Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anticancer Bioactive Peptide‐3 Inhibits Human Gastric Cancer Growth by Suppressing Gastric Cancer Stem Cells

In the present study, the effective components of anticancer bioactive peptide‐3 (ACBP‐3), a novel antitumor agent isolated from goat liver, were analyzed. The CD44 (+) fraction of the human gastric cancer cell line was isolated, and the cells within this fraction that could form spheroid colonies (SCs) were identified as gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs). Subsequently, the antitumor effect of ACBP‐3 on GCSCs was investigated in vitro and in vivo. ACBP‐3 dose‐dependently decreased the percentage of CD44 (+) cells, suppressed the proliferation of the SC cells and inhibited their clone‐forming capacity. Tumor formation from inoculated SC cells took substantially longer when the cells were treated with ACBP‐3 in vivo. ACBP‐3 alone or in combination with cisplatin suppressed xenograft tumor growth. The antitumor efficacy of cisplatin, when combined with ACBP‐3, was enhanced even using half of the normal cisplatin dosage. The combination of cisplatin and ACBP‐3 could partially alleviate the body weight loss in the mice. Moreover, treatment with ACBP‐3 alone could prevent the body weight loss in the mice. Our study indicated that ACBP‐3 inhibited gastric cancer cell growth by suppressing the proliferation of CSCs. ACBP‐3 could be a potential CSC‐targeting agent, and combined with cisplatin therapy, might be an effective way to clinically treat patients with cancer with a lower dose and reduced toxicity. J. Cell. Biochem. 115: 697–711, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Temporal activation of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase in adult transgenic heart via cre‐loxP‐mediated DNA recombination

Using a cre‐loxP‐mediated gene‐switch approach, we achieved targeted JNK activation in adult hearts. A transgenic model is established carrying a floxed gene‐switch construct that directs GFP marker gene expression in the absence of DNA recombination between two loxP sites. A tamoxifen‐inducible Cre recombinase was introduced in the transgenic heart by breeding with previously established Mer‐Cre‐Mer transgenic mice. Upon tamoxifen administration in double transgenic adult animals, cre‐loxP‐mediated DNA recombination efficiently switches “off” the loxP‐flanked GFP expression unit in cardiomyocytes and switches “on” the expression of the target gene, MKK7D, a constitutively activated upstream activator of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinases (JNK). Expression of MKK7D in adult hearts resulted in significant activation of JNK activities and causes progressive cardiomyopathy in transgenic animals. This unique animal model of cardiac‐specific and temporally regulated JNK activation will provide a powerful tool to investigate the functional role of the JNK pathway in the development of heart failure. Our data also demonstrated that the inducible gene‐switch approach reported here may also be applicable in other studies to achieve efficient, tissue‐specific, and temporally regulated genetic manipulation in intact animals.
Partitioning Well-Clustered Graphs with k-Means and Heat Kernel

We study a suitable class of well-clustered graphs that admit good k-way partitions and present the first almost-linear time algorithm for with almost-optimal approximation guarantees partitioning such graphs. A good k-way partition is a partition of the vertices of a graph into disjoint clusters (subsets) $\{S_i\}_{i=1}^k$, such that each cluster is better connected on the inside than towards the outside. This problem is a key building block in algorithm design, and has wide applications in community detection and network analysis. Key to our result is a theorem on the multi-cut and eigenvector structure of the graph Laplacians of these well-clustered graphs. Based on this theorem, we give the first rigorous guarantees on the approximation ratios of the widely used k-means clustering algorithms. We also give an almost-linear time algorithm based on heat kernel embeddings and approximate nearest neighbor data structures.
Efficacy and Safety of Ezetimibe Plus Orlistat or Rimonabant in Statin-Intolerant Nondiabetic Overweight/Obese Patients With Dyslipidemia

Aims: To compare the effects of ezetimibe plus orlistat or rimonabant on anthropometric and lipid parameters in nondiabetic statin-intolerant overweight/obese patients with dyslipidemia. Methods and results: Thirty participants received a hypocaloric diet and were randomized to open-label combination of ezetimibe (10 mg/day) with orlistat (120 mg, 3 times a day with meals; ezetimibe/orlistat [EO], n = 15) or rimonabant (20 mg/day; ezetimibe/ rimonabant [ER], n = 15). Anthropometric and metabolic variables were assessed at baseline and 3 months posttreatment. Similar reductions in body weight, body mass index, and waist circumference were recorded in both groups (—8.3%, —8.6%, and —5.2% in the EO group and —7.3%, —7.2%, and —7.0% in the ER group, P < .01 vs baseline for all). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels decreased in both treatment groups, but this reduction tended to be more pronounced in the EO group (28.4% vs 15.3%, respectively; P < .01 vs baseline for both). Triglycerides tended to decrease more in the ER compared with the EO group (—20.4% vs —14.1%, P < .01 vs baseline for both). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels tended to decrease in EO group, but remained unaltered with ER treatment. Apolipoprotein B levels were equally reduced in both treatment groups. Conclusion: For similar body weight reduction, the combination of ezetimibe with orlistat may be more efficient in LDL-C lowering, whereas the combination of ezetimibe with rimonabant may be more potent in terms of improving HDL-C and triglycerides.
Social disparities in housing and related pediatric injury: a multilevel study.

OBJECTIVES We conducted an ecologic analysis to determine whether housing characteristics mediate the associations between concentration of poverty and pediatric injury and between concentration of racial minorities and pediatric injury and whether the association between housing conditions and pediatric injury is independent of other risks. METHODS We created a hierarchical data set by linking individual-level data for pediatric injury with census data. Effect sizes were estimated with a Poisson model. RESULTS After adjustment for owner occupancy and the percentage of housing built before 1950, the association between concentration of poverty and pediatric injury was attenuated. For concentration of racial minorities, only percentage of owner occupancy had some mediating effect. In hierarchical models, housing characteristics remained independent and significant predictors of pediatric injury. CONCLUSIONS The association between community characteristics and pediatric injury is partially mediated by housing conditions. Risk of pediatric injury associated with housing conditions is independent of other risks.
Microstructural Organization of the Cingulum Tract and the Level of Default Mode Functional Connectivity

The default mode network is a functionally connected network of brain regions that show highly synchronized intrinsic neuronal activation during rest. However, less is known about the structural connections of this network, which could play an important role in the observed functional connectivity patterns. In this study, we examined the microstructural organization of the cingulum tract in relation to the level of resting-state default mode functional synchronization. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging data of 45 healthy subjects were acquired on a 3 tesla scanner. Both structural and functional connectivity of the default mode network were examined. In all subjects, the cingulum tract was identified from the total collection of reconstructed tracts to interconnect the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and medial frontal cortex, key regions of the default mode network. A significant positive correlation was found between the average fractional anisotropy value of the cingulum tract and the level of functional connectivity between the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and medial frontal cortex. Our results suggest a direct relationship between the structural and functional connectivity measures of the default mode network and contribute to the understanding of default mode network connectivity.
A Cooperative Hunting Behavior by Mobile-Robot Troops

This paper presents a novel feedback-control law for coordinating the motion of multiple holonomic mobile robots to capture/enclose a target by making troop formations. This motion coordination is a cooperative behavior for security against invaders in surveillance areas. Each robot in this control law has its own coordinate system and it senses a target/invader, other robots and obstacles, to achieve this cooperative behavior without making any collision. Although there is no centralized controller and each robot has local feedback that is relative-position feedback, all the robots are asymptotically stabilized, and they make formations enclosing a target. Each robot especially has a vector referred to as a “formation vector,” and the formations are controllable by the vectors. As for determining the formation vectors, we use a reactive-control framework in which robots have some reactions heuristically designed according to this cooperative behavior. Therefore, this robotic system is a hybrid system that consists of a feedback-control law and a reactive-control framework. The validity of this hybrid system is supported by computer simulations.
Testing the Tolerance Principle: Children form productive rules when it is more computationally efficient to do so

During language acquisition, children must learn when to generalize a pattern – applying it broadly and to new words (‘add –ed’ in English) – and when to restrict generalization, storing the pattern only with specific lexical items. One effort to quantify the conditions for generalization, the Tolerance Principle, has been shown to accurately predict children’s generalizations in dozens of corpus-based studies. This principle hypothesizes that a general rule will be formed when it is computationally more efficient than storing lexical forms individually. It is formalized as: a rule R will generalize if the number of exceptions does not exceed the number of words in the category N divided by the natural log of N (N/lnN). Here we test the principle in an artificial language of 9 nonsense nouns. As predicted, children exposed to 5 regular forms and 4 exceptions generalized, applying the regular form to 100% of novel test words. Children exposed to 3 regular forms and 6 exceptions did not extend the rule, even though the token frequency of the regular form was still high in this condition. The Tolerance Principle thus appears to capture a basic principle of generalization in rule formation.
Diversity of rotavirus strains circulating in west Africa from 1996 to 2000.

followed by G3 (19.5%), G2 (13.6%), and G9 (10.3%). The common G-P combinations were G1P[6] (11.2%), G2P[6] (9.8%) and G9P[8] (8.0%). Considerable G type fluctuation was detected from year to year in the subregion, as well as country-specific variation in circulating strains over time. Rotavirus G9 strains were detected with increasing frequency across the region, but rotavirus G4 strains were seen only in Cameroon, and strains with P[4] specificities were relatively rare, except in Ghana and Cameroon. Strains carrying unusual G-P combinations, such as G2P[6], G3P[6], and G9P[6], were also common.
Noninvasive Mapping of Reactive Oxygen Species by in Vivo Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy in Indomethacin-Induced Gastric Ulcers in Rats

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are thought to be involved in the gastric ulcer formation induced by indomethacin, a typical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. However, the location and the time course of ROS generation remain unknown. To assess the sites of ROS generation, we applied the noninvasive measurement of ROS to indomethacin-treated rats. By giving orally a membrane-permeable or impermeable probe, the spectra were collected as a function of time by in vivo 300-MHz electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The ESR signal-decay rates of membrane-permeable probes, hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (TEMPO) and 3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-pyrrolidine-1-oxyl, in the gastric mucosal region were significantly enhanced 1 h after indomethacin treatment, and they both caused the protection of ulcer formation; however, membrane-impermeable probes, carboxy- and trimethylammonium-TEMPO, which did not exhibit the enhanced signal decay, had no effect on ulcer formation. The enhanced signal decay in the gastric mucosa was suppressed by coadministration of the antioxidants tiron or dimethylthiourea with the nitroxyl probe. The results suggest that the enhanced signal-decay rates in the gastric ulcers observed by in vivo ESR are associated with protective effects. The enhanced signal decay caused by ROS generation in stomach, contributing to the ulcer formation induced by indomethacin, is also suggested to occur at the gastric mucus layer or the interface or the intracellular compartment of epithelial cells. Overall, these results show the potentials of noninvasive assessment of ROS production and the sites of damage by in vivo ESR using nitroxyl probes directed to specific subcellular regions.
Robust Associative Memories Naturally Occuring From Recurrent Hebbian Networks Under Noise

The brain is a noisy system subject to energy constraints. These facts are rarely taken into account when modelling artificial neural networks. In this paper, we are interested in demonstrating that those factors can actually lead to the appearance of robust associative memories. We first propose a simplified model of noise in the brain, taking into account synaptic noise and interference from neurons external to the network. When coarsely quantized, we show that this noise can be reduced to insertions and erasures. We take a neural network with recurrent modifiable connections, and subject it to noisy external inputs. We introduce an energy usage limitation principle in the network as well as consolidated Hebbian learning, resulting in an incremental processing of inputs. We show that the connections naturally formed correspond to state-of-the-art binary sparse associative memories.
Corporate Leniency Programs and the Role of the Antitrust Authority in Detecting Collusion

The design, implementation, and measurement of corporate leniency programs are examined with a focus on how these programs impact the discovery and penalization of cartels. This is followed with a broader discussion of detection by considering other ways in which an antitrust authority can play an active role in this critical first stage to fighting cartels. ∗This paper was commissioned for the International Symposium on "Towards an Effective Implementation of New Competition Policy" that was sponsored by the Competition Policy Research Center of the Fair Trade Commission of Japan, the 21st Century COE Program of Hitotsubashi University, and Nihon Keizei Shimbun, Inc. I am grateful to Aki Matsui, Massimo Motta, Akio Shibata, Akinori Uesugi, and Kotaro Suzumura for their comments. This research is partially supported by the National Science Foundation under grant SES-0516943.
Retraction: CTL activation using the natural low-affinity epitope 222-229 from tyrosinase-related protein 1 leads to tumor rejection.

Vaccine strategies for cancer immunotherapy have focused on peptide ligands with high affinity for MHC class I. Largely, these vaccines have not been therapeutic. We have examined the peptide specificity of a strongly protective T-cell response that eradicates established B16 melanoma and find that the recognized epitope is generated by a low-affinity MHC class I ligand from tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP1). Cytotoxic T-cell responses are induced against TRP1222-229 by several vaccination schemes using a Toll-like receptor agonist, T regulatory cell depletion, or the immune modulator B7DCXAb to drive immunity. TRP1222 CTL are generated from multiple antigen sources, including antigens expressed by tumors growing in situ , tumor cell lysates, and peptide vaccines. The key finding in this study is that protection from freshly implanted or established B16 tumors is primarily mediated by TRP1222-specific CTL and not by CTL specific for more traditional melanoma antigens such as TRP2 or gp100. This finding challenges the assumption that the optimal peptide antigens for cancer vaccines are high-affinity MHC ligands. We propose that when administered appropriately, native low-affinity MHC ligands are optimal inducers of immunotherapeutic CTL. [Cancer Res 2009;69(7):OF1–7]
Not just who, but how many: the importance of partner abundance in reef coral symbioses

The performance and function of reef corals depends on the genetic identity of their symbiotic algal partners, with some symbionts providing greater benefits (e.g., photosynthate, thermotolerance) than others. However, these interaction outcomes may also depend on partner abundance, with differences in the total number of symbionts changing the net benefit to the coral host, depending on the particular environmental conditions. We suggest that symbiont abundance is a fundamental aspect of the dynamic interface between reef corals and the abiotic environment that ultimately determines the benefits, costs, and functional responses of these symbioses. This density-dependent framework suggests that corals may regulate the size of their symbiont pool to match microhabitat-specific optima, which may contribute to the high spatiotemporal variability in symbiont abundance observed within and among colonies and reefs. Differences in symbiont standing stock may subsequently explain variation in energetics, growth, reproduction, and stress susceptibility, and may mediate the impacts of environmental change on these outcomes. However, the importance of symbiont abundance has received relatively little recognition, possibly because commonly-used metrics based on surface area (e.g., symbiont cells cm-2) may be only weakly linked to biological phenomena and are difficult to compare across studies. We suggest that normalizing symbionts to biological host parameters, such as units of protein or numbers of host cells, will more clearly elucidate the functional role of symbiont abundance in reef coral symbioses. In this article, we generate testable hypotheses regarding the importance of symbiont abundance by first discussing different metrics and their potential links to symbiosis performance and breakdown, and then describing how natural variability and dynamics of symbiont communities may help explain ecological patterns on coral reefs and predict responses to environmental change.
Intercalation and Exfoliation: A Review on Morphology of Polymer Nanocomposites Reinforced by Inorganic Layer Structures

ABSTRACT This review aims to address the morphology issues of polymer nanocomposites based on inorganic layer structures. Depending upon the degree of dispersion of nano-sized layer structure, polymer composites can be divided into three main categories: microcomposites, intercalated nanocomposites, and exfoliated nanocomposites. The exfoliated nanocomposites can be subdivided into ordered and disordered exfoliations. An intermediate morphology between intercalation and exfoliation, known as partial exfoliation, is also commonly seen. The above differences in morphology lead to significant variations in physical and mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites. This review uses epoxy/clay nanocomposites to illustrate the development and recent achievements in the syntheses and exfoliation of polymer nanocomposites. Herein, a recent study on an epoxy nanocomposite based on synthetic α-zirconium phosphate is reviewed. The potential impact of using the synthetic α -zirconium phosphate as a reinforcement phase to develop fundamental understanding of the physical and mechanical behavior of polymer nanocomposites is discussed.
Development of a nutrition knowledge questionnaire for obese adults

Background and objective The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire for assessing nutritional knowledge among overweight adults. The questionnaire should reveal knowledge about current dietary recommendations, sources of nutrients, everyday food choices, and conditions related to overweight. Design The first draft of the nutrition knowledge questionnaire (113 items) was based on literature review. To ensure content validity and expert-assessed face validity, an expert panel examined the questionnaire. Thereafter, the questionnaire was tested for user friendliness and ambiguity by five students. The questionnaire was pilot tested in a group of obese adults, similar to the target group. The results were analyzed for item difficulty and internal consistency and comments made by respondents were taken into account. Two student groups, differing in nutritional expertise, answered the questionnaire on two occasions to test construct validity and test–retest reliability. After the retest, a total overview of the questionnaire was made by the expert panel. The final questionnaire consisted of 91 items. Subjects The pilot study was conducted in obese adults waiting for a gastric bypass operation (n=33). Construct validity (n=34) and test–retest reliability (n=27) was tested in two student groups: public health nutrition students and construction students. Results Results from the pilot study showed that internal consistency of the three first sections together was 0.84, measured by Cronbach's α. Test of construct validity showed that public health nutrition students scored significantly better than construction students (p<0.001 for all sections), and test–retest reliability for all sections together was 0.82 (Pearson's r). Conclusion The knowledge questionnaire had reasonable content-, face-, and construct validities and overall good reliability. The questionnaire can be a useful tool for measuring nutrition knowledge among obese adults.
Embedded visual schedule application towards autistic children development: A prelimenary study

Organizational skills are essential for every individual to lead an independent life. For autistic individuals, living an independent life is a big challenge. One of the reasons is because of executive dysfunction that they experience. Executive dysfunction is a drawback for autistic individuals in terms of organizational skills. However, it is found that the use of digital organizers may be helpful to enhance these individuals' quality of life. Although there are a few numbers of digital organizers for autistic users in the android market, not many studies were able to proof the effectiveness in engaging autistic users with the tools in global context. Therefore, a conceptual model will be proposed in this study based on related studies. With the aim to explore the potential of digital organizer applications to Malaysian autistic users, this study will be significant in designing appropriate instructional program for autistic children development.