Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CD8+ T-cell Responses Rapidly Select for Antigen-Negative Tumor Cells in the Prostate

Bak, Barnkob, and colleagues show that treatment with antigen-specific CD8+ T cells effectively eliminated antigen-expressing prostate cells within the tumor bed, but the antigen-negative tumor cells with downregulated MHC class I continued to grow. Stimulation of patients' immune systems for the treatment of solid tumors is an emerging therapeutic paradigm. The use of enriched autologous T cells for adoptive cell therapy or vaccination with antigen-loaded dendritic cells have shown clinical efficacy in melanoma and prostate cancer, respectively. However, the long-term effects of immune responses on selection and outgrowth of antigen-negative tumor cells in specific tumor types must be determined to understand and achieve long-term therapeutic effects. In this study, we have investigated the expression of a tumor-specific antigen in situ after treatment with tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in an autochthonous mouse model of prostate cancer. After T-cell treatment, aggregates of dead antigen-positive tumor cells were concentrated in the lumen of the prostate gland and were eventually eliminated from the prostate tissue. Despite the elimination of antigen-positive tumor cells, prostate tumor continued to grow in T-cell–treated mice. Interestingly, the remaining tumor cells were antigen negative and downregulated MHC class I expression. These results show that CD8+ T cells are effective in eliminating antigen-bearing prostate tumor cells but they also can select for the outgrowth of antigen-negative tumor cells. These findings provide insights into the requirements for an effective cancer immunotherapy within the prostate that not only induces potent immune responses but also avoids selection and outgrowth of antigen-negative tumor cells. Cancer Immunol Res; 1(6); 393–401. ©2013 AACR.
Measurement of intracellular accumulation of anthracyclines in cancerous cells by direct injection of cell lysate in MEKC/LIF detection

Anthracyclines are chemotherapeutic drugs that are broadly used in the treatment of various types of solid cancers and leukemia. Herein, we report on a novel analytical method for intracellular accumulation of anthracyclines using MEKC/LIF detection. An aqueous separation system permitted the injection of cell lysates directly into the capillary. The MEKC migrating solution was made up of borate buffer at pH 9.22 containing sodium taurodeoxycholate, (2‐hydroxypropyl)‐γ‐CD, and SDS. The anthracyclines, Doxorubicin (DOX) and epirubicin (EPI) were detected by LIF using a Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) or an argon ion laser (488 nm) for excitation. Two cell lines, human humerus tumor cells (RDES) and human lung tumor cells (A549), were treated with a mixture of the two anthracyclines for fixed periods of time, and then intracellular concentrations were determined by injecting cell lysates directly. Recovery values of 96.0–100.8% were obtained for DOX and EPI. Reproducibility quantified by RSD was less than 3.9% intraday and 6.7% interday at concentrations ranging between 50 and 500 nM. The uptake of EPI was found to be slightly less than that of DOX for A549, but higher levels of EPI were observed in RDES. Intracellular accumulation of anthracyclines was greater in RDES than in A549, but both types of cells excreted anthracyclines after 12 h. These results indicate that MEKC with an aqueous medium is useful for investigating intracellular uptake and accumulation of drugs, since cell lysates can be used directly with no pretreatment such as deproteination or solvent extraction of analytes.
Competence for Natural Genetic Transformation in the Streptococcus bovis Group Streptococci S. infantarius and S. macedonicus

ABSTRACT Natural genetic transformation is common among many species of the genus Streptococcus, but it has never, or rarely, been reported for the Streptococcus pyogenes and S. bovis groups of species, even though many streptococcal competence genes and the competence regulators SigX, ComR, and ComS are well conserved in both groups. To explore the incidence of competence in the S. bovis group, 25 isolates of S. infantarius and S. macedonicus were surveyed by employing culture in chemically defined media devoid of peptide nutrients and treatment with synthetic candidate pheromone peptides predicted from the sequence of the gene comS. Approximately half of strains examined were transformable, many transforming at high rates comparable to those for the well-characterized streptococcal natural transformation systems. In S. infantarius, nanomolar amounts of the synthetic pheromone LTAWWGL induced robust but transient competence in high-density cultures, but mutation of the ComRS locus abolished transformation. We conclude that at least these two species of the S. bovis group retain a robust system of natural transformation regulated by a ComRS pheromone circuit and the alternative sigma factor SigX and infer that transformation is even more common among the streptococci than has been recognized. The tools presented here will facilitate targeted genetic manipulation in this group of streptococci.
Transposable elements donate lineage-specific regulatory sequences to host genomes

The evolutionary implications of transposable element (TE) influences on gene regulation are explored here. An historical perspective is presented to underscore the importance of TE influences on gene regulation with respect to both the discovery of TEs and the early conceptualization of their potential impact on host genome evolution. Evidence that points to a role for TEs in host gene regulation is reviewed, and comparisons between genome sequences are used to demonstrate the fact that TEs are particularly lineage-specific components of their host genomes. Consistent with these two properties of TEs, regulatory effects and evolutionary specificity, human-mouse genome wide sequence comparisons reveal that the regulatory sequences that are contributed by TEs are exceptionally lineage specific. This suggests a particular mechanism by which TEs may drive the diversification of gene regulation between evolutionary lineages.
Pyroelectrically induced photorefractive damage in magnesium-doped lithium niobate crystals

Beam distortion due to photorefraction limits the usability of lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystals for frequency conversion applications. To prevent beam distortion in LiNbO3, 5 mol. % magnesium-doped LiNbO3 (MgO:LN) is usually used. However, we show that strong beam distortion of green laser light can occur within seconds in MgO:LN, starting at light intensity levels in the 100 mW/cm2 regime, if the crystal is heated by several degrees Celsius during or before illumination. Beam distortion does not occur in undoped congruent LiNbO3 (CLN) under the same conditions. We show that the pyroelectric effect together with an elevated photoconductivity compared to that of CLN causes this beam distortion and that this effect also influences frequency conversion experiments in the infrared even if no external heating is applied.
Challenges of Moroccan Public Administration in the Southern Provinces: Exploring the Administrative Resilience Throughout the Sahrawi Case

Morocco started advanced regionalization in 2015. Two of its 12 regions, respectively “Laayoune – Sakia Al Hamra” and “Dakhla-Oued Ddahab” are concerned by a dispute over territorial integrity with the North African neighbors. The conflict over Sahara started after its colonization by Spain in 1884. The Kingdom ended up signing Madrid agreements to administrate the Sahara. The conflict in the Sahara compromises the implementation of Moroccan reforms. Albeit expensive for Moroccan Government, the execution of economic and social development programs in the Sahara is going on. The study aims to address the question: What challenges does Moroccan Public Administration face in conflict-affected regions? The research seeks to enhance comprehension of administrative resilience amidst regional conflicts. The paper is qualitative with a case study of two conflict-affected regions: a status quo. The importance of this research stems from an attempt to show the reality of Moroccan Public Administration challenges in the Southern Provinces. This academic paper shows that the strong socio-economic development dynamism in the Sahara is a major component of regional peace and stability.
Long‐term outcome of autoimmune hepatitis in children

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic disease of unknown etiology, which usually progresses to cirrhosis if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Data on long‐term follow up in children with AIH are scant. The aim of this study is to assess the long‐term outcome of autoimmune hepatitis in children with respect to clinical and laboratory features at presentation.
A new framework for complex wavelet transforms

Although the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is a powerful tool for signal and image processing, it has three serious disadvantages: shift sensitivity, poor directionality, and lack of phase information. To overcome these disadvantages, we introduce two-stage mapping-based complex wavelet transforms that consist of a mapping onto a complex function space followed by a DWT of the complex mapping. Unlike other popular transforms that also mitigate DWT shortcomings, the decoupled implementation of our transforms has two important advantages. First, the controllable redundancy of the mapping stage offers a balance between degree of shift sensitivity and transform redundancy. This allows us to create a directional, non-redundant, complex wavelet transform with potential benefits for image coding systems. To the best of our knowledge, no other complex wavelet transform is simultaneously directional and non-redundant. The second advantage of our approach is the flexibility to use any DWT in the transform implementation. As an example, we can exploit this flexibility to create the complex double-density DWT (CDDWT): a shift-insensitive, directional, complex wavelet transform with a low redundancy of (3/sup m/-1/2/sup m/-1) in m dimensions. To the best of our knowledge, no other transform achieves all these properties at a lower redundancy.
Evaluation of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Status in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory condition involving the airways and characterized by airflow limitation. Gaseous and noxious particles play an important role in this process. Antioxidants are the substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. The increased oxidative stress in patients with COPD is the result of an increased burden of inhaled oxidants, as well as increased amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by various inflammatory, immune and epithelial cells of the airways. A total of 150 subjects with COPD and 100 healthy controls subjects were enrolled in this study from the period October 2015 to January 2016. The investigation included measurements of plasma superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), catalase activity (CAT), glutathione content (GSH) reduced form, (GPx) glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase (GR) and lipid peroxidation (LPO). Absorbance was measured by UV spectrophotometer. The estimated values of SOD, catalase, GPx, GSH and GR were found to be significantly (P = 0.0001) lower among the cases compared with controls. But, the levels of MDA were higher (P = 0.0001) in cases as compared to control group and there was significant difference in the oxidative stress parameters among the various stages of COPD. The post hoc analysis revealed that SOD was significantly (P < 0.01) lower among the mild, moderate and severe patients compared with very severe patients. The catalase was also observed to be significantly (P = 0.01) lower among mild, moderate and severe patients than very severe patients. The GPx was found to be significantly (P = 0.002) lower among the mild, moderate and severe patients compared with very severe patients. MDA was observed to be significantly higher in mild, moderate and severe patients compared with very severe (P = 0.001). GR was significantly (P = 0.003) lower among mild, moderate and severe patients than very severe patients. However, there was no significant difference in GSH among severity of COPD patients. This study suggests that oxidant and antioxidant imbalance plays an important role in various stages of severity of COPD. These results revealed the presence of an oxidative stress in subjects with COPD, and it is proportionate to the severity of disease.
The Influence of Attitude and Perceived Risk to Optimize Intention to Adopt Based on Theory of Planned Behavior in Generation Z

This study aims to determine the effect of attitude and perceived risk on intention to adopt based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in Generation Z. This study employs a quantitative methodology, utilizing a purposive sampling technique. The data utilized in this study is primary data, which was collected through the distribution of questionnaires. The study has a sample size of 210 respondents. The data was evaluated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis with the use of AMOS 24 Graphics software. The findings of this study indicate that attitude is significantly influenced by perceived utility, perceived trust, and subjective norm. Furthermore, attitude significantly impacts the intention to adopt. The study's recent discoveries indicate that perceived danger exerts a detrimental and noteworthy impact on attitude, while perceived ease of use exerts a detrimental but inconsequential impact on attitude. The findings of this study emphasize the significance of comprehending customer risk perceptions in relation to service utilization. Companies should take into account the factors that impact consumer opinions. This can be accomplished by implementing effective marketing techniques, enhancing customer service, or providing an optimal user experience. This study provides an update on the variables by including the perceived risk variable to assess the perceived risk experienced by consumers.
The UNC5C Netrin Receptor Regulates Dorsal Guidance of Mouse Hindbrain Axons

The cerebellum receives its input from multiple precerebellar nuclei located in the brainstem and sends processed information to other brain structures via the deep cerebellar neurons. Guidance molecules that regulate the complex migrations of precerebellar neurons and the initial guidance of their leading processes have been identified. However, the molecules necessary for dorsal guidance of precerebellar axons to the developing cerebellum or for guidance of decussating axons of the deep nuclei are not known. To determine whether Unc5c plays a role in the dorsal guidance of precerebellar and deep cerebellar axons, we studied axonal trajectories of these neurons in Unc5c−/− mice. Our results show that Unc5c is expressed broadly in the precerebellar and deep cerebellar neurons. Unc5c deletion disrupted long-range dorsal guidance of inferior olivary and pontine axons after crossing the midline. In addition, dorsal guidance of the axons from the medial deep cerebellar and external cuneate neurons was affected in Unc5c−/− mice, as were anterior migrations of pontine neurons. Coincident with the guidance defects of their axons, degeneration of neurons in the external cuneate nucleus and subdivisions of the inferior olivary nucleus was observed in Unc5c−/− mice. Lastly, transgenic expression of Unc5c in deep neurons and pontine neurons by the Atoh1 promoter rescued defects of the medial deep cerebellar and pontine axons observed in Unc5c−/− embryos, demonstrating that Unc5c acts cell autonomously in the guidance of these axons. Our results suggest that Unc5c plays a broad role in dorsal guidance of axons in the developing hindbrain.
Tests for Standard Accretion Disk Models by Variability in Active Galactic Nuclei

In this paper, standard accretion disk models of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are tested using light curves of 26 objects that have been well observed using reverberation mapping. Timescales of variations are estimated by the most common definition of the variability timescale and the zero-crossing time of the autocorrelation function of the optical light curves for each source. The timescales of variations measured by the two methods are consistent with each other. If the typical value of the viscosity parameter α ∼ 0.1 is adopted, the measured optical variability timescales are closest to the thermal timescales of the standard disks. If α is allowed to range from ~0.03 to ~0.2, the measured timescales are consistent with the thermal timescales of the standard disks. There is a linear relation between the measured variability timescales and black hole masses; this linear relation is qualitatively consistent with expectation of the standard accretion disk models. The time lags measured by the z-transformed discrete correlation function (ZDCF) between different bands are on the order of days. The measured time lags of NGC 4151 and NGC 7469 are marginally consistent with the time lags estimated in the case of continuum thermal reprocessing for the standard accretion disk models. However, the measured time lags of NGC 5548 and Fairall 9 are unlikely to be the case of continuum thermal reprocessing. Our results are unlikely to be inconsistent with, or are likely to be conditionally in favor of, the standard accretion disk models of AGNs.
Design Model for Development of Student Interests in Investing in the Investment Gallery of the University of Muhammadiyah Makassar

The aim of the study was to determine the level of effectiveness of the design model for developing student interest in investing in the Muhammadiyah University Makassar Investment Gallery. The specific target to be achieved in this research is the design of a model for developing interest in investing when students are still in the study environment to be effective and provide benefits, for example saving to guarantee the future and saving to study and make a profit. This study uses applied qualitative methods. Data collection techniques are library research, interviews and observation. As for the research instruments for the initial study, validation and try out questionnaires were used for students and the community. Meanwhile for the design of the model an achievement test was used to develop interest in investing for students. With the development model design, the level of effectiveness is high for students who are interested in investing independently and influence their friends both directly and indirectly. Students are also agents of change in society, from a consumptive society to a productive society by investing.
Anatomy of Corporate Borrowing Constraints*

Macro-finance analyses commonly link firms’ borrowing constraints to the liquidation value of physical assets. For U.S. nonfinancial firms, we show that 20% of debt by value is based on such assets (asset-based lending in creditor parlance), whereas 80% is based predominantly on cash flows from firms’ operations (cash flow–based lending). A standard borrowing constraint restricts total debt as a function of cash flows measured using operating earnings (earnings-based borrowing constraints). These features shape firm outcomes on the margin: first, cash flows in the form of operating earnings can directly relax borrowing constraints; second, firms are less vulnerable to collateral damage from asset price declines, and fire sale amplification may be mitigated. Taken together, our findings point to new venues for modeling firms’ borrowing constraints in macro-finance studies.
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis against HBV and HIV Infection in Health Care Workers

Healthcare Workers (HCWs) are constantly at risk of exposure to viral infections such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), human immune deficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). We aim at demonstrating the results of a three-year period of a surveillance program in Iran with the prospective follow-up of HCWs exposed to blood-borne viruses. HCWs who had experienced an occupational exposure to HBV, HCV or HIV from September 2005 to 2008 were enrolled in the study. Age, gender, route of exposure, type of fluid, type of virus, job, department, working shift, work experience, wearing gloves when exposed, history of HBV vaccination and the serum level of anti HBs antibody were recorded for all participants through an individual interview. Serum samples were taken from both HCWs and the sources of exposure and were tested by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The data were gathered through questionnaires completed by a nurse under the supervision of a specialist of infectious diseases. In this study, 100 HCWs who were occupationally exposed to HIV, HCV or HBV were included. Most exposures had occurred among nurses (35%), followed by residents (29%), interns (18%), housekeepers (7%), the lab staff (6%), and specialists (5%). Most of the exposures had occurred in emergency (21%) and surgical (20%) wards. The most common route of exposure was percutaneous injuries (77%) and the most common cases had contacted with needles and angiocaths (71.1%) during injection or opening vein routes (21%). Establishing a surveillance system for registering the occurrence of occupational hazardous exposures, performing prophylactic measures and following up the exposed is a necessity in hospitals so that the number of exposures and occupational diseases among the HCWs can be decreased.
Financial Loan Default Risk Prediction Based on Big Data Analysis

In the financial sector, the issue of loan default is critical, and concurrently, the financial lending industry continually contends with market and technological shifts. This study aims to utilize machine learning methods to analyze a substantial amount of bank loan default data. The goal is to develop a loan default prediction model based on the BP neural network, identifying potential default risks at an early stage for proactive risk mitigation. Through coefficient analysis and significance tests, this paper ultimately selects 10 variables as input features for the model. Employing a step-by-step addition approach, the model's performance is evaluated, leading to the determination of a 2-hidden-layer BP neural network. Multiple K-value models are assessed, concluding with a K-value of 4 for the KNN algorithm. Finally, this paper validates the two models—BP neural network and KNN algorithm—analyzing accuracy, recall, and precision. The BP neural network model achieves an accuracy of 70% or more, a recall rate exceeding 55%, and a precision rate surpassing 60%.
Genetic background of juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Abstract Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic rheumatologic disease in children. JIA is a group of disorders that share the clinical manifestation of chronic joint inflammation. The human leukocyte antigen region (HLA) seems to be a major susceptibility locus for JIA that is estimated to account for 17% of familial segregation of the disease. To date, around 20 non-HLA loci conferring susceptibility to JIA were found. At least a half of those are shared between JIA and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an adult rheumatic disease, thereby suggesting for similarity of pathogenic mechanisms of both diseases. New findings also suggest for a likely role of epigenetic alterations in the pathogenesis of JIA that should be investigated in the future.