Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Role of RGD-Recognizing Integrins in Cancer

Integrins are key regulators of communication between cells and with their microenvironment. Eight members of the integrin superfamily recognize the tripeptide motif Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) within extracelluar matrix (ECM) proteins. These integrins constitute an important subfamily and play a major role in cancer progression and metastasis via their tumor biological functions. Such transmembrane adhesion and signaling receptors are thus recognized as promising and well accessible targets for novel diagnostic and therapeutic applications for directly attacking cancer cells and their fatal microenvironment. Recently, specific small peptidic and peptidomimetic ligands as well as antibodies binding to distinct integrin subtypes have been developed and synthesized as new drug candidates for cancer treatment. Understanding the distinct functions and interplay of integrin subtypes is a prerequisite for selective intervention in integrin-mediated diseases. Integrin subtype-specific ligands labelled with radioisotopes or fluorescent molecules allows the characterization of the integrin patterns in vivo and later the medical intervention via subtype specific drugs. The coating of nanoparticles, larger proteins, or encapsulating agents by integrin ligands are being explored to guide cytotoxic reagents directly to the cancer cell surface. These ligands are currently under investigation in clinical studies for their efficacy in interference with tumor cell adhesion, migration/invasion, proliferation, signaling, and survival, opening new treatment approaches in personalized medicine.
Endobronchial Valves for Endoscopic Lung Volume Reduction: Best Practice Recommendations from Expert Panel on Endoscopic Lung Volume Reduction

Endoscopic lung volume reduction (ELVR) is being adopted as a treatment option for carefully selected patients suffering from severe emphysema. ELVR with the one-way endobronchial Zephyr valves (EBV) has been demonstrated to improve pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and quality of life in patients with both heterogeneous and homogenous emphysema without collateral ventilation. In this “expert best practices” review, we will highlight the practical aspects of this therapy. Key selection criteria for ELVR are hyperinflation with a residual volume >175% of predicted, forced expiratory volume <50% of predicted, and a 6-min walking distance >100 m. Patients with repeated infectious complications, severe bronchiectasis, and those with unstable cardiovascular comorbidities should be excluded from EBV treatment. The procedure may be performed with either conscious sedation or general anesthesia and positive pressure mechanical ventilation using a flexible endotracheal tube or a rigid bronchoscope. Chartis and EBV placement should be performed in 1 procedure when possible. The sequence of valve placement should be orchestrated to avoid obstruction and delivery of subsequent valves. If atelectasis has not occurred by 1 month after procedure, evaluate valve position on CT and consider replacing the valves that are not optimally positioned. Pneumothorax is a common complication and typically occurs in the first 2 days following treatment. A management algorithm for pneumothorax has been previously published. Long-term sequelae from EBV therapy do occur but are easily manageable.
DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING LINE-BASED TRANSFORMATION MODELS TO REGISTER SATELLITE IMAGES

Advances in remote sensing technologies demonstrated the capability to acquire high quality metric information from satellite images. The IKONOS satellite image, for example, has a pixel size of one meter. The sensor model parameters are not yet released. This motivate the use of empirical transformation models to represent the relationship between image space coordinates and object space coordinates. Most of the employed transformation models are based on point features. However, these transformation models could be driven using linear features. Linear features are easier to digitize than point features and they improve both the geometric strength and the redundancy of the adjustment model. This research investigates the rectification of a single Geo panchromatic IKONOS image using different line-based transformation models. Experiments are conducted using the 2D line-based transformation models using 6 and 8 parameters and the line-based DLT model. Different sets of ground control lines are tested. Results showed that less than two meters horizontal RMSE could be achieved. In addition, insignificant differences are noticed between the transformation parameters computed using the point-based and the line-based transformation models. Results are compared with those of point based transformation model and they are stable.
Agile software product lines: a systematic mapping study

Background: Software product lines and Agile methods have been an effective solution for dealing with the growing complexity of software and handling competitive needs of software organizations. They also share common goals, such as improving productivity, reducing time‐to‐market, decreasing development costs and increasing customer satisfaction. There has been growing interest in whether the integration of Agile and SPL could provide further benefits and solve many of the outstanding issues surrounding software development. Objective: This study investigates the state‐of‐the‐art in Agile SPL approaches, while identifying gaps in current research and synthesizing available evidence. It also provides a basis for a deeper understanding of the issues involved in the integration of Agile and SPL. Method: A mapping study was undertaken to analyze the relation between Agile and SPL methods. A set of four research questions were defined in which the 32 primary studies were evaluated. Results: This study provides insights into the integration of Agile and SPL approaches, it identifies the current gaps in the research, synthesize the available evidence and propose specific Agile methods and practices for integration in SPL. Conclusions: In general, few studies describe the underlying Agile principles being adopted by proposed Agile SPL solutions. The most common Agile practices proposed by the studies came from the XP and Scrum methods, particularly in the pro‐active SPL strategy. We identify certain Agile methods that are being overlooked by the Agile SPL community, and propose specific SPL practices areas suitable for adoption of Agile practices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Linking Learning Styles and Learning on Mobile Facebook.

With continued development of related technologies, Web 2.0 has become an important site of learning innovation. In particular, social networking sites such as Facebook, which have become popular, have the potential to function as an educational tool enabling peer feedback, interaction, and learning in a social context. Preparing appropriate environments for learners with different needs is essential to learning in general and online learning in particular. Yet, in order to create such learning environments, educators must understand differences in students’ learning styles. Although some research focuses on the effects of individual differences such as age and gender on the use of social networking sites, experimental research related to students’ learning styles is still limited. This study used Kolb’s Learning Style Model to investigate differences in student learning outcomes and satisfaction using mobile Facebook for learning, according to learning style. Results showed that participants with “Assimilating” and “Diverging” learning styles performed better than those with “Accomodating” and “Converging” learning styles did and had higher self-efficacy, observational modelling and habit strength toward learning in mobile Facebook. The paper also makes suggestions for integrating mobile Facebook into class and recommendations for future research.
A SOCIO-PRAGMATIC STUDY OF THE USE OF REQUESTS IN ENGLISH BY TUNISIAN EFL LEARNERS

The present study investigates the request behaviour of Tunisian EFL learners (TEFLL). For this purpose, the data were collected using a discourse completion test (DCT). Accordingly, 67 female masters’ students studying at the Faculty of Letters and Humanities in Sfax (Tunisia) were asked to respond in English to six different situations in which they carried out the speech act of request. The data were analyzed by focusing on the directness level of requesting strategies according to the analytical framework of Blum-Kulka, et al (1989). A quantitative analysis of the data showed that the participants perform different request strategies (direct and conventionally indirect according to the social factors (social distance, social power and ranking of imposition) which are very influential in the choice of polite request strategies by TEFLL. The results revealed that, when requests are addressed to people in lower positions, TEFLL tend to use more direct request strategies in performing their request. The findings have also shown that TEFLL prefer to use conventionally indirect strategies in addressing their acquaintances and friends when the ranking of imposition is very high. On the other hand, when the requestee is in a higher position, TEFLL use more indirect strategies to show their respect and deference. Indirect request or negative politeness strategies are used to protect both of the requester and the requestees’ faces. The study has shown that TEFLL responses are influenced by their linguistic and cultural backgrounds; thus, it is suggested that Tunisian learners of English should be aware of the socio-cultural and pragmatic differences between their L1 (Tunisian Arabic) and English learnt as a foreign language.
Parental Perception of the Impact of Television Advertisements on Children’s Buying Behavior

Parents believe that television advertisements are changing the pattern and behavior of children. They have negative impact on children since children demand, nag and pester their parents to purchase the advertised product. Television advertisements are an important factor which drives their product choice and inculcate unhealthy eating habits in them. The present study indicates that Indian children love watching television and prefer it over social interaction, physical and developmental activities. It also indicates that TV advertisements provide children knowledge about products and brands. It demonstrates that children demand more of the product whose advertisements they like. The study was carried out in Indore, a city of Central India, using a sample size of 300 parents and the data were collected through a structured questionnaire.
Effect of enhanced glycemic control with saxagliptin on endothelial nitric oxide release and CD40 levels in obese rats.

AIM Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction contributes to insulin resistance in diabetes and is characterized by reduced nitric oxide (NO) release, increased nitroxidative stress and enhanced inflammation. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of improved postprandial glucose control on EC function in insulin-resistant rats as compared to fasting glucose (FG) changes. METHODS Obese Zucker rats were treated with 10 mg/kg/day saxagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitor, for 4 or 8 weeks and compared to lean rats. NO and peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) release from aortic and glomerular ECs was measured ex vivo using amperometric approaches and correlated with FG, postprandial glucose, insulin, soluble CD40 (sCD40) and L-citrulline levels. RESULTS Saxagliptin treatment improved NO production and reduced ONOO(-) release prior to any observed changes in FG levels. In untreated obese animals, NO release from aortic and glomerular ECs decreased by 22% and 31%, respectively, while ONOO(-) release increased by 26% and 40%. Saxagliptin increased aortic and glomerular NO release by 18% and 31%, respectively, with comparable reductions in ONOO(-) levels; the NO/ONOO(-) ratio, an indicator of NO synthase coupling, increased by >40%. Improved glycemic control was further associated with a reduction in sCD40 levels by more than ten-fold (from 300 ± 206 to 22 ± 22 pg/mL, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION These findings indicate that enhanced glycemic control with DPP4 inhibition improved NO release and reduced inflammation in a manner not predicted by FG changes alone.
Contextual constraint and preview time modulate the semantic preview effect: Evidence from Chinese sentence reading

Word recognition in sentence reading is influenced by information from both preview and context. Recently, semantic preview effect (SPE) was observed being modulated by the constraint of context, indicating that context might accelerate the processing of semantically related preview words. Besides, SPE was found to depend on preview time, which suggests that SPE may change with different processing stages of preview words. Therefore, it raises the question of whether preview time-dependent SPE would be modulated by contextual constraint. In this study, we not only investigated the impact of contextual constraint on SPE in Chinese reading but also examined its dependency on preview time. The preview word and the target word were identical, semantically related or unrelated to the target word. The results showed a significant three-way interaction: The SPE depended on contextual constraint and preview time. In separate analyses for low and high contextual constraint of target words, the SPE significantly decreased with an increase in preview duration when the target word was of low constraint in the sentence. The effect was numerically in the same direction but weaker and statistically nonsignificant when the target word was highly constrained in the sentence. The results indicate that word processing in sentences is a dynamic process of integrating information from both preview (bottom-up) and context (top-down).
Understanding family process: Basics of family systems theory.

PART ONE: THE SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO FAMILIES The Foundations of Family Process Theory The Family as a System An Overview From Cybernetic to Transcybernetic PART TWO: EXPLORING RELATIONAL SPACE Distance Regulation Within the Family System The Regulation of Transactions Across Family Boundaries The Regulation of Vertical Space and Vertical Placement PART THREE: SOCIALIZING CHILDREN AND EACH OTHER Family Meanings and Shared Realities The Socialization Process
Investigation of age-related cognitive decline using mice as a model system: behavioral correlates.

OBJECTIVE With recent advances in molecular genetics, mouse models have been generated for a number of disease states. Recently, the authors and others have begun to examine normal age-related cognitive decline using mice as a model system. In this article, and the companion article that follows, the authors present data intended to better parameterize the aging phenotype in mice and examine the possible underlying neuronal mechanisms with special emphasis on age-related changes in calcium homeostasis. METHODS Young (4-6-month-old) and aged (22-24-month-old) C57BL/6 mice were analyzed in terms of their spatial learning abilities in the hidden platform version of the Morris water maze and the delay win-shift version of the Olton radial arm maze. RESULTS Although aged mice exhibited cognitive impairments in both behavioral tasks used, the extent of impairment differed between the two tasks, which might prove to be advantageous under certain experimental settings. CONCLUSIONS Like in other areas of biomedical research, mice have become an invaluable research tool in the investigation of learning and memory. It is expected that similar benefits can be realized by developing mouse models for age-related cognitive decline.
Cognitive Playfulness, Innovativeness, and Belief of Essentialness: Characteristics of Educators who have the Ability to Make Enduring Changes in the Integration of Technology into the Classroom Environment.

Research on the adoption of innovation is largely limited to factors affecting immediate change with few studies focusing on enduring or lasting change. The purpose of the study was to examine the personality characteristics of cognitive playfulness, innovativeness, and essentialness beliefs in educators who were able to make an enduring change in pedagogy based on the use of technology in the curriculum within their assigned classroom settings. The study utilized teachers from 33 school districts and one private school in Texas who were first-year participants in the Intel® Teach to the Future program. The research design focused on how cognitive playfulness, innovativeness, and essentialness beliefs relate to a sustained high level of information technology use in the classroom. The research questions were: 1) Are individuals who are highly playful more likely to continue to demonstrate an ability to integrate technology use in the classroom at a high level than those who are less playful? 2) Are individuals who are highly innovative more likely to continue to demonstrate an ability to integrate technology use in the classroom at a high level than those who are less innovative? 3) Are individuals who believe information technology use is critical and indispensable to their teaching more likely to continue to demonstrate an ability to integrate technology use in the classroom at a high level than those who believe it is supplemental and not essential? The findings of the current study indicated that playfulness, innovativeness, and essentialness scores as defined by the scales used were significantly correlated to an individual's sustained ability to use technology at a high level. Playfulness was related to the educator's level of innovativeness, as well. Also, educators who believed the use of technology was critical and indispensable to their instruction were more likely to be able to demonstrate a sustained high level of technology integration. Further research is recommended to investigate numerous personality traits, such as playfulness, innovativeness, creativity, and risk-taking that might relate to technology adoption. Doing so may lead to modifications of professional development, assisting individuals in adapting better and faster to systemic change.
Rescue angioplasty after failed fibrinolysis foracute myocardial infarction: Predictors of a failed procedure and 1‐year mortality

Rescue angioplasty (rPCI) for failed fibrinolysis is associated with a low mortality if successful, but a high mortality if it fails. The latter may reflect a high‐risk group or harm in some patients. Predictors of success or failure of rPCI may aid selection of patients to be treated.
The Parent Concerns Questionnaire and Parenting Stress Index: comparison of two Common Assessment Framework-compatible assessment instruments

There is a long‐standing interest in finding ways to develop systematic and consistent means for conducting assessments. Behind this lies a concern with issues such as adequate responses to need, prevention, early intervention and evidence‐based practice. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) has been developed for wide use for families with additional needs, for various contexts, including children's centres. This, however, has been subject to some criticism. Two instruments with considerable potential relevance to areas consistently important in child and family assessment, focusing on parents (and hence likely to be of generic use with CAF), are the Parent Concerns Questionnaire (PCQ), developed specifically in relation to children's social care populations, and Parenting Stress Index (PSI). The way forward is to investigate empirically what they offer to practice. This paper examines their potential for practice in children's centres through a comparative methodology, an approach particularly suitable to identifying the distinctive qualities and contribution of each. The findings demonstrate both have considerable potential relevance for practice, outlines what each offers, with the detailed individual assessments and its ecological framework characteristic of the PCQ providing benefits additional to the PSI.
Effect of Physical Cleanliness and Cognitive Cleanliness on Moral Judgment

Objectives: The present study aimed at examining the individual effect of physical cleanliness and cognitive cleanliness on the severity of moral judgment under the condition of previously induced experimental feelings of disgust. Method: Seventy-five participants were shown 12 disgusting pictures. They were then randomly assigned to one of the three conditions: Condition 1: hand-washing with cognitive cleanliness priming; Condition 2: non-hand-washing with cognitive cleanliness priming; Condition 3: non-hand-washing without cognitive cleanliness priming. Participants were asked to rate six moral dilemmas and the emotion rating for the 12 pictures was collected. Demographic information was obtained and all participants were debriefed before they left. Results: With the experimentally induced feeling of disgust, the mixed effect of physical cleanliness and cognitive cleanliness significantly reduced the severity of moral judgment. When the individual effects were addressed, however, only cognitive cleanliness and not physical cleanliness significantly reduced the severity of moral judgment. Conclusions: Cognitive cleanliness alone reduced the severity of moral judgment by removing the feeling of disgust. Physical cleanliness reduced the severity of moral judgment only when it was considered together with cognitive cleanliness.
Individual differences in infant visual attention : links to child temperament, behaviour and genetic variation

Individual differences in infants’ visual attention have been associated with individual variation in cognition in childhood. However, it has not been explored the degree to which individual variation in newborn and infant visual attention relates to individual differences in some forms of temperament and behaviour in childhood. Furthermore, little is known about the genetic causes of individual differences on newborn and infant visual attention. Chapter 1 will review studies on individual differences in infant visual attention. Chapter 2 will review all genetic studies on infant attention, temperament and behaviour. Chapter 3 will present results of a study that explored the degree to which individual differences in infant mean fixation duration (mean age = 7.69 months) are associated with some forms of temperament and behaviour in childhood (sample mean age = 41.59 months). It was found that infant mean fixation duration predicted positively child effortful control and negatively surgency and hyperactivity-inattention. Chapter 4 will present a study that explored whether individual differences in newborn average dwell time (mean age = 2.20 days) are associated with some forms of temperament and behaviour in childhood (mean age = 90.00 months). Newborn mean dwell time predicted negatively child surgency and behavioural difficulties. Chapters 5 will present analyses that explore the degree to which genome-wide variants previously found to increase the liability for ADHD and schizophrenia are associated with infant mean fixation duration and newborn average dwell time. Τhe findings suggest that individual differences in infant visual attention are linked to attentional and behavioural control in childhood. Results are presented on the genetic mechanisms underlying individual differences in infant attention. Chapter 6 will evaluate critically the findings and will present limitations of this work to inform future studies.