, apparently describing metaphorically the role played by elementary school teachers, was the metaphor of "teacher as mother earth. " At the high school level we found that the "teacher as information giver" was particularly descriptive. Snow received the prize for the most creative metaphor when he offered us "The teacher as Bayesian sheep dog" (Snow, 1973). Captured in this metaphor is the image of a teacher having a
Carcinogenic and Cocarcinogenic Effects of Radon and Radon Daughters in Rats.

It has been previously established that lung cancer could be induced in rats by exposure to radon and radon daughters. Although the oat-cell carcinomas that are common in humans were not found in rats, other histological types of lung carcinomas, especially squamous cell carcinomas and primitive lung adenocarcinomas, were similar to those observed in humans. A dose-effect relationship was established for cumulative doses varying from 25 to 3000 working-level-months (WLM), which was similar for medium and high cumulative doses to that observed in uranium miners. This experimental protocol was also used to study the potential cocarcinogenic effects of other environmental or industrial airborne pollutants such as tobacco smoke, mineral fibers, diesel exhausts, or minerals from metallic mine ores that may act synergistically with radon exposure. In rats exposed to radon and tobacco smoke combined, the incidence of lung cancers was higher by a factor of 2-4 according to the cumulative radon exposure and the duration of tobacco smoke exposure. When mineral fibers were injected intrapleurally, an increased incidence of malignant thoracic tumors was observed in rats exposed to radon and fibers combined, but synergistic effects resulted in additivity. With diesel exhausts or minerals from metallic ores, a slight, nonsignificant increase in the incidence of lung carcinomas was observed compared with rats exposed to radon alone. These results demonstrated that it is possible to establish the potential cocarcinogenic action, showing either multiplicative, additive, or no effect of various environmental or industrial airborne pollutants combined with radon exposure. This radon model is valid for investigating possible interactions between two occupational exposures. Imagesp64-aFigure 1.Figure 2.Figure 3.Figure 4.Figure 5.Figure 6.
Cognitive profiles of reading disability: Comparisons of discrepancy and low achievement definitions.

To examine the validity of distinguishing children with reading disabilities according to discrepancy and low-achievement definitions, we obtained four assessments of expected reading achievement and two assessments of actual reading achievement for 199 children, 7.5-9.5 years old. These assessments were used to subdivide the sample into discrepancy and low-achievement definitional groups who were compared on 9 cognitive variables related to reading proficiency. Results did not support the validity of discrepancy versus low achievement definitions. Although differences between children with impaired reading and children without impaired reading were large, differences between those children with impaired reading who met IQ-based discrepancy definitions and those who met low reading achievement definitions were small or not significant
Deformation of Entire Functions with Baker Domains

We consider entire transcendental functions $f$ with an invariant (or periodic) Baker domain $U$. First, we classify these domains into three types (hyperbolic, simply parabolic and doubly parabolic) according to the surface they induce when we take the quotient by the dynamics. Second, we study the space of quasiconformal deformations of an entire map with such a Baker domain by studying its Teichmuller space. More precisely, we show that the dimension of this set is infinite if the Baker domain is hyperbolic or simply parabolic, and from this we deduce that the quasiconformal deformation space of $f$ is infinite dimensional. Finally, we prove that the function $f(z)=z+e^{-z}$, which possesses infinitely many invariant Baker domains, is rigid, i.e., any quasiconformal deformation of $f$ is affinely conjugate to $f$.
An Improved Parametrization and Analysis of the EXP3++ Algorithm for Stochastic and Adversarial Bandits

We present a new strategy for gap estimation in randomized algorithms for multiarmed bandits and combine it with the EXP3++ algorithm of Seldin and Slivkins (2014). In the stochastic regime the strategy reduces dependence of regret on a time horizon from $(\ln t)^3$ to $(\ln t)^2$ and eliminates an additive factor of order $\Delta e^{1/\Delta^2}$, where $\Delta$ is the minimal gap of a problem instance. In the adversarial regime regret guarantee remains unchanged.
Development and Initial Validation of the Assessment of Attributions for Career Decision-Making

Abstract Three studies evaluated the reliability and validity of the Assessment of Attributions for Career Decision Making (AACDM), a measure of an individual's attributional style for career decision making. Factor analysis of the AACDM supported a three-factor structure consistent with attribution theory. Additional psychometric support for the AACDM included adequate internal consistency estimates and test–retest reliabilities and evidence of the measure's construct, criterion-related, and incremental validity. Suggestions for ongoing development of the AACDM and recommendations for its use in career counseling and research are discussed.
A TILLING Platform for Functional Genomics in Brachypodium distachyon

The new model plant for temperate grasses, Brachypodium distachyon offers great potential as a tool for functional genomics. We have established a sodium azide-induced mutant collection and a TILLING platform, called “BRACHYTIL”, for the inbred line Bd21-3. The TILLING collection consists of DNA isolated from 5530 different families. Phenotypes were reported and organized in a phenotypic tree that is freely available online. The tilling platform was validated by the isolation of mutants for seven genes belonging to multigene families of the lignin biosynthesis pathway. In particular, a large allelic series for BdCOMT6, a caffeic acid O-methyl transferase was identified. Some mutants show lower lignin content when compared to wild-type plants as well as a typical decrease of syringyl units, a hallmark of COMT-deficient plants. The mutation rate was estimated at one mutation per 396 kb, or an average of 680 mutations per line. The collection was also used to assess the Genetically Effective Cell Number that was shown to be at least equal to 4 cells in Brachypodium distachyon. The mutant population and the TILLING platform should greatly facilitate functional genomics approaches in this model organism.
Employers’ and employment counselors’ perceptions of desirable skills for entry-level positions for adolescents: how does it differ for youth with disabilities?

Today’s youth face high unemployment and other labor-market challenges; these challenges are often worse for youth with disabilities. This paper explores what employers and employment counselors look for when hiring youth into entry-level jobs and whether they believe youth with disabilities have fewer skills than those without. This study used a qualitative design with a purposive sample of 19 youth employers and employment counselors. Our findings show that youth employers and employment counselors identify the following traits as enhancing young workers’ employability: a well-prepared job applicant; job fit and a good attitude; and soft skills. We find youth with disabilities are perceived to be at a disadvantage. Consistent with a rising body of research, the emphasis on soft skills, and pliability, opens the door for employment discrimination.