Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MiRNA Expression May Account for Chronic but Not for Acute Regulation of mRNA Expression in Human Thyroid Tumor Models

Background For thyroid tumorigenesis, two main human in vitro models are available: primary cultures of human thyrocytes treated with TSH or EGF/serum as models for autonomous adenomas (AA) or papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) respectively, and human thyroid tumor derived cell lines. Previous works of our group have assessed properties of those models, with a special emphasis on mRNA regulations. It is often assumed that miRNA may be one of the primary events inducing these mRNA regulations. Methods The purpose of this study was to investigate the representativity of those models to study microRNA regulations and their relation with mRNA expression. To achieve this aim, the miRNA expressions profiles of primary cultures treated with TSH or EGF/serum and of 6 thyroid cancer cell lines were compared to the expression profiles of 35 tumor tissues obtained by microarrays. Results Our data on primary cultures have shown that the TSH or EGF/serum treatment did not greatly modify the microRNA expression profiles, which is contrary to what is observed for mRNA expression profiles, although they still evolved differently according to the treatment. The analysis of miRNA and mRNA expressions profiles in the cell lines has shown that they have evolved into a common, dedifferentiated phenotype, closer to ATC than to the tumors they are derived from. Conclusions Long-terms TSH or EGF/serum treatments do not mimic AA or PTC respectively in terms of miRNA expression as they do for mRNA, suggesting that the regulations of mRNA expression induced by these physiological agents occur independently of miRNA. The general patterns of miRNA expression in the cell lines suggest that they represent a useful model for undifferentiated thyroid cancer. Mirna probably do not mediate the rapid changes in gene expression in rapid cell biology regulation.
The Homeownership Rate among the Elderly and the Life Cycle Hypothesis:European Evidence Using Individual and Household Data

One of the central predictions of the Life Cycle Hypothesis is that individuals run down their wealth during retirement. Although housing wealth is the largest component of total household wealth in most countries, empirical evidence supporting the decumulation hypothesis is mixed. In this paper we examine the housing tenure decision by the aged with microdata at both a household and individual level. The results, based on data from the European Community Household Panel for thirteen European countries, show that for nearly all countries (except for Germany and Denmark), the homeownership rate among the elderly does not decline with age, rejecting the Life Cycle Hypothesis. The results are robust to the (household or individual) level at which the data is analysed. The estimates also show a significant cohort effect for most European countries, so that the later the year of birth, the higher the homeownership rate.
Determining the Value of Knowledge Management: A South Africa Perspective

Beyond critique of current maturity models, the research literature has neglected to supply empirical evidence of the value Knowledge Management (KM) holds for organizations. Specifically, not much is known regarding KM in developing economies. The majority of studies, in common with other emergent business philosophies, are for the most part focused on large organizations of developed economies, where readily available implementation resources are an underlying assumption. This paper will address this issue and assess the correlation between KM Maturity as a measure of successful institutionalization of KM and Organizational Performance (OP) in a developing economy. From a large urban South African University engaged in numerous collaboration programs with industry, the authors have gained insight into KM Maturity and Organizational Performance (OP) of three industry groups, over a five-year period. Findings supported the hypothesis that companies reporting higher OP also recorded higher KM Maturity and vice versa. In comparison to peer organizations within their respective industries, findings indicate that there are conditions were companies that achieved higher OP scores recorded lower KM Maturity scores and vice versa. Apart from speculating which industry factors skewed performance figures, statistical analysis could not clarify why the correlation between growth in KM Maturity and growth in OP is not easily noticeable and/or non-existent. Due to the South African scenario being considered a benchmark for developing economies characterized by continued change, diversity and even elements of silent intolerance and conflict, this study may therefore be viewed as a “pilot study” to provide a baseline and insight into future research of KM for enabling OP.
A Model for the Density Distribution of Virialized Cold Dark Matter Halos

An analytic collapse model for the formation and density distribution of virialized cold dark matter halos is proposed. Hierarchical structure formation is taken into account explicitly. Monte Carlo methods are used to generate samples of mass histories of virialized halos. The mean density distribution found from the collapse model is in good agreement with numerical results in the mass range from 1011 to 1015 M☉ and in the radial range from 0.05r200 to r200.
Detecting and tracking all moving objects in wide-area aerial video

Multi-megapixel cameras are transforming airborne video surveillance by enabling persistent imaging of extremely large areas while providing sufficient pixel density to resolve both vehicles and pedestrians. The sheer spatial and temporal volume of data has rendered human scanning of expansive images for miniscule moving objects intractable, underscoring the importance of automated detection and tracking systems. Existing algorithms, however, are generally designed for stationary cameras and moderately-sized objects. This paper presents one of the first systems for reliably detecting and tracking low-resolution objects of varying size and shape in challenging wide-area aerial video. Significant contributions include a simple, fast approach for robust motion detection with parallax handling; spatial-temporal filtering for quickly discarding spurious detections; adaptive shape learning for unusually-shaped objects; and multi-cue fusion for state evolution that enables tracking through confusion, occlusions, and stops. Our system is highly efficient and parallelizable, processing 1-megapixel image streams in real time on a single CPU core. Experiments on a variety of data sets demonstrate that the system outperforms more traditional detection and tracking approaches, and is able to find pedestrians missed by human ground truthers despite tiny size, poor contrast, and surrounding clutter.1
Evaluating the Effects of Optimally Distributed Public Programs: ChildHealth and Family Planning Interventions

This paper develops and tests an optimizing model determining the distribution of family planning and health subsidies across heterogeneous households and assesses the biases in cross-area estimates of the health effects of such subsidies due to public resource optimization. The model incorporates both health externalities and the endogenous response of the size of the recipient population to program subsidies. Longitudinal data describing child health and publicly provided family planning and health programs in 20 barrios in Laguna Province in the Philippines are used to estimate the effects of such programs on child health and the relationships between the distribution of the programs and preprogram health levels. The impact of a program on a particular childs health status is viewed as dependent upon the childs length of exposure to the program. A basic feature of the model is the presence of health externalities which is shown to be sufficient along with plausible features of household behavior to make selective subsidization of fertility control (either alone or in combination with health investment subsidies) Pareto efficient. The model suggests that subsidization of fertility control is likely to be Pareto efficient in the presence of health or human capital externalities when human capital and family size are gross substitutes and/or when any per child human capital subsidies may substitute for direct subsidies to health investment and an equalizing distribution of the subsidies (the highest family planning subsidies to the lowest health recipient households) is efficient. When both health and family planning subsidies are used fertility control subsidies minimize the subsidy burden for donors and are highest when total subsidy expenditures per child are greatest.
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis with Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography: Diagnosis Value in Hypoechoic Renal Angiomyolipoma

Objective To evaluate the value of enhancement features and quantitative parameters of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in differentiating solid hypoechoic renal angiomyolipomas (AMLs) from clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs). Materials and Methods We analyzed the enhancement features and quantitative parameters of CEUS in 174 hypoechoic renal masses (32 AMLs and 142 ccRCCs) included in the study. Results Centripetal enhancement pattern was more common in AMLs than in ccRCCs on CEUS (71.9% vs. 23.2%, p < 0.001). At peak enhancement, all AMLs showed homogeneous enhancement (100% in AML, 27.5% in ccRCCs; p < 0.001). Quantitative analysis showed no significant difference between rise time and time to peak. Tumor-to-cortex (TOC) enhancement ratio in AMLs was significantly lower than that in ccRCCs (p < 0.001). The criteria of centripetal enhancement and homogeneous peak enhancement together with TOC ratio < 91.0% used to differentiate hypoechoic AMLs from ccRCCs resulted in a sensitivity and specificity of 68.9% and 95.8%, respectively. Conclusion Both qualitative and quantitative analysis with CEUS are valuable in the differential diagnosis of hypoechoic renal AMLs from ccRCCs.
Enzymic evaluation of thiamin, riboflavin and pyridoxine status of parturient women and their newborn infants

1. Thiamin, riboflavin and pyridoxine status of ‘low-income-group’ mothers and their newborn infants was assessed by analysing paired samples of maternal and umbilical cord blood for erythrocyte transketolase (EC 2.2.1.1) (ETK), erythrocyte glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2) (EGR), and erythrocyte aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1) (EAA) activities. 2. The vitamin status of the infants was better than that of the mothers. 3. Most of the mothers and some of the infants had biochemical evidence of thiamin and riboflavin defciency. 4. The pregnant women had a higher EAA activity and also higher stimulation with pyridoxal-5-phosphate than the non-pregnant women of the same community. 5. There was a significant correlation between maternal and umblical blood samples for ETK and EGR activities, but not for EAA activity or any of the coenzyme stimulation tests.
A Novel Support Vector Machine Approach to High Entropy Data Fragment Classification

A major challenge in digital forensics is the efficient and accurate file type classification of a fragment of evidence data, in the absence of header and file system information. A typical approach to this problem is to classify the fragment based on simple statistics, such as the entropy and the statistical distance of byte histograms. This approach is ineffective when dealing with high entropy data, such as multimedia and compressed files, all of which often appear to be random. We propose a method incorporating a support vector machine (SVM). In particular, we extract feature vectors from the byte frequencies of a given fragment, and use an SVM to predict the type of the fragment under supervised learning. Our method is efficient and achieves high accuracy for high entropy data fragments.
Online and Face-to-Face Teaching: How Do Student Ratings Differ?

This paper reports on a study whose purpose was to compare student ratings of instruction in online and face-to-face (F2F) higher education courses in an effort to better understand how faculty can strengthen their teaching in the online environment. Student ratings of instruction in online and on-campus courses were examined in two different ways that yielded similar findings. First, more than 8,000 student ratings of online and on-campus, traditional courses were compared. The ratings were based on 172 online courses and 470 on-campus courses. Results indicated that on-campus courses were rated significantly higher than online courses in Communication, Faculty/Student Interaction, Grading, Instructional Methods, and Course Outcomes; effect sizes were small. Student Effort was rated significantly higher for online courses than for F2F courses, also with a small effect size. A second analysis, using 11 pairs of the same course and same instructor, yielded similar findings. Students rated oncampus courses significantly higher than online courses in Communication, Faculty/Student Interaction, Grading, Course Outcomes, and Overall Evaluation; effect sizes were large. Overall, both analyses indicated that students are more satisfied with traditional, F2F courses compared to online courses. General recommendations include increased support and professional development for online instructors.
Inferring a Sequence Generated by a Linear Congruence

Suppose it is known that fX o , Xl'. ·. , X n J is produced by a pseudo-random number generator of the form X i + 1 = aX i + b mod m, but a, b, and m are' unknown. Can one efficiently predict the remainder of the sequence with knowledge of only a few elements from that se-quence? This question is answered in the affirmative and an algorithm is given.
Planetary nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds , II. Abundances and element production

Context. We present the second part of an optical spectroscopic study of planetary nebulae in the LMC and SMC. The first paper, Leisy & Dennefeld (1996, A&AS, 116, 96), discussed the CNO cycle for those objects where C abundances were available. Aims. In this paper we concentrate more on other elemental abundances (such as O, Ne, S, Ar) and their implications for the evolution of the progenitor stars. Methods. We use a much larger sample of 183 objects, of which 65 are our own observations, where the abundances have been re-derived in a homogeneous way. For 156 of them, the quality of data is considered to be satisfactory for further analysis. Results. We confirm the difficulty of separating type I and non-type-I objects in the classical He-N/O diagram, as found in Paper I, a problem reinforced by the variety of initial compositions for the progenitor stars. We observed oxygen variations, either depletion via the ON cycle in the more massive progenitor stars, or oxygen production in other objects. Neon production also appears to be present. These enrichments seem to be explained best by recent models, some including overshooting, where fresh material from the core or from burning shells is brought to the surface by the 3rd dredge-up. All the effects appear stronger in the SMC, suggesting a higher efficiency in a low metallicity environment, either because the reaction itself is more efficient or because the increment is more visible when superposed on a low initial quantity. Conclusions. Neither oxygen nor neon can therefore be used to derive the initial composition of the progenitor star: other elements not affected by processing such as sulfur, argon or, if observed, chlorine, have to be preferred for this purpose. Some objects with very low initial abundances are detected, but on average, the spatial distribution of PNe abundances is consistent with the history of star formation (SF) as derived from field stars in both Clouds.
Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (hTERT) Q169 Is Essential for Telomerase Function In Vitro and In Vivo

Background Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase that maintains the telomeres of linear chromosomes and preserves genomic integrity. The core components are a catalytic protein subunit, the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), and an RNA subunit, the telomerase RNA (TR). Telomerase is unique in its ability to catalyze processive DNA synthesis, which is facilitated by telomere-specific DNA-binding domains in TERT called anchor sites. A conserved glutamine residue in the TERT N-terminus is important for anchor site interactions in lower eukaryotes. The significance of this residue in higher eukaryotes, however, has not been investigated. Methodology/Principal Findings To understand the significance of this residue in higher eukaryotes, we performed site-directed mutagenesis on human TERT (hTERT) Q169 to create neutral (Q169A), conservative (Q169N), and non-conservative (Q169D) mutant proteins. We show that these mutations severely compromise telomerase activity in vitro and in vivo. The functional defects are not due to abrogated interactions with hTR or telomeric ssDNA. However, substitution of hTERT Q169 dramatically impaired the ability of telomerase to incorporate nucleotides at the second position of the template. Furthermore, Q169 mutagenesis altered the relative strength of hTERT-telomeric ssDNA interactions, which identifies Q169 as a novel residue in hTERT required for optimal primer binding. Proteolysis experiments indicate that Q169 substitution alters the protease-sensitivity of the hTERT N-terminus, indicating that a conformational change in this region of hTERT is likely critical for catalytic function. Conclusions/Significance We provide the first detailed evidence regarding the biochemical and cellular roles of an evolutionarily-conserved Gln residue in higher eukaryotes. Collectively, our results indicate that Q169 is needed to maintain the hTERT N-terminus in a conformation that is necessary for optimal enzyme-primer interactions and nucleotide incorporation. We show that Q169 is critical for the structure and function of human telomerase, thereby identifying a novel residue in hTERT that may be amenable to therapeutic intervention.
Effect of NGF on the survival of rat retinal ganglion cells following optic nerve section

The ability of NGF (2.5S subunit) to support the survival of adult rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and optic nerve fibers after intracranial section of the optic nerve was investigated. NGF was injected intraocularly at a dose of 3 micrograms/injection every 2.3 d from the day of axotomy to analysis. Control animals received cytochrome c injections. The survival of RGCs was analyzed in whole-mounted retinas after either cresyl violet staining or labeling with HRP applied to the proximal stump of the optic nerve. Survival times were 5 and 7 weeks. Diameter distribution and number of myelinated optic nerve fibers were assessed in ultrathin cross sections of the optic nerve. We found that RGCs surviving axotomy were much more numerous following NGF treatment compared with controls. Large-size cells were, in particular, preserved by NGF treatment. The quantitative ultrastructural studies indicated that the number of myelinated optic nerve fibers at 5 and 7 weeks postaxotomy was significantly greater in the NGF group with respect to the cytochrome c group. In agreement with the results obtained at the level of the RGCs, large-diameter axons were, in particular, preserved. We conclude that NGF injected intraocularly is effective in promoting the survival of RGCs and optic nerve fibers at least for a period as long as 7 weeks after intracranial section of the optic nerve.
Optimising Outcome in Congenital Hypothyroidism; Current Opinions on Best Practice in Initial Assessment and Subsequent Management

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH), usually of the primary and permanent variety, is an eminently preventable cause of growth retardation and mental handicap whose outlook has been transformed by newborn screening, usually involving the measurement of capillary thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Severe primary CH, due for example to athyreosis, may result in subtle cognitive, behavioural and sensori-motor deficits, but the extent to which these can be offset by optimal postnatal diagnosis and management remains uncertain. This is because the available adult follow-up data reflect the outcome of previous management in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and also because the accurate neuro-psychological assessment of children is difficult, particularly in the preschool population. There is an urgent need to develop new consensus guidelines and to ensure that the children managed according to such guidelines are systematically and prospectively assessed so that good quality outcome data become available. In this review, key recommendations in the management of CH include: screening at day 3 so that severely affected infants can begin treatment within the first 10 days of life; setting the TSH referral cut-off at 8-10 mU/L; adopting a disciplined diagnostic algorithm to evaluate referred cases, with measurement of venous free thyroxine (T4), TSH and thyroglobulin combined with dual ultrasound and radioisotope imaging; initial treatment with a T4 dose of 50 μg daily in infants weighing ≥ 2.5 kg and 15 μg/kg/day in infants weighing < 2.5 kg followed by weekly review until thyroid function is normalised; and maintenance of free T4 levels between 15-26 pmol/L and TSH between 0.5-5 mU/L thereafter to avoid both under- and overtreatment. Conflict of interest:None declared.
Marginal q and Firms' Capital Investments: Evidence from Time Series Data of Japanese Manufacturing Industries

In this paper, we verify the predictability of marginal q on rms' capital invest- ments. We compare Granger's causality of four manufacturing industries with the LA-VAR model and Vector Error Correction Model(VECM). We obtain the empirical results that the null hypothesis of no Granger's causality from marginal q to invest- ments is accepted for the chemical industry and iron-steel industry, and it is rejected for the transportation equipment industry. For the product machinery industry, null hypothesis is rejected with the LA-VAR model, but accepted with VECM; it is not robust result. These results indicate that the chemical and iron-steel industry, with higher uncertainty and irreversibility, could not adjust their capital investments in response to the uctuation of Tobin's q, while the transportation equipment industry could do so. Following the analytical implications by earlier theoretical studies, it is considered that uncertainty and irreversibility restrain their capital investments, or rms with uncertainty and disposal cost do not invest in equipment because of lower Tobin's q than the threshold value. Thus, the role of uncertainty and irreversibility is important for predicting capital investments by Tobin's q.
Preventing Rater Biases in 360-Degree Feedback by Forcing Choice

We examined the effects of response biases on 360-degree feedback using a large sample (N = 4,675) of organizational appraisal data. Sixteen competencies were assessed by peers, bosses, and subordinates of 922 managers as well as self-assessed using the Inventory of Management Competencies (IMC) administered in two formats—Likert scale and multidimensional forced choice. Likert ratings were subject to strong response biases, making even theoretically unrelated competencies correlate highly. Modeling a latent common method factor, which represented nonuniform distortions similar to those of “ideal-employee” factor in both self- and other assessments, improved validity of competency scores as evidenced by meaningful second-order factor structures, better interrater agreement, and better convergent correlations with an external personality measure. Forced-choice rankings modeled with Thurstonian item response theory (IRT) yielded as good construct and convergent validities as the bias-controlled Likert ratings and slightly better rater agreement. We suggest that the mechanism for these enhancements is finer differentiation between behaviors in comparative judgements and advocate the operational use of the multidimensional forced-choice response format as an effective bias prevention method.