Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Encouraging Citizen Adoption of eGovernment by Building Trust

The growing interest in e-Government raises the question of how governments can increase citizen adoption and usage of their online government services. e-Government becomes especially important given its potential to reduce costs and improve service compared with alternative traditional modes. Citizen trust is proposed to be an important catalyst of e-Government adoption. By investigating online tax services, already available and used extensively in the West, we propose several ways in which governments can increase citizen trust and thus encourage the adoption of this new and potentially significant mode of government service. The proposed e-Government adoption model also takes in account issues of cultural variables, risk, control and technology acceptance.Institution-based trust, such as an independent judicial system with appropriate legal powers, is proposed to be the major tactic to build trust in e-Government. In addition, among new users of online government services, characteristic-based and cognitive-based antecedents should be crucial; general psychological dispositions and knowledge of the process should also engender trust. Among experienced users, on the other hand, it is suggested that the nature of previous interactions with the e-Government system should be the major predictor of trust, and hence of continued use. These propositions are elucidated, as they apply to different cultures and to high-intrusive versus low-intrusive government services. This study has practical implications for the design of mechanisms for the adoption of e-Government.
Life style and risk of development of dental caries in a population of adolescents.

INTRODUCTION Oxygen is an essential element for sustaining the life of aerobes; however, in certain conditions it may be toxic for these organisms. This is due to so-called reactive oxygen species - ROS. Factors which cause the production of free radicals include ionizing radiation, UV radiation, high temperature, and hazardous substances, such as phenols, carbon monoxide, e.g. in smokers, also air pollution and drugs. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was analysis of the total antioxidant status (TAS) in stimulated and unstimulated saliva, according to the number of active carious lesions in generally healthy non-smokers aged 15-17. MATERIALS AND METHOD The study covered 113 adolescents aged 15-17 in whom the state of dentition was evaluated using the DMFT (Decayed-Missing-Filled) index, and oral hygiene assessed based on the OHI-S (Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified) index. TAS in saliva was determined by means of a Randox Labolatories Ltd. test kit, by the spectrophotometric method. RESULTS Based on the results of the study, it was found that in the population examined an increase in the number of carious lesions was accompanied by a significant decrease in the TAS, both in stimulated and unstimulated saliva. CONCLUSIONS. A health-promoting life style, maintenance of basic principles of oral hygiene and care of general health through the elimination of harmful habits decrease the risk of dental caries.
Bladder Cancer-associated Protein, a Potential Prognostic Biomarker in Human Bladder Cancer*

It is becoming increasingly clear that no single marker will have the sensitivity and specificity necessary to be used on its own for diagnosis/prognosis of tumors. Interpatient and intratumor heterogeneity provides overwhelming odds against the existence of such an ideal marker. With this in mind, our laboratory has been applying a long term systematic approach to identify multiple biomarkers that can be used for clinical purposes. As a result of these studies, we have identified and reported several candidate biomarker proteins that are deregulated in bladder cancer. Following the conceptual biomarker development phases proposed by the Early Detection Research Network, we have taken some of the most promising candidate proteins into postdiscovery validation studies, and here we report on the characterization of one such biomarker, the bladder cancer-associated protein (BLCAP), formerly termed Bc10. To characterize BLCAP protein expression and cellular localization patterns in benign bladder urothelium and urothelial carcinomas (UCs), we used two independent sets of samples from different patient cohorts: a reference set consisting of 120 bladder specimens (formalin-fixed as well as frozen biopsies) and a validation set consisting of 2,108 retrospectively collected UCs with long term clinical follow-up. We could categorize the UCs examined into four groups based on levels of expression and subcellular localization of BLCAP protein and showed that loss of BLCAP expression is associated with tumor progression. The results indicated that increased expression of this protein confers an adverse patient outcome, suggesting that categorization of staining patterns for this protein may have prognostic value. Finally, we applied a combinatorial two-marker discriminator using BLCAP and adipocyte-type fatty acid-binding protein, another UC biomarker previously reported by us, and found that the combination of the two markers correlated more closely with grade and/or stage of disease than the individual markers. The implications of these results in biomarker discovery are discussed.
CD40-activated B cells induce anti-tumor immunity in vivo

The introduction of checkpoint inhibitors represents a major advance in cancer immunotherapy. Some studies on checkpoint inhibition demonstrate that combinatorial immunotherapies with secondary drivers of anti-tumor immunity provide beneficial effects for patients that do not show a strong endogenous immune response. CD40-activated B cells (CD40B cells) are potent antigen presenting cells by activating and expanding naïve and memory CD4+ and CD8+ and homing to the secondary lymphoid organs. In contrast to dendritic cells, the generation of highly pure CD40B cells is simple and time efficient and they can be expanded almost limitlessly from small blood samples of cancer patients. Here, we show that the vaccination with antigen-loaded CD40B cells induces a specific T-cell response in vivo comparable to that of dendritic cells. Moreover, we identify vaccination parameters, including injection route, cell dose and vaccination repetitions to optimize immunization and demonstrate that application of CD40B cells is safe in terms of toxicity in the recipient. We furthermore show that preventive immunization of tumor-bearing mice with tumor antigen-pulsed CD40B cells induces a protective anti-tumor immunity against B16.F10 melanomas and E.G7 lymphomas leading to reduced tumor growth. These results and our straightforward method of CD40B-cell generation underline the potential of CD40B cells for cancer immunotherapy.
Adverse Events of Atomoxetine in a Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study in Children with Autism.

OBJECTIVE Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, including inattention and over activity, occur in approximately one-third of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We describe the rate and duration of adverse events in a randomized controlled trial of atomoxetine (ATX) and parent training (PT) for ADHD symptoms and noncompliance in children with ASD. METHODS We conducted a 10-week, double-blind, 2 × 2 trial of ATX and PT with 128 children (ages 5-14) randomized to ATX alone, ATX+PT, placebo+PT, or placebo alone. For 6 weeks, ATX (or placebo) doses were clinically adjusted to a maximum of 1.8 mg/(kg·day) and maintained for an additional 4 weeks. An average of seven PT sessions were conducted in the two PT arms. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed through parent ratings of common symptoms on a seven-point Likert severity scale and through direct interviews with study medical staff. RESULTS ATX was associated with decreased appetite and fatigue, but was otherwise well tolerated. Most reported AEs lasted 4 weeks or less. Unlike reports with typically developing (TD) children, there were no concerns with QTc changes or suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS This study extends the findings of previous studies of ATX in ASD by documenting that the type of AEs was similar to that of TD children, with no significant safety concerns.
Intracortical connections of two functional subdivisions of the somatosensory forepaw cerebral cortex of the raccoon

The aim of this study was to compare the intrinsic intracortical connectivities of 2 functionally distinct subdivisions of the somatosensory (Sml) forepaw cortex of the raccoon--the somatotopic glabrous skin representation and the more heterogeneous, hairy skin and claw representation of the digits. HRP was injected into one or the other functional subdivision of a particular digit subgyrus of Sml cortex in 10 adult raccoons. The distribution of HRP-labeled neurons and axon terminals in the cortex showed that intrinsic “horizontal” connections exist within and between individual cortical digit zones; the labeling tended to have an oval-shaped configuration that was longer in the mediolateral than in the anteroposterior curvilinear plane. The 2 cortical sectors were found to have different patterns of intracortical projections. The connections of the glabrous skin region of each cortical digit zone were primarily local and confined to that same digit representation. HRP-filled neurons were concentrated near the injection site and decreased in density within the banks and fundi demarcating the injected digit subgyrus; few labeled cells were found in adjoining digit zones. Longer projections to the glabrous subdivision of a particular digit area typically originated from neurons in the heterogeneous subdivision of that same digit area. In contrast, the connections of the heterogeneous region of each digit zone were much more extensive and usually included projections from nonadjacent, as well as neighboring digit zones. The density of HRP- positive neurons declined more gradually with distance from the injection site, and considerable labeling was present in the heterogeneous sectors of adjacent digit zones. The intracortical projections of both functional subdivisions were often, but not always, reciprocal, and the cells of origin tended to be distributed in clusters. The laminar distributions of labeled neurons were similar for both sectors; HRP-filled cells were concentrated more in the supragranular layers, especially in layer III; fewer were found in the infragranular layers, mainly in layer VI and rarely in layer V. These results show that the intrinsic connections of the glabrous cortical subdivisions are fairly localized, whereas those of the heterogeneous cortical subdivisions are more diffuse and highly convergent. The differing intracortical connectional patterns of the 2 sectors are consistent with their contrasting thalamocortical projection patterns and may contribute to the unique functional properties of neurons located within each sector. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Roles for the Trypanosoma brucei P2 Transporter in DB75 Uptake and Resistance

A novel trypanocide, 2,5-bis(4-amidinophenyl)furan (DB75), in its prodrug amidoxime-derivative form, 2,5-bis(4-amidinophenyl)furan-bis-O-methylamidoxime (DB289), is in trials as the first orally administered drug for human African trypanosomiasis. DB75 is a diamidine. Resistance to some diamidines correlates to loss of uptake via the P2 aminopurine transporter. We show here that uptake of DB75 into Trypanosoma brucei also occurs principally via the P2 transporter. Uptake of tritiated DB75 occurred via a high-affinity (Km app, 3.2 μM) carriermediated route that was inhibited by adenosine, adenine, and pentamidine, all known substrates of the P2 transporter. Trypanosomes lacking the TbAT1 gene that encodes the P2 transporter demonstrated an 11-fold reduction in sensitivity to DB75 when measured under controlled in vitro conditions. These knockout cells were also less sensitive to DB75 than wild-type cells in mice. Initial uptake rates of DB75 into the Δtbat1 knockout cell line were greatly reduced compared with rates in wild-type cells. A trypanosome cell line selected in vitro for DB75 resistance was shown to have lost P2-mediated DB75 uptake. The TbAT1 gene was mapped to chromosome V of the T. brucei genome and the DB75-resistant parasites were shown to have deleted both alleles of this gene. Fluorescence microscopy of DB75-treated trypanosomes revealed that DB75 fluorescence localizes rapidly within the DNA-containing organelles of wild-type trypanosomes, whereas no fluorescence was observed in Δtbat1-null parasites or in the parasites selected for resistance to DB75.
Investigating Semantic Similarity Measures Across the Gene Ontology: The Relationship Between Sequence and Annotation

MOTIVATION Many bioinformatics data resources not only hold data in the form of sequences, but also as annotation. In the majority of cases, annotation is written as scientific natural language: this is suitable for humans, but not particularly useful for machine processing. Ontologies offer a mechanism by which knowledge can be represented in a form capable of such processing. In this paper we investigate the use of ontological annotation to measure the similarities in knowledge content or 'semantic similarity' between entries in a data resource. These allow a bioinformatician to perform a similarity measure over annotation in an analogous manner to those performed over sequences. A measure of semantic similarity for the knowledge component of bioinformatics resources should afford a biologist a new tool in their repertoire of analyses. RESULTS We present the results from experiments that investigate the validity of using semantic similarity by comparison with sequence similarity. We show a simple extension that enables a semantic search of the knowledge held within sequence databases. AVAILABILITY Software available from http://www.russet. org.uk.
Learning Difficulties in English: Diagnosis and Pedagogy in Saudi Arabia

Teaching of English as a Foreign Language is always a challenging task. English in Saudi Arabia serves a very limited purpose. Yet, it is very important for social as well as technological development. Therefore, English language teaching in this country in particular catches attention of many researchers. Teaching of English in Saudi starts at the school level. Despite good overall planning, purposive curriculum, integrated textbooks, qualified teachers, achievement is below the expectations. Therefore, diagnostic studies should better be undertaken in different language areas and skills so that the teacher may know the types of the problems and the corresponding factors. Such attempts are expected to be helpful in possible evolution of some fruitful and compatible strategies in order to yield the maximum academic output. Pedagogues have different views regarding English Language Teaching which may occasionally involve translation from First language to the target language and vice versa. On the other hand, the idea of Communicative approach to Language Teaching (CALT) is also significant in order to focus the skills. However, Bilingual approach can also be used as an alternative strategy.
A NUMERICAL STUDY OF EXTREME WAVE RUNUP BEHAVIOR: SPECTRAL AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

A numerical study using SWASH model is realized on a multi-barred beach in order to explore spectral and statistical behavior of wave runup caused by moderate to extreme offshore wave conditions. Numerical experiments based on bathymetric characteristics, wave climate and tidal level of the Aquitanian coast, are compared to collected field data from the bibliography and derivate parametric models. Correlations between runup and several environmental parameters are estimated and discussed and a hybrid model (based on observations and simulated results) is proposed. We analyse the longshore spatial variability of incident and infragravity swash heights and R2%, in order to identify hot spot of runup related to the near shore morphology. Depending on wave conditions and tidal level, local positive anomaly of R2% varies between 10 to 36 % and are in average 22% higher than longshore mean values at high tide.
Using Word Support Model to Improve Chinese Input System

This paper presents a word support model (WSM). The WSM can effectively perform homophone selection and syllable-word segmentation to improve Chinese input systems. The experimental results show that: (1) the WSM is able to achieve tonal (syllables input with four tones) and toneless (syllables input without four tones) syllable-to-word (STW) accuracies of 99% and 92%, respectively, among the converted words; and (2) while applying the WSM as an adaptation processing, together with the Microsoft Input Method Editor 2003 (MSIME) and an optimized bigram model, the average tonal and toneless STW improvements are 37% and 35%, respectively.
Salivary gland‐type renal carcinoma, a subset of collecting duct carcinoma: case report and meta‐analysis of the entity

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Efficient Aggregation of Ranked Inputs

A top-k query combines different rankings of the same set of objects and returns the k objects with the highest combined score according to an aggregate function. We bring to light some key observations, which impose two phases that any top-k algorithm, based on sorted accesses, should go through. Based on them, we propose a new algorithm, which is designed to minimize the number of object accesses, the computational cost, and the memory requirements of top-k search. Adaptations of our algorithm for search variants (exact scores, on-line and incremental search, top-k joins, other aggregate functions, etc.) are also provided. Extensive experiments with synthetic and real data show that, compared to previous techniques, our method accesses fewer objects, while being orders of magnitude faster.
The Cooperation of CREB and NFAT Is Required for PTHrP‐Induced RANKL Expression in Mouse Osteoblastic Cells

Parathyroid hormone‐related protein (PTHrP) is known to induce the expression of receptor activator of NF‐κB ligand (RANKL) in stromal cells/osteoblasts. However, the signaling pathways involved remain controversial. In the present study, we investigated the role of cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) and calcineurin/NFAT pathways in PTHrP‐induced RANKL expression in C2C12 and primary cultured mouse calvarial cells. PTHrP‐mediated induction of RANKL expression was significantly inhibited by H89 and FK506, an inhibitor of PKA and calcineurin, respectively. PTHrP upregulated CREB phosphorylation and the transcriptional activity of NFAT. Knockdown of CREB or NFATc1 blocked PTHrP‐induced RANKL expression. PTHrP increased the activity of the RANKL promoter reporter that contains approximately 2 kb mouse RANKL promoter DNA sequences. Insertions of mutations in CRE‐like element or in NFAT‐binding element abrogated PTHrP‐induced RANKL promoter activity. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that PTHrP increased the binding of CREB and NFATc1/NFATc3 to their cognate binding elements in the RANKL promoter. Inhibition of cAMP/PKA and its downstream ERK activity suppressed PTHrP‐induced expression and transcriptional activity of NFATc1. CREB knockdown prevented PTHrP induction of NFATc1 expression. Furthermore, NFATc1 and CREB were co‐immunoprecipitated. Mutations in CRE‐like element completely blocked NFATc1‐induced transactivation of the RANKL promoter reporter; however, mutations in NFAT‐binding element partially suppressed CREB‐induced RANKL promoter activity. Overexpression of CREB increased NFATc1 binding to the RANKL promoter and vice versa. These results suggest that PTHrP‐induced RANKL expression depends on the activation of both cAMP/PKA and calcineurin/NFAT pathways, and subsequently, CREB and NFAT cooperate to transactivate the mouse RANKL gene. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 667–679, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
Can Molecular Motors Drive Distance Measurements in Injured Neurons?

Injury to nerve axons induces diverse responses in neuronal cell bodies, some of which are influenced by the distance from the site of injury. This suggests that neurons have the capacity to estimate the distance of the injury site from their cell body. Recent work has shown that the molecular motor dynein transports importin-mediated retrograde signaling complexes from axonal lesion sites to cell bodies, raising the question whether dynein-based mechanisms enable axonal distance estimations in injured neurons? We used computer simulations to examine mechanisms that may provide nerve cells with dynein-dependent distance assessment capabilities. A multiple-signals model was postulated based on the time delay between the arrival of two or more signals produced at the site of injury–a rapid signal carried by action potentials or similar mechanisms and slower signals carried by dynein. The time delay between the arrivals of these two types of signals should reflect the distance traversed, and simulations of this model show that it can indeed provide a basis for distance measurements in the context of nerve injuries. The analyses indicate that the suggested mechanism can allow nerve cells to discriminate between distances differing by 10% or more of their total axon length, and suggest that dynein-based retrograde signaling in neurons can be utilized for this purpose over different scales of nerves and organisms. Moreover, such a mechanism might also function in synapse to nucleus signaling in uninjured neurons. This could potentially allow a neuron to dynamically sense the relative lengths of its processes on an ongoing basis, enabling appropriate metabolic output from cell body to processes.