Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RNA down regulates miR-15 a / miR-16-1 1 Hepatitis B Viral RNA Directly Mediates Down-Regulation of the Tumor-Suppressor MicroRNA miR-15 a / miR-16-1 in Hepatocytes *

*This work was supported by the China 973 program (2011CB811300, 2012CB910800), the Chinese 111 program grant (B06018) and NIH grants (GM049369, GM052872). 1 These two authors contributed equally to the work. 2 Current address: Center for Genome Analysis, ABLife Inc., 18 North Zhuo-Dao-Quan Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430079, China. 3 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Tel: 858-534-4937; Fax: 858-822-6920; E-mail: xdfu@ucsd.edu. 4 The abbreviations used are: HBV, hepatitis B virus; HBx, hepatitis B virus X protein; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma.
Surface electromyography as a measure of trunk muscle activity in patients with spinal cord injury: a meta-analytic review

Context: Surface electromyography (SEMG) may be a sensitive marker for distinguishing the activity of trunk muscles, which are critical to functional mobility recovery in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Objectives: This manuscript presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literature on the effect of SEMG as a measure of trunk muscle activity in patients with SCI. Methods: A comprehensive search of the research literature included Pubmed, Medline, CNKI, WANFANG DATA, Web of Science, Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, Karger, OVID, and a review of reference lists within found articles. Case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies were included in the review. Results: Eleven studies were included in this meta-analysis. Trunk muscle activities for the sitting condition were greater in patients with SCI than normal subjects. SEMG activity of trunk muscles for the sitting condition and posterior transfer was greater in patients with high level (HL)-SCI compared to those with low level (LL)-SCI. In addition, across studies, the level of trunk muscle activity for various difficulty settings was different for a given SCI group. Conclusion: This systematic review evaluated the value of trunk muscles for patients with SCI. We recommend use of SEMG as an assessment tool for improving the comparability and interpretability of trunk muscle activity of SCI therapeutic strategies.
Characterizing the Heterogeneity of the OpenStreetMap Data and Community

OpenStreetMap (OSM) constitutes an unprecedented, free, geographical information source contributed by millions of individuals, resulting in a database of great volume and heterogeneity. In this study, we characterize the heterogeneity of the entire OSM database and historical archive in the context of big data. We consider all users, geographic elements and user contributions from an eight-year data archive, at a size of 692 GB. We rely on some nonlinear methods such as power law statistics and head/tail breaks to uncover and illustrate the underlying scaling properties. All three aspects (users, elements, and contributions) demonstrate striking power laws or heavy-tailed distributions. The heavy-tailed distributions imply that there are far more small elements than large ones, far more inactive users than active ones, and far more lightly edited elements than heavy-edited ones. Furthermore, about 500 users in the core group of the OSM are highly networked in terms of collaboration.
Processes of senior managers' sensemaking and learning in a transitional economy

The purpose of this paper is to use sensemaking and learning theory to gain insight into how senior Ethiopian managers are coming to terms with radically different political and economic forces. These theories have developed in mature Western contexts and a further purpose is to test their applicability in an African context. The methods employed were detailed data gathering in five cases using semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. The research found that senior managers in the five enterprises constructed very different sense-making patterns about the business environment and about appropriate business strategies depending on the degree of market or state dependency which they perceived. The analysis also reveals how these actors reflected upon the implications of their sense-making for their own and their organizations' future learning and capability development.
Social being and time

1. About Time. 2. Understanding Long-Term Social Change. 3. Meaning, Mind and Matter. 4. Towards a Social Ontology. 5. Concepts of Being. 6. Problems of History and Meaning. 7. Species Being: The Very Long Term. 8. Final Thoughts. Further Reading. Bibliography. Index.
Alternative function for the mitochondrial SAM complex in biogenesis of α-helical TOM proteins

The mitochondrial outer membrane contains two preprotein translocases: the general translocase of outer membrane (TOM) and the β-barrel–specific sorting and assembly machinery (SAM). TOM functions as the central entry gate for nuclear-encoded proteins. The channel-forming Tom40 is a β-barrel protein, whereas all Tom receptors and small Tom proteins are membrane anchored by a transmembrane α-helical segment in their N- or C-terminal portion. Synthesis of Tom precursors takes place in the cytosol, and their import occurs via preexisting TOM complexes. The precursor of Tom40 is then transferred to SAM for membrane insertion and assembly. Unexpectedly, we find that the biogenesis of α-helical Tom proteins with a membrane anchor in the C-terminal portion is SAM dependent. Each SAM protein is necessary for efficient membrane integration of the receptor Tom22, whereas assembly of the small Tom proteins depends on Sam37. Thus, the substrate specificity of SAM is not restricted to β-barrel proteins but also includes the majority of α-helical Tom proteins.
Abilities Within and Across Visual and Verbal Domains: How Specific Is Their Influence on Creativity?

Does visual creativity rely predominantly on visual abilities and verbal creativity on verbal abilities, or is there a cross-over between the domains? Participants (N = 25) performed several visual tasks and verbal ability tests, as well as visual and verbal creativity tests. Both correlation and multidimensional scaling analyses were performed. Visual creativity was found to be related to visual abilities, in particular to restructuring. Verbal creativity was related to verbal ability scores, such as vocabulary and comprehension, but also by vividness scores of the visual imagery questionnaire. These findings are consistent with the notion that visual creativity is largely domain- and task-specific, whereas verbal creativity, even though mostly domain-specific, may, to some extent, be sensitive to processes in the visual domain as well.
The development of narrative productivity, syntactic complexity, referential cohesion and event content in four- to eight-year-old Finnish children

This study focuses on the development of narrative structure and the relationship between narrative productivity and event content. A total of 172 Finnish children aged between four and eight participated. Their picture-elicited narrations were analysed for productivity, syntactic complexity, referential cohesion and event content. Each measure showed a developmental trend. Concerning consecutive age groups, significant differences were observed between four- and five-year-olds in productivity and event content and between five- and six-year-olds in referential cohesion. Multiple regression analysis showed that the relationship between productivity and event content was important, and especially the number of different word tokens proved to be useful in explaining the event content, whereas the number of communication units did not. This suggests that some productivity measures should be interpreted with caution.
ETHNIC IDENTITY AND EXPOSURE TO MALTREATMENT IN CHILDHOOD: EVIDENCE FROM A NEW ZEALAND BIRTH COHORT

Exposure to maltreatment in childhood, including sexual abuse, severe physical punishment and inter-parental violence, is an issue of growing concern in New Zealand. The present study examined the associations between ethnic identity and exposure to childhood maltreatment among a longitudinal birth cohort of individuals born in Christchurch in 1977. Participants of Māori ethnicity reported higher rates of exposure to physical punishment and inter-parental violence, but did not report higher rates of exposure to sexual abuse. Control for a range of socio-economic and family functioning factors reduced the magnitude of the associations between ethnicity and both physical punishment and inter-parental violence, but did not fully account for the associations between ethnicity and maltreatment exposure. Furthermore, adjustment for variations in Māori cultural identity indicated that cohort members of sole Māori identity were at significantly increased risk of exposure to both physical punishment and inter-parental violence. It was concluded that Māori, and in particular those of sole Māori cultural identity, were at higher risk of exposure to physical punishment and inter-parental violence, and that the associations could not be fully explained by either socio-economic deprivation or exposure to family dysfunction in childhood.
Competitive Repetition Suppression (CoRe) Clustering: A Biologically Inspired Learning Model With Application to Robust Clustering

Determining a compact neural coding for a set of input stimuli is an issue that encompasses several biological memory mechanisms as well as various artificial neural network models. In particular, establishing the optimal network structure is still an open problem when dealing with unsupervised learning models. In this paper, we introduce a novel learning algorithm, named competitive repetition-suppression (CoRe) learning, inspired by a cortical memory mechanism called repetition suppression (RS). We show how such a mechanism is used, at various levels of the cerebral cortex, to generate compact neural representations of the visual stimuli. From the general CoRe learning model, we derive a clustering algorithm, named CoRe clustering, that can automatically estimate the unknown cluster number from the data without using a priori information concerning the input distribution. We illustrate how CoRe clustering, besides its biological plausibility, posses strong theoretical properties in terms of robustness to noise and outliers, and we provide an error function describing CoRe learning dynamics. Such a description is used to analyze CoRe relationships with the state-of-the art clustering models and to highlight CoRe similitude with rival penalized competitive learning (RPCL), showing how CoRe extends such a model by strengthening the rival penalization estimation by means of loss functions from robust statistics.
Quantitative Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Erythema Migrans Skin Lesions Using Internally Controlled Duplex Real Time PCR

B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. afzelii, B. garinii and B. bavariensis are the principal species which account for Lyme borreliosis (LB) globally. We have developed an internally controlled duplex quantitative real time PCR assay targeting the Borrelia 16S rRNA and the human RNAseP genes. This assay is well-suited for laboratory confirmation of suspected cases of LB and will be used to assess the efficacy of a vaccine against LB in clinical trials. The assay is highly specific, successfully detecting DNA extracted from 83 diverse B. burgdorferi sensu lato strains representing all major species causing LB, while 21 unrelated microbial species and human genomic DNA tested negative. The assay was highly reproducible and sensitive, with a lower limit of detection of 6 copies per PCR reaction. Together with culture, the assay was used to evaluate paired 3 mm skin biopsy samples taken from 121 patients presenting with solitary erythema migrans (EM) lesion. PCR testing identified more positive biopsy samples than culture (77.7% PCR positive versus 55.1% culture positive) and correctly identified all specimens scored as culture positive. OspA-based typing identified the majority of isolates as B. afzelii (96.8%) and the bacterial load was significantly higher in culture positive biopsies than in culture negative biopsies (P<0.001). The quantitative data also enabled relationships between Borrelia burden and patient symptoms to be evaluated. The bacterial load was significantly higher among patients with systemic symptoms than without (P = 0.02) and was significantly higher for biopsies retrieved from patients with EM lesions with central clearing (P<0.001). 16S copy numbers were moderately lower in samples from patients reporting a history of LB (P = 0.10). This is the first quantitative PCR study of human skin biopsies predominantly infected with B. afzelii and the first study to demonstrate a clear relationship between clinical symptoms in B. afzelii-infected patients and Borrelia burden.
Continued inhibition of radiographic progression in patients with psoriatic arthritis following 2 years of treatment with etanercept.

OBJECTIVE Clinical and radiographic responses were evaluated in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treated for up to 2 years with etanercept. METHODS Patients were previously randomized to receive placebo or etanercept in a double-blind study and chose to participate in the current open-label extension phase. All patients received etanercept 25 mg twice weekly. Radiographic progression was determined at baseline, 1 year, and 2 years using the Sharp method modified to include joints frequently affected in PsA. Arthritis and psoriasis responses were determined using American College of Rheumatology 20% (ACR20) improvement criteria, PsA response criteria (PsARC), and the psoriasis area severity index (PASI). RESULTS Of 205 patients randomized, 169 entered open-label, and 141 [71 randomized to receive placebo (placebo/etanercept) and 70 randomized to receive etanercept (etanercept/etanercept)] had radiographic data available for analysis at 2 years. ACR20 criteria, PsARC, and PASI 50 criteria were met by 64%, 84%, and 62%, respectively, of etanercept/etanercept patients at the end of the 48-week open-label period. Placebo/etanercept patients achieved comparable results within 12 weeks that were sustained at 48 weeks (63%, 80%, and 73%). Radiographic progression was inhibited in the etanercept/ etanercept patients (mean adjusted change in total Sharp score of -0.38 from baseline to 2 yrs). In placebo/etanercept patients, disease progression was inhibited once patients began receiving etanercept (mean adjusted change of -0.22 from 1 year to 2 years). Adverse event rates were similar to those observed during randomized phase, with only one serious adverse event deemed possibly related to etanercept. CONCLUSION These data demonstrate a sustained benefit of etanercept treatment, including inhibition of radiographic progression, in patients with PsA.
Motives to Remain Platonic, Equity, and the Use of Maintenance Strategies in Opposite-Sex Friendships

This study examined maintenance strategies used by hetero-sexual participants in opposite-sex friendships. Individual reasons for adhering to a platonic relational definition and equity were used to predict maintenance behaviors. Factor analyses revealed six reasons for maintaining opposite-sex friendships as platonic: Not Attracted, Network Disapproval, Time Out, Safeguard Relationship, Third Party, and Risk Aversion. Relying on equity theory, we also investigated maintenance strategies of Support, No Flirting, Share Activity, Openness, Avoidance, and Positivity according to equity group membership. Finally, both motives and inequity (overbenefitedness and underbenefitedness) were associated with the use of six maintenance strategies. Results revealed that positive and proactive maintenance behaviors were used in equitable (versus under-or overbenefited) friendships and that reasons for maintaining the platonic nature of opposite-sex friendships predict maintenance strategies that friends employ. In particular, Safeguard Relationship was a consistent predictor of maintenance behaviors. (ln)equity also predicted the use of four maintenance strategies. Overall, support was found for using people's motives in conjunction with equity to predict relational maintenance strategies of opposite-sex friends.
The impact of term‐time employment on higher education students’ academic attainment and achievement

Term‐time employment among Britain’s undergraduates is a growing phenomenon but it has received scant attention from government and policy makers. Although there are numerous studies on the subject, few have explored the impact of term‐time employment on students’ actual attainment and those that have are limited. This article attempts to fill that gap. Using data derived from 1000 students in six UK universities, it quantifies the impact of students’ paid work on their actual marks and degree results, while controlling for their academic attainment on entry to higher education and other factors including their hours of work. It shows that irrespective of the university students attended, term‐time working had a detrimental effect on both their final year marks and their degree results. The more hours students worked, the greater the negative effect. Consequently, students working the average number of hours a week were a third less likely to get a good degree than an identical non‐working student. Some of the least qualified and poorest students are most adversely affected perpetuating existing inequalities in HE. The 2006/07 changes to student finances may help some of them, but term‐time employment is likely to remain part of the HE landscape.
Gene Expression and MicroRNA Expression Analysis in Small Arteries of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats. Evidence for ER Stress

Small arteries are known to develop functional and structural alterations in hypertension. However, the mechanisms of this remodeling are not fully understood. We hypothesized that altered gene expression is associated with the development of hypertension in mesenteric arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Three sublines of SHR and normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) were studied at 6 weeks and 5 months of age. MiRNA and mRNA microarray experiments were performed and analyzed with bioinformatical tools, including Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Principal component analysis showed a clear separation in both miRNA and mRNA expression levels between both ages studied, demonstrating strong age-related changes in expression. At the miRNA level, IPA identified differences between SHR and WKY related to metabolic diseases, cellular growth, and proliferation. The mRNAs differentially expressed between SHR and WKY were related to metabolism, cellular movement and proliferation. The most strongly upregulated gene (9.2-fold) was thrombospondin 4 (Thbs4), a protein involved in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response that activates transcription factor 6α (ATF6α). ATF6α downstream targets were also differentially expressed in SHR vs. WKY. Differential expression of THBS4, the cleaved form of ATF6α, and two of its targets were further confirmed at the protein level by western blot. In summary, these data revealed a number of genes (n = 202) and miRNAs (n = 3) in mesenteric arteries of SHR that had not been related to hypertension previously. The most prominent of these, Thbs4, is related to vascular ER stress that is associated with hypertension.
Smoking, Stigma and Social Class

Abstract The decline in cigarette smoking in high-income countries is attributed to the increasing social unacceptability of smoking, a cultural shift in which tobacco control policies are identified as playing a major part. While seen as essential to protect public health, there is a growing appreciation that these polices may have contributed to a social climate in which smoking is stigmatised. The paper reviews this debate on smoking and stigma. It notes that individuals are represented by their smoking status; other social differences are typically treated as secondary. Thus, while the links between disadvantage and smoking are acknowledged, social class remains on the margins of the debate. The paper argues instead that class provides an essential analytic lens through which to understand the stigma of smoking and the stigmatising impacts of tobacco control policies. In support of its argument, it discusses how the stigmatisation of smoking has occurred against a backdrop of widening socioeconomic differentials in smoking and the increasing importance of the body and behaviour in public discourses about social class and moral worth. The paper concludes by underlining the importance of embedding tobacco control research and policy in an appreciation of social class, and social inequalities more broadly.
Deep Private-Feature Extraction

We present and evaluate Deep Private-Feature Extractor (DPFE), a deep model which is trained and evaluated based on information theoretic constraints. Using the selective exchange of information between a user's device and a service provider, DPFE enables the user to prevent certain sensitive information from being shared with a service provider, while allowing them to extract approved information using their model. We introduce and utilize the log-rank privacy, a novel measure to assess the effectiveness of DPFE in removing sensitive information and compare different models based on their accuracy-privacy trade-off. We then implement and evaluate the performance of DPFE on smartphones to understand its complexity, resource demands, and efficiency trade-offs. Our results on benchmark image datasets demonstrate that under moderate resource utilization, DPFE can achieve high accuracy for primary tasks while preserving the privacy of sensitive information.
Emotional intelligence and academic attainment of British secondary school children: a cross-sectional survey

Trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) covers a wide range of self-perceived skills and personality dispositions such as motivation, confidence, optimism, peer relations and coping with stress. In the last few years, there has been a growing awareness that social and emotional factors play an important part in students’ academic success and it has been claimed that those with high scores on a trait EI measure perform better. This research investigated whether scores on a questionnaire measure of trait EI were related to school performance in a sample of British pupils. Results showed that high performing students had higher trait EI scores than low performing students and that some aspects of trait EI (motivation and low impulsivity) as well as total trait EI were significant predictors of academic achievement after controlling for prior attainment at school. Therefore, initiatives to develop the emotional and social abilities of schoolchildren might be worthwhile and more effective than concentrating solely on teaching and curriculum activities.
Cooperative Learning in Small Groups: Recent Methods and Effects on Achievement, Attitudes, and Ethnic Relations

Five recently published methods for conducting cooperative small-group learning in the classroom, and the experimental studies conducted by the authors of these methods are examined, evaluated, and compared in this study. The five methods are: Aronson’s Jigsaw classroom, DeVries’ Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT), Slavin’s Student Teams and Academic Divisions (STAD), the Johnsons’ cooperative learning approach, and the Sharans’ Small-group Teaching method. The former three methods are categorized as Peer-Tutoring methods, while the latter two are classified as examples of a Group-Investigation (G-I) approach. Findings are considered from experimental studies with these five methods, in terms of their differential effects on academic achievement, students’ attitudes, and on ethnic relations in desegregated classrooms. The implications of the distinction between Peer-Tutoring and G-I methods are explored. New directions for research are suggested with these cooperative small-group techniques which appear to exert noteworthy effects on a variety of cognitive and social-affective variables.