Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression and possible prognostic role of MAGE-A4, NY-ESO-1, and HER-2 antigens in women with relapsing invasive ductal breast cancer: retrospective immunohistochemical study.

AIM To evaluate the possible prognostic role of the expression of MAGE-A4 and NY-ESO-1 cancer/testis antigens in women diagnosed with invasive ductal breast cancer and determine the expression of HER-2 antigen. METHODS The expression of MAGE-A4, NY-ESO-1, and HER-2 antigens was evaluated immunohistochemically on archival paraffin-embedded samples of breast cancer tissue from 81 patients. All patients had T1 to T3, N0 to N1, M0 tumors and underwent postoperative radiotherapy and, if indicated, systemic therapy (chemotherapy and hormonal therapy). The antigen expression in women who were disease-free for 5 years of follow up (n=23) was compared with that in women with either locoregional relapse (n=30) or bone metastases (n=28). Patient survival after 10 years of follow up was assessed. RESULTS The three groups of women were comparable in terms of age, type of operation, tumor size, tumor grade, number of metastatically involved axillary lymph nodes, Nottingham prognostic index (NPI), progesterone receptor (PR) status, and adjuvant hormonal therapy. Estrogen receptors (ER) were positive in 13 women in the 5-year relapse-free group vs 8 in locoregional relapse and 7 in bone metastases group (P=0.032). There were significantly fewer women who received adjuvant chemotherapy in the 5-year relapse-free group than in other two groups (7 vs 23 with locoregional relapse and 25 with bone metastases; P<0.001). This group also had a significantly better 10-year survival (14 women vs 1 with locoregional relapse and 1 with bone metastases; P<0.001). The three groups did not differ in the NY-ESO-1 or HER-2 expression, but the number of patients expressing MAGE-A4 antigen was significantly lower in the group with locoregional relapse (P=0.014). In all groups, MAGE-A4 antigen expression was associated with the NY-ESO-1 antigen expression (P=0.006), but not with tumor size and grade, number of metastatically involved axillary lymph nodes, or the ER and PR status. MAGE-A4-positive patients had a significantly longer survival than the MAGE-A4-negative patients (P=0.046). This was not observed with NY-ESO-1 and HER-2 antigens. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that the MAGE-A4 antigen may be used as a tumor marker of potential prognostic relevance.
Dehydrocostuslactone, a Medicinal Plant-Derived Sesquiterpene Lactone, Induces Apoptosis Coupled to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Liver Cancer Cells

This study is the first to investigate the anticancer effect of dehydrocostuslactone [DHE (3aS,6aR,9aR,9bS)-decahydro-3,6,9-tris(methylene) azuleno[4,5-b]furan-2(3H)-one)], a medicinal plant-derived sesquiterpene lactone, on hepatocellular carcinoma. Our results showed that DHE inhibits the proliferation of HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells by inducing apoptosis. DHE induces up-regulation of Bax and Bak, down-regulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL, and nuclear relocation of the mitochondrial factors apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and endonuclease G (Endo G). DHE triggered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as indicated by changes in cytosol-calcium levels, double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase phosphorylation, inositol-requiring protein 1 (IRE1) and CHOP/GADD153 up-regulation, X-box transcription factor-1 mRNA splicing, and caspase-4 activation. Enhancement of ER stress by DHE is through p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2-dependent manners and subsequently causes c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation, resulting in AIF and Endo G nuclear relocation. Both of IRE1 small interfering RNA transfection and 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid-acetoxymethyl ester pretreatment inhibit DHE-mediated apoptosis, supporting the hypothesis that DHE induces cell death through ER stress. It is noteworthy that animal studies have revealed a dramatic 50% reduction in tumor volume after 45 days of treatment. This study demonstrates that DHE may be a novel anticancer agent for the treatment of liver cancer.
σ Receptor Activation Blocks Potassium Channels and Depresses Neuroexcitability in Rat Intracardiac Neurons

The σ receptors have been implicated in the regulation of the cardiovascular system, and σ-1 receptor transcripts have been found in parasympathetic intracardiac neurons. However, the cellular function of σ-1 receptors in these cells remains to be determined. Effects of σ receptor activation on voltage-activated K+ channels and action potential firing were studied in isolated intracardiac neurons using whole-cell patch-clamp recording techniques. Activation of σ receptors reversibly blocked delayed outwardly rectifying potassium channels, large conductance Ca2+-sensitive K+ channels, and the M-current with maximal inhibition >80%. The inhibition of K+ channels by σ ligands was dose-dependent, and the rank order potency of (+)-pentazocine > ibogaine > 1,3-di-O-tolyguanidin (DTG) suggests that the effect is mediated by σ-1 receptor activation. Preincubation of neurons with the irreversible σ receptor antagonist metaphit blocked DTG-induced inhibition of K+ channels, confirming that the effect is mediated by σ receptor activation. Although bath application of σ ligands depolarized intracardiac neurons, the number of action potentials fired by the cells in response to depolarizing current pulses was decreased in the presence of these drugs. Neither dialysis of the neurons nor application of intracellular 5′-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) trilithium salt inhibited the effect of σ receptors on K+ channels, which suggests that the signal transduction pathway does not involve a diffusible cytosolic second messenger or a G protein. Together, these data suggest that σ-1 receptors are directly coupled to K+ channels in intracardiac neurons. Furthermore, activation of σ-1 receptors depresses the excitability of intracardiac neurons and is thus likely to block parasympathetic input to the heart.
In vivo and ex vivo uptake of albendazole and its sulphoxide metabolite by cestode parasites: relationship with their kinetic behaviour in sheep.

The current experiments correlate the disposition kinetics of albendazole (ABZ) following its intravenous (i.v.) and intraruminal (i.r.) administrations to Moniezia spp. -infected sheep, with the pattern of drug/metabolite uptake by tapeworms collected from treated animals. The ex vivo uptake pattern of ABZ and albendazole sulphoxide (ABZSO) by the same cestode parasite was also investigated. Naturally infected (Moniezia spp.) Corriedale lambs were treated with ABZ by either i.v. (Group A, n = 15) or i.r. (Group B, n = 15) administration at 7.5 mg/kg. Plasma and abomasal fluid samples were obtained over a 120-h period. Two animals per group were killed at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 6 h post-treatment; parasite material (tapeworms), bile and intestinal fluid samples were recovered. Furthermore, Moniezia spp. tapeworms obtained from sheep killed at the local abattoir were incubated with either ABZ or ABZSO for different time periods in a Kreb's Ringer Tris buffer (ex vivo experiments). Samples were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography for ABZ, ABZSO and albendazole sulphone (ABZSO2). ABZ plasma concentrations decreased rapidly and were not detectable beyond 10 h following i.v. administration. ABZSO and ABZSO2 were the metabolites recovered in plasma after both treatments. ABZ and its metabolites were extensively distributed to the digestive tract, mainly into the abomasal fluid, after the i.v. and i.r. administrations. The parent drug and its active ABZSO metabolite were recovered in tapeworms collected from both i.v. and i.r. treated lambs. However, the availability of both ABZ and ABZSO was higher in parasite material recovered from i.v. treated animals. The uptake of ABZ by the cestode parasite, both in vivo and ex vivo, was significantly greater than that of its sulphoxide metabolite, which agrees with the higher lipophilicity of the parent drug.
On Cultural Evolution: Social Norms, Rational Behavior, and Evolutionary Game Theory

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine evolutionary game theory as a tool for analyzing issues on the diversity, interaction, and evolution of social systems and to discuss some of the results obtained in the field. For the purpose, the present paper is very selective in coverage, introducing only papers that are relevant for our discussion. Hence, the reader should be aware of the limits of this paper as a survey. This paper is written for non-game-theorists who have an interest in game theory and, in particular, evolutionary game theory. Definitions and notation are sometimes a little imprecise in order to increase accessibility of the paper. Some mathematical expressions are introduced, but they can be ignored when reading the paper casually. J. Japan. Int. Econ. , September 1996, 10 (3), pp. 262–294. Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104; and Institute of Socio-economic Planning, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan.
Anger, stress, coping, social support and health: Modelling the relationships

Two studies examined the interrelationships of anger, the experience of stress, perceived social support, and coping strategies along with their relationship to health using structural equation modelling (SEM). Results showed dispositional anger to be composed of two factors, anger experience and anger control. Higher levels of anger experience were related directly to higher levels of stress and lower levels of perceived support resources, indirectly to greater use of avoidance coping, and both directly and indirectly to lower psychological well-being and greater psychological distress. Psychological distress was, in turn, related to poorer physical health. By contrast, higher levels of anger control were associated with a greater tendency to engage in active and reappraisal coping and lower use of avoidance coping. Active and reappraisal coping were, in turn, related to better psychological and physical health whereas the opposite was true for avoidance coping.
Reviewing the Structural Features of Autologous Platelet-Leukocyte Gel and Suggestions for Use in Surgery

The therapeutic use of autologously prepared platelet-leukocyte gel (PLG) is a relatively new technology which might stimulate and accelerate soft-tissue and bone healing. The effectiveness of this procedure lies in the exogenous delivery of a wide range of platelet growth factors, intentionally released from autologously prepared PLG. The rationale to employ this technique is to mimic physiological wound healing and reparative tissue processes. Despite an increase in clinical PLG applications, the structures and kinetics of this biological material have not been completely examined. Electron microscopic imaging was performed to evaluate platelet-leukocyte gel structures. Furthermore, directions for PLG application are presented, based on results from published articles in various surgical disciplines. In conclusion, PLG can be useful in a wide range of clinical applications to enhance healing following surgical procedures, since exogenous applied PLG releases instantly platelet growth factors, in the presence of leukocytic cells.
Academic mobility in the context of linked lives

Academic mobility is usually perceived and discussed as a positive phenomenon — as a prerequisite for building a competitive and successful economy and quality science. Academic mobility has now become essential to building a successful academic career in many research domains. On the policy level the negative impact of academic mobility on researchers’ lives and especially women’s is usually overlooked and marginalized. In my paper I focus on academic mobility in the context of academics’ relationships and family lives. I ask two research questions: What is the impact of mobility on researchers’ relationships? How does mobility affect the lives of the partners of mobile researchers? The analysis is based on i) 16 in-depth interviews with academics from various fields of research about their experiences of long-term fellowships abroad in the early stages of their academic path and on ii) 16 in-depth joint interviews with Czech dualcareer academic couples. The analysis shows that academic mobility has a great and significant impact on the family and partnership lives of migrating researchers. For many, especially the partners of migrating researchers, mobility means they have to make many concessions in their private and family lives. I conclude that the impact of academic mobility on people’s partnership lives is highly gendered because couples’ work and family lives are closely intertwined.
Usable Pasts, Staging Belongings: Articulating a ‘Heritage’ of Multiculturalism in Canada

Notions of national heritage and identity are complicated in Canada, a settler nation with its central characteristic presented as institutionalised multiculturalism. Popular and official discourses of heritage and multiculturalism work together to produce ideas of Canadian-ness. The twin objectives of this paper are to describe how representations of racial difference are used as a resource to produce notions of official multiculturalism and a ‘heritage of multiculturalism’ discourse — or how notions of multiculturalism emerge as an integral part of national culture/heritage/identity. I argue that the conceptualisation of ‘heritage’ and ‘multiculturalism’ are produced through the representation of racialised difference in national narratives and that taken together, the two discourses act as a highly flexible form of governmentality.
‘English ain't English in the Australian workplace’: a narrative analysis of Korean migrant women's labour market experiences

Drawing upon human capital theory, this article examines the labour market experiences of Korean migrant women in Australia. Narrative analysis reveals that Korean migrant women experience post-entry barriers in the Australian labour market. These barriers are not only attributable to their English language skills but also to their cultural background and personal orientations' aspirations. This article finds that migrants whose language, cultural and personal orientation and academic qualifications are similar to those of the dominant culture tend to feel less disadvantaged in the labour market. The narrative analysis allows Korean migrant women to describe symbolically in their own words their labour market experiences and the decisions, factors and emotions that constitute their experiences. The findings reinforce an increasing call for incorporating the cultural and personal aspects of human capital (beyond linguistic proficiency) into an understanding of the post-entry labour market experiences of migrant workers in their adopted country.
Physical Activity and Social Cognitive Theory : A Test in a Population Sample of Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes

The purpose of the study was to test the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; Bandura, 2004) for explaining physical activity (PA) in a large population sample of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Study objectives: (1) test the fit of the SCT structure in the total sample, and the diabetes sub-types; (2) determine the SCT structural invariance between the type 1 and type 2 groups; and (3) report explained variance and compare strength of association for the SCT constructs in predicting PA for both type 1 and type 2 groups. In all, 2,311 individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes were assessed on their self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, impediments, social support, goals, and physical activity at baseline and 1,717 (74.5%) completed these assessments again at 6 months. Multi-group Structural Equation Modeling was conducted. The findings provide evidence for the utility of the SCT in the diabetes samples. The SCT fits individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes except for SCT impediments, which appear to be obstructing goal-setting in individuals with type 2 diabetes only. Promotion of health behavior should target self-efficacy to set goals and change behavior. Outcome expectancies and social support are also important factors for setting goals and behavior performance.
Relative expression of vascular endothelial growth factor isoforms in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Alternative splicing of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene results in a family of antiangiogenic isoforms (VEGFxxxb), not yet investigated in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). We examined, therefore, the prognostic value of the relative expression of VEGF isoforms in SCCHN.
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CELLULAR AUTOMATON MODEL FOR THE EVOLUTION OF ACTIVE REGION CORONAL PLASMAS

We study a two-dimensional cellular automaton (CA) model for the evolution of coronal loop plasmas. The model is based on the idea that coronal loops are made of elementary magnetic strands that are tangled and stressed by the displacement of their footpoints by photospheric motions. The magnetic stress accumulated between neighbor strands is released in sudden reconnection events or nanoflares that heat the plasma. We combine the CA model with the Enthalpy Based Thermal Evolution of Loops model to compute the response of the plasma to the heating events. Using the known response of the X-Ray Telescope on board Hinode, we also obtain synthetic data. The model obeys easy-to-understand scaling laws relating the output (nanoflare energy, temperature, density, intensity) to the input parameters (field strength, strand length, critical misalignment angle). The nanoflares have a power-law distribution with a universal slope of −2.5, independent of the input parameters. The repetition frequency of nanoflares, expressed in terms of the plasma cooling time, increases with strand length. We discuss the implications of our results for the problem of heating and evolution of active region coronal plasmas.
Comment on Levy's Review of the Logic of Social Systems

I have two major quarrels with Levy's review of my book (AJS 81 [November 1975]: 656-61). First, amidst six pages of comment he never informs the reader about the book's purpose, content, or structure. To fill that gap briefly, the book sees communication, transaction (involving power and bargaining power), and organization as the basic social sciences which provide common analytic underpinnings for sociology, economics, and political science. Across all those areas some 425 terms are coordinated into a single terminological set, with each term defined for consistency with every other term. The book also restructures major aspects of sociology, economics, and political science into a coordinated, deductive science. Second, and aside from legitimate methodological differences, the criticisms that lead Levy to construe the book as worthless ("the formalization of nothing is nothing") are either peripheral or wrong, in the sense that each criticism could be voided by slight changes in wording, short explanatory notes, or more careful reading by the reviewer. According to Levy, I don't realize that a "congeries of . propositions variously lying about" can in theory be related "deductively in an infinitude of different fashions. " Whereas Berelson and Steiner (1964), among others, have assembled propositions that were "variously lying about," all propositions in the core of my volume are deduced step by step from the central models. Now I certainly do not suggest that my models are as clean as Euclid's geometry. But to suggest that Euclid's propositions can be rearranged in an infinity of ways would be arrant nonsense, and the same applies here. Levy says I repeatedly use the terms to be defined in their definitions, but cites only pages 3 and 39. No terms are defined on or near page 3, though some are discussed. On page 39 I use "biological" to identify biological with maintenance "systems" but not to define "biological," and such usage creates no logical problems. Levy complains that I use "abstraction" in rare and odd ways. The term has two legitimate meanings. One contrasts with concrete: "expressing a property, quality, or attribute apart from an object or thing" (Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed.). The second means "general," in contrast to specific. Precisely to avoid this ambiguity I used "general" for the second meaning and "abstract" for the first, and carefully identified my usage. Here Levy incorrectly implies that my odd usage (the first above) invalidates my methodology. Levy sees crucial error in my statement that every real communication also involves some minimal transactional component. Assuming that his
Candidate Gene Polymorphisms for Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose— Ischemic stroke (IS) is a multifactorial disorder with strong evidence from twin, family, and animal model studies suggesting a genetic influence on risk and prognosis. Several candidate genes for IS have been proposed, but few have been replicated. We investigated the contribution of 67 candidate genes (369 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) on the risk of IS in a North American population of European descent. Methods— Two independent studies were performed. In the first, 342 SNPs from 52 candidate genes were genotyped in 307 IS cases and 324 control subjects. The SNPs significantly associated with IS were tested for replication in another cohort of 583 IS cases and 270 control subjects. In the second study, 212 SNPs from 62 candidate genes were analyzed in 710 IS cases with subtyping available and 3751 control subjects. Results— None of the candidate genes (SNPs) were significantly associated with IS risk independent of known stroke risk factors after correction for multiple hypotheses testing. Conclusion— These results are consistent with previous meta-analyses that demonstrate an absence of genetic association of variants in plausible candidate genes with IS risk. Our study suggests that the effect of the investigated SNPs may be weak or restricted to specific populations or IS subtypes.
Nonuniform banking for reducing memory energy consumption

Main memories can consume a large percentage of overall energy in many data-intensive embedded applications. The past research proposed and evaluated memory banking as a possible approach for reducing memory energy consumption. One of the common characteristics/assumptions made by most of the past work on banking is that all the banks are of the same size. While this makes the formulation of the problem easy, it also restricts the potential solution space. Motivated by this observation, this paper investigates the possibility of employing nonuniform bank sizes for reducing memory energy consumption. Specifically, it proposes an integer linear programming (ILP) based approach that returns the optimal nonuniform bank sizes and accompanying data-to-bank mapping. It also studies how data migration can further improve over nonuniform banking. We implemented our approach using an ILP tool and made extensive experiments. The results show that the proposed strategy brings important energy benefits over the uniform banking scheme, and data migration across banks tends to increase these savings.