Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide induces shedding of syndecan‐1 expressed by gingival epithelial cells

Syndecans are constitutively shed from growing epithelial cells as the part of normal cell surface turnover. However, increased serum levels of the soluble syndecan ectodomain have been reported to occur during bacterial infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the periodontopathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis to induce the shedding of syndecan‐1 expressed by human gingival epithelial cells. We showed that the syndecan‐1 ectodomain is constitutively shed from the cell surface of human gingival epithelial cells. This constitutive shedding corresponding to the basal level of soluble syndecan‐1 ectodomain was significantly increased when cells were stimulated with P. gingivalis LPS and reached a level comparable to that caused by phorbol myristic acid (PMA), an activator of protein kinase C (PKC) which is well known as a shedding agonist. The syndecan‐1 shedding was paralleled by pro‐inflammatory cytokine interleukin‐1 beta (IL‐1β), IL‐6, IL‐8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) release. Indeed, secretion of IL‐1β and TNF‐α increased following stimulation by P. gingivalis LPS and PMA, respectively. When recombinant forms of these proteins were added to the cell culture, they induced a concentration‐dependent increase in syndecan‐1 ectodomain shedding. A treatment with IL‐1β converting enzyme (ICE) specific inhibitor prevented IL‐1β secretion by epithelial cells stimulated by P. gingivalis LPS and decreased the levels of shed syndecan‐1 ectodomain. We also observed that PMA and TNF‐α stimulated matrix metalloproteinase‐9 secretion, whereas IL‐1β and P. gingivalis LPS did not. Our results demonstrated that P. gingivalis LPS stimulated syndecan‐1 shedding, a phenomenon that may be mediated in part by IL‐1β, leading to an activation of intracellular signaling pathways different from those involved in PMA stimulation. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Validation of a School Readiness Battery for a Referred Sample of Israeli Elementary School Students

A School Readiness Test Battery, comprising the Information and Similarities subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence, selected elements of the Gesell Reading Readiness Test, and the Minkowich Test of Arithmetic Readiness was used to screen a sample of referred candidates for entry into first grade of an Israeli elementary school. The candidates were retested at the end of first grade on a battery of tests of reading and arithmetic skills and achievement. An analysis of intercorrelations among readiness and achievement as well as multiple linear regression analysis indicated that, when a minibattery of the Gesell and Minkowich readiness tests was administered to a referred sample of 77 kindergarten children, superior prediction of school readiness at first grade was obtained.
Examination of Characteristics of News Media under Censorship: A Content Analysis of Selected Chinese Newspapers’ SARS Coverage

This study examines the characteristics of the Chinese print media under censorship on their coverage of the disease of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). With Siebert, Peterson, and Schramm's four theories of the press (Four theories of the press, Urbana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1963) and Shoemaker and Reese's hierarchy model of influences on media content (Mediating the message: Theories of influence on mass media content, New York: Longman, 1996), the authors conduct a content analysis of the coverage of SARS in front pages of the Guangzhou Daily and all pages of the Southern Weekend, respectively, from December 2002 to June 2003 and from February to June 2003. The rationale of choosing these two data sets is that they are both important Chinese newspapers in southern China's Guangdong province where SARS presumably originated. Siebert, Peterson, and Schramm (1963) summarized three ways in which the Soviet Communist Party and government controlled the content of media: (1) its departments of propaganda at various levels appointed editors; (2) the Party, through propaganda departments, issued directives for media content; and (3) the Party reviewed and criticized the press. Our content analysis of the selected newspapers from December of 2002 to June 2003 reveals that the political pressure during this period influenced the newspaper content via three factors, and that the three factors mainly match the three ways concluded by Siebert et al. (1963). Therefore, this study concludes that this three-way model can still be applied to the analysis of the Chinese media system under political influence. However, in addition to the content analysis, the authors believe the information from Chinese editors and journalists about their views of the newspaper coverage of SARS would enhance the strengths of this study.
Environmentally relevant concentration of arsenic trioxide and humic acid promoted tumor progression of human cervical cancer cells: In vivo and in vitro studies

In a previous study, treatment at higher concentrations of arsenic trioxide or co‐exposure to arsenic trioxide and humic acid was found to be inhibited cell growth of cervical cancer cells (SiHa cells) by reactive oxygen species generation. However, treatment at lower concentrations slightly increased cell viability. Here, we investigate the enhancement of progression effects of environmentally relevant concentration of humic acid and arsenic trioxide in SiHa cell lines in vitro and in vivo by measuring cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and the carcinogenesis‐related protein (MMP‐2, MMP‐9, and VEGF‐A) expressions. SiHa cells treated with low concentrations of humic acid and arsenic trioxide alone or in co‐exposure significantly increased reactive oxygen species, glutathione levels, cell proliferation, scratch wound‐healing activities, migration abilities, and MMP‐2 expression as compared to the untreated control. In vivo the tumor volume of either single drug (humic acid or arsenic trioxide) or combined drug‐treated group was significantly larger than that of the control for an additional 45 days after tumor cell injection on the back of NOD/SCID mice. Levels of MMP‐2, MMP‐9, and VEGF‐A, also significantly increased compared to the control. Histopathologic effects of all tumor cells appeared round in cell shape with high mitosis, focal hyperkeratosis and epidermal hyperplasia in the skin, and some tumor growth in the muscle were observed. Our results may indicate that exposure to low concentrations of arsenic trioxide and humic acid is associated with the progression of cervical cancer. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1121–1132, 2016.
Exposure of Trypanosoma brucei to an N-acetylglucosamine-Binding Lectin Induces VSG Switching and Glycosylation Defects Resulting in Reduced Infectivity

Trypanosoma brucei variant surface glycoproteins (VSG) are glycosylated by both paucimannose and oligomannose structures which are involved in the formation of a protective barrier against the immune system. Here, we report that the stinging nettle lectin (UDA), with predominant N-acetylglucosamine-binding specificity, interacts with glycosylated VSGs and kills parasites by provoking defects in endocytosis together with impaired cytokinesis. Prolonged exposure to UDA induced parasite resistance based on a diminished capacity to bind the lectin due to an enrichment of biantennary paucimannose and a reduction of triantennary oligomannose structures. Two molecular mechanisms involved in resistance were identified: VSG switching and modifications in N-glycan composition. Glycosylation defects were correlated with the down-regulation of the TbSTT3A and/or TbSTT3B genes (coding for oligosaccharyltransferases A and B, respectively) responsible for glycan specificity. Furthermore, UDA-resistant trypanosomes exhibited severely impaired infectivity indicating that the resistant phenotype entails a substantial fitness cost. The results obtained further support the modification of surface glycan composition resulting from down-regulation of the genes coding for oligosaccharyltransferases as a general resistance mechanism in response to prolonged exposure to carbohydrate-binding agents.
Parental preferences in school choice: comparing reputational hierarchies of schools in Chile and Finland

Parents evaluate the reputations of the schools when making judgements about their desirability. They try to approximate the quality of schools and the social environment and contrast those with their hopes and fears concerning their child’s education. We aim to clarify how the reputations of schools are constructed in Finland and Chile and what sorts of reputational categories, hierarchies and preferences of schools and classes families form when making a choice. Bernstein’s instrumental and expressive orders are applied as tools to analyse these reputations from qualitative interview data. The amount and type of expressive order turned out to be the crucial factor when comparing schools’ reputations and in the making of choices. While in Chile the expressive-social order in terms of contributing to habitus was seen as the most important factor in constructing school reputations and shaping preferences, in Finland the expressive-personal order in the form of school contentment was highlighted.
Goal Variability and Message Content During Relational Discussions

Discussions about relationship issues are rarely easy, and as in any important conversation, the actions of a relational partner may encourage one to change initial message intentions and behaviors during the course of an interaction. The interrelationship of communication goals and message content was examined through a sequential analysis of 10-minute conversations between 100 dating partners about a relationship problem. After completing survey measures, respondents engaged in a discussion about one partner's problematic behavior. Respondents then reviewed discussions to rate the importance of their communication goals (self-oriented, other-oriented, relational, or task) at 1-minute intervals. Objective coders assessed the grammatical focus of respondents' messages (self, relationship, partner, or task) at the same or adjoining interval. Lag sequential analyses indicated that goal importance defined self-interested or more prorelational content, providing evidence that goals are fluid and communicative behavior is influenced by dyadic interaction.
Comparison of responses of human melanoma cell lines to MEK and BRAF inhibitors

The NRAS and BRAF genes are frequently mutated in melanoma, suggesting that the NRAS-BRAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway is an important target for therapy. Two classes of drugs, one targeting activated BRAF and one targeting MEK, are currently undergoing clinical evaluation. We have analysed the NRAS and BRAF mutational status of a series of 44 early passage lines developed from New Zealand patients with metastatic melanoma. 41% of the lines analysed had BRAF mutations, 23% had NRAS mutations, and 36% had neither. We then determined IC50 values (drug concentrations for 50% growth inhibition) for CI-1040, a commonly used inhibitor of MEK kinase; trametinib, a clinical agent targeting MEK kinase; and vemurafenib, an inhibitor of mutant BRAF kinase. Cell lines with activating BRAF mutations were significantly more sensitive to vemurafenib than lines with NRAS mutations or lines lacking either mutation (p < 0.001). IC50 values for CI-1040 and trametinib were strongly correlated (r = 0.98) with trametinib showing ~100-fold greater potency. Cell lines sensitive to vemurafenib were also sensitive to CI-1040 and trametinib, but there was no relationship between IC50 values and NRAS mutation status. A small number of lines lacking a BRAF mutation were sensitive to CI-1040 but resistant to vemurafenib. We used western blotting to investigate the effect on ERK phosphorylation of CI-1040 in four lines, of vemurafenib in two lines and of trametinib in two lines. The results support the view that MEK inhibitors might be combined with BRAF inhibitors in the treatment of melanomas with activated BRAF. The high sensitivity to trametinib of some lines with wildtype BRAF status also suggests that MEK inhibitors could have a therapeutic effect against some melanomas as single agents.
Building Peer Relationships in Talk: Toddlers’ Peer Conversations in Childcare

How do very young children use talk to create relationship? Are there associations between the quality of children’s relationships and their language use? Do children’s pragmatic abilities relate to other language competencies? This qualitative study addresses these questions using naturalistic data from a daycare setting by looking at the spontaneous peer talk in two overlapping dyads of toddler girls. This analysis indicates that young children have considerable pragmatic skill in using talk to create and maintain relationship. Children’s relational style and language use seem closely connected: the different talk styles of the two dyads instantiate and support their distinct relational styles. Further, different styles of relational talk appear to tap different language abilities. Considered with other studies looking at young children’s language and particularly pragmatic skills, this analysis suggests that young children’s language capabilities in the context of specific relationships merit further attention.
Human kallikrein gene 5 (KLK5) expression is an indicator of poor prognosis in ovarian cancer

Kallikrein gene 5 (KLK5, also known as KLK-L2), located on chromosome 19q13.4, is one of the newly identified members of the kallikrein gene family, which is a subgroup of the serine protease enzyme family. In normal human tissues, KLK5 is highly expressed in skin, mammary gland and testis. Preliminary RT-PCR analysis has indicated that KLK5 is expressed in a subset of ovarian tumours. We have thus hypothesized that KLK5 may be a new prognostic indicator in ovarian cancer. We have examined the mRNA expression of KLK5 in 142 malignant ovarian tissues. Tumours were pulverized, total RNA was extracted, and cDNA was prepared by reverse transcription. KLK5 was amplified by PCR using gene specific primers, and the identity of the PCR product was verified by sequencing. Ovarian tissues were then classified as KLK5 positive or negative, based on ethidium bromide staining of the PCR product on agarose gels. KLK5 was found to be highly expressed in 58/142 (41%) of ovarian cancer samples while its level of expression was very low in normal ovarian tissues. We found a strong positive relation between KLK5 expression and tumour grade (P = 0.006) and disease stage (P = 0.027). Univariate survival analysis revealed that patients with ovarian tumours positive for KLK5 expression had an increased risk for relapse and death (P = 0.018 and 0.022, respectively). In multivariate analysis, KLK5 expression showed independent prognostic value only in the subset of tumours with lower grade disease (grades I and II). We conclude that KLK5 expression is associated with more aggressive forms of epithelial ovarian carcinoma and has indepdent prognostic value in low grade tumours. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign
Antibody‐Mediated Immune Suppression to the Rh Factor: Animal Models Suggesting Mechanism of Action

Antibody mediated immune suppression is not confined to the Rh blood group system of man. On the contrary, there is much evidence that it applies to all mammalian immune systems and has been known to immunologists since the turn of the century.9. 10, 22, 33. 34. 44. 45 However, studies of the effects of passive antibody have given rise to considerable confusion, for evidmce that the very opposite effect is sometimes obtained was clearly demonstrated by Adler.3 Immunization of guinea pigs to rabbit globulin was considerably enhanced when antigen-antibody aggregates were giben. This has been the experience of several other workers 6 . 34, 399 42 and prompted Cohen and Allton8 to warn of the possibility that immunological enhancement could be expected to occur in the human R h system as well. These latter workers found that in the HgA blood group system of rabbits, the injection of antibody-coated HgA-positive cell immunized a greater number of HgAnegative recipients than did uncoated cells. 'This warning was timely, for Clarke et aZ.6 had earlier demonstrated an enhanced impositive baby.6, 7, 11, 16 19, 23 25, 41, 43
The Rise of Relativism: The Future of Theory and Knowledge Development in Social Work

This paper explores a range of paradigms evident in recent debates about social work theory and epistemology, including the positivist, post-positivist, interpretivist, critical, ecological, feminist, poststructural and creative position. While applauding the openness generated by these competing approaches, concerns are raised about the emergence of a meta-paradigm of relativism. After identifying the evidence of this move towards relativism in various paradigms, the potential problems and limitations of this trend for social work are explored. Relativism has, however, played an important role in undermining dogmatic attachments to certain positions and the paper attempts to rescue this useful quality of relativism while combining it with a constructive commitment to creative action.
Bridging the ‘Conceptual–Contextual’ Divide: Security Sector Reform in Liberia and UNMIL Transition

This article discusses the tensions in security sector reform that stem from a conceptual–contextual divide in statebuilding practice. It uses the case of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) drawdown to understand how tensions between international policy and local practice manifest and impact on reform of internal security capacity in real time. The theme of hybridity links the analytical framework with the reality of SSR performance and explains the fallacies of liberal-institutionalist reform choices. Research findings offer important lessons that point towards the need for developing local institutions and capacities in place of externally driven social engineering projects that enhance dependency. This focus on empowering the local complements, and is commensurate with, the ultimate goal of SSR, namely, the reconstruction of legitimate and people-centred security institutions.
Camera-on-rails: automated computation of constrained camera paths

When creating real or computer graphics movies, the questions of how to layout elements on the screen, together with how to move the cameras in the scene are crucial to properly conveying the events composing a narrative. Though there is a range of techniques to automatically compute camera paths in virtual environments, none have seriously considered the problem of generating realistic camera motions even for simple scenes. Among possible cinematographic devices, real cinematographers often rely on camera rails to create smooth camera motions which viewers are familiar with. Following this practice, in this paper we propose a method for generating virtual camera rails and computing smooth camera motions on these rails. Our technique analyzes characters motion and user-defined framing properties to compute rough camera motions which are further refined using constrained-optimization techniques. Comparisons with recent techniques demonstrate the benefits of our approach and opens interesting perspectives in terms of creative support tools for animators and cinematographers.
School-based teacher professional development to transform the teaching of reading comprehension: an Irish case study

Despite recent research indicating that students require explicit teaching in the key reading skill of comprehension in order to become successful readers, a significant gap in the research relates to teacher professional development (PD) in the area. A recent Irish study used gathered survey data to create a year-long PD programme for teachers in reading comprehension strategy instruction (CSI) in one case-study school. This paper will analyse and discuss the PD programme, its impact on the participating teachers’ pedagogy, the teachers’ assessment of the overall in-school continuing professional development (CPD) experience, as well as the overall lessons to be gleaned from the year-long innovative initiative. It is envisioned that the experience of designing, implementing, participating in and reflecting on the CPD initiative on CSI may have some contribution to make to the Irish and international debate on effective models of CPD for teachers, school and education systems.
Classroom Interaction in Science: Teacher questioning and feedback to students’ responses

The purpose of this study was to (a) develop an analytical framework that represents classroom talk and questioning in science, (b) find out how teachers use questioning to engage their students in thinking about conceptual content that enables the construction of knowledge, and (c) identify the various forms of feedback provided by teachers in the follow‐up move of the initiation–response–follow‐up format of teaching exchange. Several lessons from Year 7 classes were observed across a variety of lesson structures such as expository teaching, whole‐class discussions, laboratory demonstration, and hands‐on practical work. The lessons were audiotaped and videotaped. Transcripts of the lessons were made and analysed, with particular attention paid to interactions that involved questions. Using the “Questioning‐based Discourse” analytical framework developed in this study, four different types of feedback were identified. Interactional issues related to ways of speaking and questioning that encourage student responses and thinking are addressed. This information provides a description of what constitutes effective discourse in science teaching and learning, and will also be useful for both teachers and teacher‐educators in identifying an appropriate repertoire of skills for subsequent teacher education and professional development.
The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Counterproductive Behaviors

Little systematic research on personality measures has been directed at investigating whether the Big Five are predictors of counterproductive behaviors such as absenteeism, accidents, deviant behaviors, and turnover. For example, published meta-analyses did not investigate whether the Big Five personality factors predicted these criteria. The results of the meta-analyses carried out here showed that conscientiousness predicted deviant behaviors and turnover, and extroversion, openness, agreeableness and emotional stability predicted the turnover criterion. However, none of the Big Five personality measures were found to be predictors of absenteeism or accidents. The implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed.
Sorting into teacher education: how the institutional setting matters

The pathways of individuals into teaching exhibit several moments of choice that impact crucially on the final composition of the teaching workforce. Though the transition from training into teaching has frequently been studied, the self‐selection into the institutions of teacher education has received little attention until now. Sorting into teacher education plays a major role in the determination of the potential quality of the teaching workforce. The question is, therefore, who is interested in teacher training. The analyses contained in this study are based on a representative sample of 1567 high school students in Switzerland shortly before graduation. The findings indicate that there is systematic self‐selection into teacher training institutions which is principally based on gender, socio‐economic background and high school profile. This sorting is reinforced by the institutional and structural characteristics of the types of higher education institutions and the courses of study they offer. Accordingly, the findings of this paper tend to indicate that, to a large extent, the choices made by future teachers depend also on where and how teachers are trained.