Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
C/EBPβ promotes angiogenesis through secretion of IL‐6, which is inhibited by genistein, in EGFRvIII‐positive glioblastoma

To study the mechanisms underlying the IL‐6‐promoted angiogenic microenvironment in EGFRvIII‐positive glioblastoma, VEGF expression in EGFRvIII‐positive/negative tumors was determined by optical molecular imaging. Next, the HUVEC tube formation assay, Western blot, qPCR, RNA silencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter and ELISA assays were performed to examine the role of IL‐6 and C/EBPβ in the formation of the angiogenic microenvironment in EGFRvIII‐positive tumors. Finally, in vitro and in vivo genistein treatment experiments were conducted to challenge the interaction between the IL‐6 promoter and C/EBPβ. Optical imaging revealed greater VEGF expression in EGFRvIII‐positive tumor‐bearing mice, suggesting an angiogenic microenvironment. In vitro experiments demonstrated that C/EBPβ‐mediated regulation of IL‐6 was indispensable for maintenance of this angiogenic microenvironment. In contrast, genistein‐mediated upregulation of CHOP impeded C/EBPβ interaction with the IL‐6 promoter, thus disturbing the angiogenic microenvironment. This more malignant microenvironment in EGFRvIII glioblastoma is generated, at least in part, by greater VEGF, IL‐6 and C/EBPβ expression. Interaction of C/EBPβ with the IL‐6 promoter maintains this angiogenic microenvironment, while disturbance of this dynamically balanced interaction inhibits EGFRvIII tumor proliferation by reducing both VEGF and IL‐6 expression.
Exploring and Understanding the Abstract by Direct Manipulation of the Concrete

In schools and in universities, there will always remain a certain very abstract, but highly relevant content. Remarkable percentages of learners, therefore, are facing severe difficulties and need some substantial support. The paper demonstrates an involved case of learning some of the most abstract contents in higher education by means of exploratory direct manipulation. Direct manipulation technologies allow for touching media objects, for moving, modifying and combining them, and for–even playfully–exploring the behavior of mechanisms. Webble technology has been used to represent content and to implement direct manipulation functionalities. The implementation reported is in practical use within some moodle environment.
Marginalization from Within: Expanding Co-cultural Theory Through the Experience of the Afro Punk

Co-cultural theory serves as an analytical framework that looks at culture as an uneven site of communicative relations. One of its central assumptions is that societies are structured in hierarchical terms. This creates a dominant position for certain cultural groups while other groups are marginalized. In this article, the author examines the possibility of applying co-cultural theory to co-cultural groups that are marginalized in a larger co-cultural context. The author uses the documentary Afro Punk as a case study that underlines the importance of examining the multi-leveled power determinations that complicate our understanding of co-cultural communication.
Pre‐vitamin D3 effective ultraviolet transmission through clothing during simulated wear

Background/purpose: Clothing is an important protective layer used to reduce ultraviolet (UV) exposures to the skin surface. However, not all UV exposure is linked to detrimental health effects with some exposure to UVB wavelengths below 316 nm required for the synthesis of pre‐vitamin D3. The aim of the current research was to investigate the effect of fabric type, color, fit, and wetness on the transmission of pre‐vitamin D3 effective UV through garments during simulated wear, in a high UV exposure environment.
Use of Translational Fusion of the MrpH Fimbrial Adhesin-Binding Domain with the Cholera Toxin A2 Domain, Coexpressed with the Cholera Toxin B Subunit, as an Intranasal Vaccine To Prevent Experimental Urinary Tract Infection by Proteus mirabilis

ABSTRACT This is a follow-up to our previous study using an intranasal vaccine composed of MrpH, the tip adhesin of the MR/P fimbria, and cholera toxin to prevent urinary tract infection by Proteus mirabilis (X. Li, C. V. Lockatell, D. E. Johnson, M. C. Lane, J. W. Warren, and H. L. Mobley, Infect. Immun. 72:66-75, 2004). Here, we have expressed a cholera toxin-like chimera in which the MrpH adhesin-binding domain (residues 23 to 157) replaces the cholera toxin A1 ADP-ribosyltransferase domain. This chimera, when administered intranasally without additional adjuvant, is sufficient to induce protective immunity in mice.
Explaining the visible and the invisible: Public knowledge of genetics, ancestry, physical appearance and race in Colombia

Using data from focus groups conducted in Colombia, we explore how educated lay audiences faced with scenarios about ancestry and genetics draw on widespread and dominant notions of nation, race and belonging in Colombia to ascribe ancestry to collectivities and to themselves as individuals. People from a life sciences background tend to deploy idioms of race and genetics more readily than people from a humanities and race-critical background. When they considered individuals, people tempered or domesticated the more mechanistic explanations about racialized physical appearance, ancestry and genetics that were apparent at the collective level. Ideas of the latency and manifestation of invisible traits were an aspect of this domestication. People ceded ultimate authority to genetic science, but deployed it to work alongside what they already knew. Notions of genetic essentialism co-exist with the strategic use of genetic ancestry in ways that both fix and unfix race. Our data indicate the importance of attending to the different epistemological stances through which people define authoritative knowledge and to the importance of distinguishing the scale of resolution at which the question of diversity is being posed.
An Interactive Region-Based Image Clustering and Retrieval Platform

Content-based image retrieval has become an important part of information retrieval technology. Images can be viewed as high dimensional data and are usually represented by their low-level features. How to effectively find the semantic meanings of images is a central challenge in the area. In this paper, we propose an interactive platform for region-based image clustering and retrieval. A genetic algorithm is used to perform the initial clustering. In order to further refine the clustering results, we adopt the maximum flow/minimum cut theorem from graph theory to do outlier/outlier group detection. Outlier detection can help identify misclustered image segments and is used to improve the quality of clusters in this paper. In the interactive retrieval phase, user feedback is used to dynamically locate candidate images from clusters and outliers/outlier groups. Through relevance feedback, more information is gathered and fed to the learning algorithm-one-class SVM. Experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed platform
The Reflective Assignment: Unlocking Pre-Service English Teachers' Beliefs On Grammar Teaching

Recently, there has been a call for teacher education programs to acknowledge student teachers' prior knowledge and personal understandings as having an influential role in developing them as teachers. This is important because in many countries around the world, the method of teaching English has changed over the years from an emphasis on overt grammar instruction in the past to a more communicative approach in recent times. However, many pre-service teachers have been educated in English by traditional methods of drill and memorization of grammar rules. So there can be a mismatch between what the students have learned in the past and what they are presented in the teacher education program. An important question then arises as to how these prior experiences, often tacit, can be made more conscious and integrated into the curriculum. This paper shows how pre-service teachers' beliefs in Singapore were unlocked by the use of a three-part reflective assignment. The paper starts with a brief discussion of teachers' beliefs. Next, the study is outlined, including the course, the assignment and the student teachers' past experiences. Finally, the student teachers' reflections of their actual teaching experiences are outlined and discussed.
Automated chemiluminescence-immunoassay for aldosterone during dynamic testing: comparison to radioimmunoassays with and without extraction steps.

BACKGROUND Measurements of aldosterone have become more common since the recognition that primary aldosteronism is a more frequent cause of hypertension than previously believed. Our aim was to compare concentrations reported by 4 assays for samples obtained after saline infusion during dynamic testing. METHODS We tested 104 participants (27 with primary aldosteronism, 30 with essential hypertension, and 47 healthy controls) with the intravenous saline infusion test (2.0 L isotonic saline over 4 h), with repetitive sampling. In all blood samples, aldosterone concentration was measured by an in-house RIA after extraction and chromatography, by 2 commercially available RIAs without extraction (Aldosterone Maia, Adaltis; Active Aldosterone, Diagnostics Systems Laboratories) and by an automated CLIA (Advantage, Nichols Institute Diagnostics). RESULTS Correlation coefficients for results of pairs of assays ranged from 0.74 to 0.98. Agreement between commercial assays and in-house RIA was best at the low to intermediate concentrations after saline infusion. Mean (SD) Adaltis and DSL RIA results were 2- to 3-times higher [healthy participants: 78 (25) ng/L and 56 (18) ng/L, respectively] than those obtained by Nichols CLIA [17 (8) ng/L] and in-house RIA [23 (18) ng/L]. Aldosterone concentrations measured by the Nichols CLIA were below the limit of detection (limit of the blank) in 27 of 47 healthy participants. CONCLUSIONS Aldosterone concentrations reported by the Adaltis and DSL nonextraction RIAs were consistently higher than those produced by the Nichols CLIA and the in-house RIA. The convenient Nichols CLIA showed better agreement with the in-house RIA, but the concentrations in healthy participants were frequently undetectable by this method. Uncritical application of cutoff values from the literature must be avoided.
Autophosphorylation and kinase activity of insulin receptor in diabetic rats.

Insulin resistance is observed in insulin-deficient diabetic states in spite of an increase in insulin binding to its target cells. To characterize this type of insulin resistance, autophosphorylation and kinase activity of the insulin receptor on liver was studied with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced and BB diabetic rats. Insulin binding capacity was increased in proportion to the severity of the diabetic state in the STZ rat. In the diabetic BB rat, the insulin binding capacity was also increased, and this was partially normalized by insulin treatment. By contrast, insulin-stimulated autophosphorylation of the beta-subunit of the insulin receptor was decreased in proportion to the severity of the diabetic state in the STZ rat. Peptide mapping by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography revealed a decrease in labeling at all sites of autophosphorylation. Kinase activity of the insulin receptor to exogenous substrates was also decreased in proportion to the diabetic state. In the BB rat, autophosphorylation and kinase activity of the insulin receptor were both decreased in the diabetic state and partially normalized by insulin treatment. In addition to the beta-subunit of insulin receptor, a 170 kdalton phosphotyrosine-containing protein was also identified in the glycoprotein fraction of liver. Although the phosphorylation of this protein was not insulin dependent, it was decreased markedly in the diabetic state. This protein is immunologically distinct from the insulin receptor, but is rich in phosphotyrosine. Based on its size and phosphotyrosine content, this protein may be the epidermal growth factor receptor. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Effectiveness of interventions to improve patient compliance: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES This article summarizes the results of 153 studies published between 1977 and 1994 that evaluated the effectiveness of interventions to improve patient compliance with medical regimens. METHODS The compliance interventions were classified by theoretical focus into educational, behavioral, and affective categories within which specific intervention strategies were further distinguished. The compliance indicators broadly represent five classes of compliance-related assessments: (1) health outcomes (eg, blood pressure and hospitalization), (2) direct indicators (eg, urine and blood tracers and weight change), (3) indirect indicators (eg, pill count and refill records), (4) subjective report (eg, patients' or others' reports), and (5) utilization (appointment making and keeping and use of preventive services). An effect size (ES) r, defined as Fisher's Z transformation of the Pearson correlation coefficient, representing the association between each intervention (intervention versus control) and compliance measure was calculated. Both an unweighted and weighted r were calculated because of large sample size variation, and a combined probability across studies was calculated. RESULTS The interventions produced significant effects for all the compliance indicators (combined Z values more than 5 and less than 32), with the magnitude of effects ranging from small to large. The largest effects (unweighted) were evident for refill records and pill counts and in blood/urine and weight change studies. Although smaller in magnitude, compliance effects were evident for improved health outcomes and utilization. Chronic disease patients, including those with diabetes and hypertension, as well as cancer patients and those with mental health problems especially benefited from interventions. CONCLUSIONS No single strategy or programmatic focus showed any clear advantage compared with another. Comprehensive interventions combining cognitive, behavioral, and affective components were more effective than single-focus interventions.
Long-Term Incarceration Impacts and Characteristics of Long-Term Offenders

The responses long-and short-term inmates make to incarceration and differences in the responses made by distinct subgroups were examined. Prison inmates in three large maximum security institutions reported their levels of stress (anxiety, depression, psychosomatic illnesses, fear), adjustment (prisonization), criminal history, self-esteem, and demographic characteristics. Inmates new to prison who anticipated serving long terms in prison were found to report higher levels of stress and lower self-esteem than did inmates who had already completed long terms in prison. Short-term inmates new to prison reported less depression and fewer psychosomatic illnesses in comparison to new inmates with long sentences. Distinct subgroups of long-term offenders (lifers versus habituals) could be identified on the basis of demographics and past history. However, these groups did not differ in stress, adjustment, or self-esteem. It was concluded that inmates who were new to prison but anticipated serving long sentences in prison experienced the most stress. Inmates who had received long sentences and had already served a lengthy time in prison appeared to have developed a method of coping with the experience.
A New Generation of FRET Sensors for Robust Measurement of Gαi1, Gαi2 and Gαi3 Activation Kinetics in Single Cells

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) can activate a heterotrimeric G-protein complex with subsecond kinetics. Genetically encoded biosensors based on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) are ideally suited for the study of such fast signaling events in single living cells. Here we report on the construction and characterization of three FRET biosensors for the measurement of Gαi1, Gαi2 and Gαi3 activation. To enable quantitative long-term imaging of FRET biosensors with high dynamic range, fluorescent proteins with enhanced photophysical properties are required. Therefore, we use the currently brightest and most photostable CFP variant, mTurquoise2, as donor fused to Gαi subunit, and cp173Venus fused to the Gγ2 subunit as acceptor. The Gαi FRET biosensors constructs are expressed together with Gβ1 from a single plasmid, providing preferred relative expression levels with reduced variation in mammalian cells. The Gαi FRET sensors showed a robust response to activation of endogenous or over-expressed alpha-2A-adrenergic receptors, which was inhibited by pertussis toxin. Moreover, we observed activation of the Gαi FRET sensor in single cells upon stimulation of several GPCRs, including the LPA2, M3 and BK2 receptor. Furthermore, we show that the sensors are well suited to extract kinetic parameters from fast measurements in the millisecond time range. This new generation of FRET biosensors for Gαi1, Gαi2 and Gαi3 activation will be valuable for live-cell measurements that probe Gαi activation.
Broca's Area in Language, Action, and Music

The work of Paul Broca has been of pivotal importance in the localization of some higher cognitive brain functions. He first reported that lesions to the caudal part of the inferior frontal gyrus were associated with expressive deficits. Although most of his claims are still true today, the emergence of novel techniques as well as the use of comparative analyses prompts modern research for a revision of the role played by Broca's area. Here we review current research showing that the inferior frontal gyrus and the ventral premotor cortex are activated for tasks other than language production. Specifically, a growing number of studies report the involvement of these two regions in language comprehension, action execution and observation, and music execution and listening. Recently, the critical involvement of the same areas in representing abstract hierarchical structures has also been demonstrated. Indeed, language, action, and music share a common syntactic‐like structure. We propose that these areas are tuned to detect and represent complex hierarchical dependencies, regardless of modality and use. We speculate that this capacity evolved from motor and premotor functions associated with action execution and understanding, such as those characterizing the mirror‐neuron system.
Send Orders of Reprints at Reprints@benthamscience.ae the Migration of Chemical Contaminants from Polyethylene Bags into Food during Cooking

Cooking food in polyethylene bags has of late substituted banana leaves in Uganda. However, such a practice is risky as chemical contaminants may migrate from polyethylene bags into food during cooking causing health complications. Therefore, this study was done to identify and quantify the levels of chemical contaminants (heavy metals) in black and green polyethylene bags. Polyethylene bags were ashed and digested with acid and heavy metal concentrations determined using an AAS. Samples analyzed contained heavy metals with concentrations ranging between; 1125-1725, 76-112, 35-52, 18-31 ppm for Pb, Cd, Cr and Co respectively. Heavy metal migration studies into posho cooked in the black polyethylene bags was done at 65 o C (T 1), 80ºC (T 2) and 95 o C (T 3). The highest migrated heavy metal concentrations 120.60, 12.25, 9.45 and 15.42 ppm for Pb, Cd, Cr and Co respectively were obtained at T 3 at the surface of the posho cube (0.5cm) after 5 hours of heating. While the lowest values for Pb (10.60 ppm), Cd (1.26 ppm), Cr (0.20 ppm) and Co (1.55 ppm) were obtained at T 1 towards the centroid of the posho cube (1.5 cm) after 2 hours of heating. Pb migrated highest followed by Co, Cr and Cd. Though small quantities migrated, over a long period of time they may accumulate in the body and cause health complications to the victims. To make this research of substantial importance to the polyethylene bag user, the findings were disseminated through media to the general public.
Emotional and Behavioral Problems Related to Smartphone Overuse in Elementary School Children

최근 모바일 시장이 급속도로 확장되며 컴퓨터에 비해 접 근성이 뛰어난 스마트폰이 빠른 속도로 보급되고 있다. 2013 년 국내 스마트폰 보급률은 67.6%로 전 국민의 2/3가 스마트 폰을 소지하고 있었다. 2012년 방송통신위원회와 한국인터 넷진흥원이 만 12~59세 사이 스마트폰 이용자를 대상으로 실시한 ‘스마트폰 이용실태조사’에 따르면 신규 이용자 중 12 세에서 19세가 24.6%로 전년 11.6%에 비해 10% 이상 증가하 여 아동과 청소년의 스마트폰 이용 비중이 크게 증가하였다. 스마트폰은 인터넷과 통신을 결합시킨 새로운 형태의 미 디어로 기존의 휴대전화 기능에 전용 운영체제를 탑재하여 다양한 개인 맞춤형 응용프로그램의 운영이 가능한 이동형 멀티미디어다. 스마트폰은 컴퓨터와 기존 핸드폰 기능 외 에 동영상, 음악, 게임, 사회적 네트워킹 등의 다양한 기능을 언제 어디서나 쉽게 접근하여 이용할 수 있는 장점 때문에 현 대인들에게 필수품이 되어가고 있다. 스마트폰 보급률의 증 가로 다양한 문제들이 나타나고 있다. 2012년 미래창조과학 부에서 실시한 인터넷중독 실태조사에 따르면 10~19세 청소 년 18.4%가 스마트폰에 중독되어 있으며 이는 성인의 9.1% 에 비해 2배 가량 높은 수치였다. 2013년 한국정보화진흥원 조사에서도 스마트폰 중독률이 8.4%로 인터넷 중독률(7.7%) 을 넘어서고 있으며 청소년 스마트폰 중독률은 18.4%로 전 년대비 7.0% 증가하여 아동청소년의 스마트폰 중독의 심각 성이 부각되고 있다. 1964년 세계보건기구(World Health Organization)는 중 독을 ‘자연 혹은 인공적인 약물의 반복적인 사용으로 야기되 는 일시적 혹은 만성적인 중독(intoxication) 상태’라고 정의 하였다. 이후 중독의 개념은 약물 혹은 물질의 개념을 넘어 서 게임, 도박 등의 행위중독 개념으로 확장되고 있다. DiagORIGINAL ARTICLE
When Race and Religion Collide: The Effect of Religion on Interracial Friendship during College.

This study analyzes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen (NLSF) to examine whether religious affiliation and involvement are related to the outcome of interracial friendship in the fourth year of college. When controlling for students’ demographic characteristics, institutional characteristics, and previous levels of interracial friendship, being Protestant or Jewish was negatively related to interracial friendship. In addition, students who reported higher levels of religious salience and involvement in campus religious organizations were significantly less likely to have close friends of another race by the fourth year of college. Findings highlight the need for educators to understand the role of religion in shaping students’ precollege and college experiences with diversity.
Young Children's Conceptions of Transgressions with Friends and Nonfriends

The aim of this study was to investigate young children's conceptions of friendship and transgressions. A total of 48 preschool children were asked, in an interview, to cite reasons for their friendships and nonfriendships, to provide judgements and evaluations of transgressions involving friends and nonfriends, and to indicate preferences for conflict resolving strategies for friends and nonfriends. Results of interviews indicated that young children do make conceptual distinctions between friends and nonfriends in terms of judgements and justifications concerning transgressions. The overall pattern of results suggests that children are forming and utilising conceptions of friendship that are invoked when evaluating social transgressions in the preschool years.
Bile leakage presenting as acute abdomen due to a stone created around a migrated surgical clip.

BACKGROUND Surgical clips may migrate into the common bile duct after surgery for cholecystolithiasis leading to usually early or middle-term complications. CASE REPORT A 31-year-old woman, 6 years after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, developed acute abdomen and choloperitoneum after rupture of a secondary bile duct and bile leakage. This complication was due to a solitary common bile duct stone. The stone was formed around a surgical clip that had migrated from the cystic duct remnant to the common bile duct. The patient underwent investigative laparotomy and, subsequently, an ERCP with stone extraction and clearance of the common bile duct. She was perfectly well at the follow-up after 14 months. CONCLUSIONS Rupture of a bile duct and biliary peritonitis may be a delayed complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy due to surgical clip migration and formation of a stone. Definitive treatment of the condition may be achieved through ERCP. Surgeons, gastroenterologists and radiologists should be aware of this late complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in cases of acute abdomen.