Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cloning and Characterization of the Human Trefoil Factor 3 Gene Promoter

Human trefoil factor 3 (hTFF3) is a small-molecule peptide with potential medicinal value. Its main pharmacological function is to alleviate gastrointestinal mucosal injuries caused by various factors and promote the repair of damaged mucosa. However, how its transcription is regulated is not yet known. The aim of this study was to clone the hTFF3 gene promoter region, identify the core promoter and any transcription factors that bind to the promoter, and begin to clarify the regulation of its expression. The 5′ flanking sequence of the hTFF3 gene was cloned from human whole blood genomic DNA by PCR. Truncated promoter fragments with different were cloned and inserted into the pGL3-Basic vector to determine the position of the core hTFF3 promoter. Transcription element maintaining basic transcriptional activity was assessed by mutation techniques. Protein-DNA interactions were analyzed by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). RNA interference and gene over-expression were performed to assay the effect of transcription factor on the hTFF3 expression. The results showed that approximately 1,826 bp of the fragment upstream of hTFF3 was successfully amplified, and its core promoter region was determined to be from −300 bp to −280 bp through analysis of truncated mutants. Mutation analysis confirmed that the sequence required to maintain basic transcriptional activity was accurately positioned from −300 bp to −296 bp. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that this area contained a Sp1 binding site. Sp1 binding to the hTFF3 promoter was confirmed by ChIP experiments. Sp1 over-expression and interference experiments showed that Sp1 enhanced the transcriptional activity of the hTFF3 promoter and increased hTFF3 expression. This study demonstrated that Sp1 plays an important role in maintaining the transcription of hTFF3.
Written Teacher Feedback: Reflections of Year Seven Music Students

Providing effective feedback to students is a significant issue for Australian educators. The ability to provide effective feedback comprises one of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and is seen as being a key element of quality teaching. Much research has been conducted into what constitutes effective feedback. Yet in spite of this existing knowledge, evidence suggests that feedback continues to be poorly received by students. The overall purpose of this research was to explore how ten Year Seven students (aged 1213) reflected on and responded to written teacher feedback on a music history/appreciation project. Data from this pilot study revealed that students reflected on and responded to feedback based on personal features, task perceptions and individual choices. Findings from this study are relevant to teachers and teacher educators interested in improving classroom feedback practices.
Inferential Motion Control Extended Report on System Identiﬁcation and Robust Control Aspects

Performance requirements in precision motion systems, including those used in IC manufacturing and printing systems, are ever increasing. For instance, internal deformations cannot be neglected anymore. As a result, measured signals at sensor locations cannot be used directly to evaluate performance at the point of interest. The aim of this paper is to develop an inferential motion control framework that explicitly distinguishes between performance variables and measured variables. In the proposed framework, a dynamic model is used to infer the performance variables from the measured variables. As the inferred performance variables depend on the model quality, an identiﬁcation for robust inferential control approach is pursued that tightly captures the uncertainty. Experimental results on a prototype motion system reveal that ignoring internal deformations using traditional motion control design approaches can lead to disastrous performance at the point of interest. In addition, it is shown that the proposed inferential motion control framework leads to high performance at the unmeasurable point of interest.
How accurately are height, weight and leg length reported by the elderly, and how closely are they related to measurements recorded in childhood?

BACKGROUND This paper examines (1) the accuracy of self-reported height, leg length and weight in a group of subjects aged 56-78; (2) whether recent measurement of height and weight influences the accuracy of self-reporting and (3) associations between childhood and adult height, leg length and BMI measured in old age. METHODS All 3182 surviving members of the Boyd Orr cohort were sent postal questionnaires in 1997-1998 and a sub-sample (294) was also clinically examined. RESULTS Self-reported height was overestimated and body mass index (BMI), based on reported height and weight, underestimated. The mean difference between self-report and measured values were for height: 2.1 cm in males and 1.7 cm in females; for BMI the difference was -1.3 kg/m(2) in males and -1.2 kg/m(2) in females. Shorter individuals and older subjects tended to over-report their height more than others. The overweight under-reported their weight to a greater extent. Recent measurement appeared to decrease over-reporting of height but not weight. Correlations between self-report and measured height and BMI were generally over 0.90, but weaker for leg length (r = 0.70 in males and 0.71 in females). Adult height and leg length were quite closely related to their relative values in childhood (correlation coefficients ranged from 0.66 to 0.84), but associations between adult and childhood BMI were weak (r = 0.19 in males and 0.21 in females). CONCLUSIONS Self-reported measures of height and weight may be used in studies of the elderly although systematic reporting errors may bias effect estimates. As overweight individuals tend to under-report and the short and underweight tend to over-report, studies investigating associations of disease with height and weight using self-reported measures will underestimate effects. The weak associations between childhood and adult BMI indicate that associations between childhood adiposity and adult cardiovascular disease found in this cohort may reflect the specific effect of childhood overweight, rather than its persistence into adulthood. This suggests that avoidance of adiposity may be as important in childhood as in adulthood.
On broadcasting with cooperative diversity in multi-hop wireless networks

Cooperative diversity facilitates spatio-temporal communications without requiring the deployment of physical antenna arrays. While physical layer studies on cooperative diversity have been extensive, higher layer protocols which translate the achievable reduction in the SNR per bit for a given target BER, into system wide performance enhancements are yet to mature. The challenge is that appropriate higher layer functions are needed in order to enable cooperative diversity at the physical layer. We focus on network-wide broadcasting with the use of cooperative diversity in ad hoc networks. We design a novel distributed network-wide broadcasting protocol that takes into account the physical layer dependencies that arise with cooperative diversity. We perform extensive simulations that show that our protocol can outperform the best of the noncooperative broadcasting protocols by: (a) achieving up to a threefold increase in network coverage and, (b) by decreasing the latency incurred during the broadcast by about 50%. We also construct an analytical model that captures the behavior of our protocol. Furthermore, we show that computing the optimal solution to the cooperative broadcast problem is NP-complete and construct centralized approximation algorithms. Specifically, we construct an O(N epsi)-approximation algorithm with a computational complexity of O(N4/epsi); we also construct a simpler greedy algorithm. The costs incurred with these algorithms serve as benchmarks with which one can compare that achieved by any distributed protocol
Habit Formation in Consumption and Its Implications for Monetary Policy Models

This paper explores a monetary-policy model with habit formation for consumers, in which consumers' utility depends in part on current consumption relative to past consumption. The empirical tests developed in the paper show that one can reject the hypothesis of no habit formation with tremendous confidence, largely because the habit-formation model captures the gradual hump-shaped response of real spending to various shocks. The paper then embeds the habit-consumption specification in a monetary-policy model and finds that the responses of both spending and inflation to monetary-policy actions are significantly improved by this modification.
Governance in the United States Columbia River Basin: An Historical Analysis

Political and institutional leaders in the Pacific Northwest have struggled over how best to manage Columbia River Basin development and the implications of that development since the early 1900s. Their efforts present a seeming paradox: whereas prominent political and institutional leaders believed some form of regional governance system was necessary, those same leaders refused to establish systems with the decision-making authority necessary to resolve the issues that led them to create the systems in the first place. This study examines the historical record at the institutional level to determine why. This study found twenty-six governance systems proposed since 1933 of which eleven were enacted. Prior to then, a private market oriented system dominated, assisted by supportive federal agencies with jurisdictional authority over individual resource domains. Since 1934, the Basin has experienced an unbroken succession of one governance system or another, at times with multiple systems operating in parallel. This study categorized each system under one of four governance models, distinguished by the locus of decision-making. Transitions from one system to another came about through evolutionary processes or the emergence of circumstances that allowed for dramatic shifts between models. Evolutionary change within models resulted in collapse due to internal structural weaknesses or shifts to improved systems through mutual agreement. Dramatic change between models occurred when a "critical situation" appeared that called existing governance systems into question and allowed new systems to rise in their place. Four such critical situations occurred between 1929 and 1999. These were the onset of the Depression, the end of World War II, the hydrothermal crisis of the mid 1970s, and the first ESA listings of salmon in 1991. This study concluded that the conflicting interests of powerful institutions only partially explain the Basin's governance paradox. Differing worldviews and senses of institutional culture, identity, and values aggravated the conflict over competing interests by shaping the perspectives each party held over the goals and motivations of the others. This study  Download SHARE DISSERTATIONS AND THESES Search Enter search terms: Search
Comparing HBV Viral Load in Serum, Cerumen, and Saliva and Correlation With HBeAg Serum Status in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

Background Hepatitis B is a disease that is prevalent worldwide and is responsible for 10% of the deaths that occur every year. The virus persists in 5% of infected adults and 90% of infected children and can cause chronic hepatitis. In addition to blood, the virus may also be present in other secretions. Transmission through saliva, sexual fluids, and urine has also been confirmed. Objectives The main aim of this study was to compare viral DNA copies in the serum, cerumen, and saliva of patients with HBeAg levels in their sera. Patients and Methods This was a cross-sectional study and subjects were selected by non-randomized methods. Serum, cerumen, and saliva samples were collected from 50 patients who were diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B about a year prior to the study. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to determine the presence of HBsAg and HBeAg in the gathered specimens. Viral DNA was extracted from specimens by using a Qiagen kit. The number of viral DNA copies was determined using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The study was performed in Ilam province in western Iran. Results Twenty-eight percent of the patients were HBeAg positive. The average number of viral copies in serum, cerumen, and saliva was higher in women than in men, and a significant correlation was observed between the gender and average viral copies. However, no significant correlation was observed between viral copies present in the serum and cerumen with the age and gender of patients. In addition, no correlation was observed between serum HBeAg and viral copies present in serum, cerumen, and saliva. The correlation analysis confirmed a direct and definite correlation between viral DNA loads in the patients’ serum and cerumen. Conclusions A significant direct correlation was observed between the viral DNA copies present in patients’ cerumen and serum. However, the correlation between saliva viral load with serum and cerumen viral load was very low and inverse. These findings suggest that the presence of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in non-invasive specimens (such as cerumen and saliva) should also be evaluated when monitoring patients to determine the course of infection and disease.
Turn lost production into profit - discrete event simulation applied on resetting performance in manufacturing systems

World-class utilization of manufacturing resources is of vital importance to any manufacturing enterprise in the global competition of today. This requirement calls for superior performance of all processes related to the manufacturing of products. One of these processes is the resetting of machinery and equipment between two product runs, which will be the focus area of this text. This paper examines to what extent discrete event simulation (DES) can be applied to the evaluation of resetting performance in manufacturing systems. For this purpose, a DES model of a factory unit in Sweden is used for the research trials, derived from real manufacturing situations. During the case study, DES has shown to be a potential tool for the evaluation of resetting processes. The results from the simulation runs provided valuable information for improvement initiatives. Among other findings a solution is proposed, that turns losses into profit.
A Broad Fe Kα Emission Line in the X-Ray Spectrum of the Quasar 3C 273

The Fe Kα line, an important physical diagnostic in the X-ray spectra of active galaxies (AGNs) and quasars, has been notoriously difficult to measure in the high-luminosity, radio-loud quasar 3C 273 (z = 0.158). On the few occasions that it has been detected, its intrinsic width has been thought to be narrow (FWHM < 10,000 km s-1), with an equivalent width (EW) of a few tens of eV. This was consistent with the general trend that as one goes from low- to high-luminosity AGNs, the Fe Kα line goes from being strong (EW ~ 200-300 eV) and broad (FWHM ~ 105 km s-1) to being weak and narrow, or absent altogether. Here we present the results of new ASCA and RXTE observations, together with archival ASCA data, and show for the first time that the Fe Kα line in 3C 273 is as broad as those seen in Seyfert 1 galaxies. The line is resolved in two of the observations, with a mean Gaussian width of 0.8 ± 0.3 keV, corresponding to a FWHM of ~0.3 ± 0.1c. The smallest and largest equivalent widths measured are 43 and 133 eV, respectively (in the quasar frame). The Compton-reflection continuum is less than 10% of that expected from a centrally illuminated semi-infinite, face-on, Compton-thick disk, confirming previous studies that Compton reflection is negligible in 3C 273. The largest values of the Fe Kα line EW are underpredicted if the line originates in the disk, unless a time lag longer than several days between line and continuum and/or an overabundance of Fe is invoked. We cannot unambiguously constrain the disk inclination angle. About 60° is preferred for a cold disk, while a face-on disk is allowed if the ionization state of Fe is H-like.
100 Anomaly , Impulsivity , and Addiction

There are two behavioral approaches to addiction: rational and irrational. The rational approach assumes that addicts have higher time preference rates and lower risk aversion coefficients—parameters that are interpreted as impulsive preferences. On the other hand, the irrational approach argues that addiction is a consequence of anomalies such as non-expected utility and hyperbolically discounted utility. This paper integrates these two approaches and concludes that anomaly and impulsivity complementarily account for addiction.
When Making the Grade Isn’t Enough: The Gendered Nature of Premed Science Course Attrition

Women take qualifying exams and enter medical school at substantially lower levels than predicted by their interest in medical degrees at the end of high school. We examined how science course experiences contribute to gendered attrition in premed using a multicohort data set of 8,253 undergraduates taking the traditional premed sequence of introductory science courses at a public research university between 2008 and 2016. Gendered attrition was not based in academic performance, was specific to high-performing women, and yet was grounded in competency beliefs. The result is that high-performing women often graduate with lower paying, lower status degrees. Motivational interventions in premed science courses will be critical for retaining high-performing women in premed, an important outcome with implications for equity and women’s health.
Quality Improvement for Cardiovascular Disease Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Background The majority of global cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden falls on people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In order to reduce preventable CVD mortality and morbidity, LMIC health systems and health care providers need to improve the delivery and quality of CVD care. Objectives As part of the Disease Control Priorities Three (DCP3) Study efforts addressing quality improvement, we reviewed and summarized currently available evidence on interventions to improve quality of clinic-based CVD prevention and management in LMICs. Methods We conducted a narrative review of published comparative clinical trials that evaluated efficacy or effectiveness of clinic-based CVD prevention and management quality improvement interventions in LMICs. Conditions selected a priori included hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, stroke, rheumatic heart disease, and congestive heart failure. MEDLINE and EMBASE electronic databases were systematically searched. Studies were categorized as occurring at the system or patient/provider level and as treating the acute or chronic phase of CVD. Results From 847 articles identified in the electronic search, 49 met full inclusion criteria and were selected for review. Selected studies were performed in 19 different LMICs. There were 10 studies of system level quality improvement interventions, 38 studies of patient/provider interventions, and one study that fit both criteria. At the patient/provider level, regardless of the specific intervention, intensified, team-based care generally led to improved medication adherence and hypertension control. At the system level, studies provided evidence that introduction of universal health insurance coverage improved hypertension and diabetes control. Studies of system and patient/provider level acute coronary syndrome quality improvement interventions yielded inconclusive results. The duration of most studies was less than 12 months. Conclusions The results of this review suggest that CVD care quality improvement can be successfully implemented in LMICs. Most studies focused on chronic CVD conditions; more acute CVD care quality improvement studies are needed. Longer term interventions and follow-up will be needed in order to assess the sustainability of quality improvement efforts in LMICs.
Lovastatin Reduces Stemness via Epigenetic Reprograming of BMP2 and GATA2 in Human Endometrium and Endometriosis

Objective The stem cell theory in the endometriosis provides an advanced avenue of targeting these cells as a novel therapy to eliminate endometriosis. In this regard, studies showed that lovastatin alters the cells from a stem-like state to more differentiated condition and reduces stemness. The aim of this study was to investigate whether lovastatin treatment could influence expression and methylation patterns of genes regulating differentiation of endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (eMSCs) such as BMP2, GATA2 and RUNX2 as well as eMSCs markers. Materials and Methods In this experimental investigation, MSCs were isolated from endometrial and endometriotic tissues and treated with lovastatin and decitabin. To investigate the osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of eMSCs treated with the different concentration of lovastatin and decitabin, BMP2, RUNX2 and GATA2 expressions were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To determine involvement of DNA methylation in BMP2 and GATA2 gene regulations of eMSCs, we used quantitative Methylation Specific PCR (qMSP) for evaluation of the BMP2 promoter status and differentially methylated region of GATA2 exon 4. Results In the present study, treatment with lovastatin increased expression of BMP2 and RUNX2 and induced BMP2 promoter demethylation. We also demonstrated that lovastatin treatment down-regulated GATA2 expression via inducing methylation. In addition, the results indicated that CD146 cell marker was decreased to 53% in response to lovastatin treatment compared to untreated group. Conclusion These findings indicated that lovastatin treatment could increase the differentiation of eMSCs toward osteogenic and adiogenic lineages, while it decreased expression of eMSCs markers and subsequently reduced the stemness.
Technology characteristics and reverse technology transfer

■ Based on a questionnaire survey directed to foreign R&D units in Swedish MNCs, this paper examines the incidence and determinants of technology transfer from foreign subsidiaries to the home country. ■ Technology characteristics affect both the costs of 'reverse technology transfer' and the appropriability of R&D results. They therefore influence the expected revenue expected from - and the propensity to engage in - such transfer.
FAIRNESS OF AND SATISFACTION WITH PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS

Literature in organizational justice suggest that organizational fairness in decision making processes may encourage employees’ acceptance of and positive reaction to many organizational decisions including decision in human resource interventions such as performance appraisal system. This study seeks to understand how perceived fairness in the performance appraisal process affects employees’ satisfaction. The perception of fairness on performance appraisal was discussed and analysed in the light of theory of organizational justice which consist of procedural, distributive, interpersonal and interaction justice as the independent variables, and employees’ satisfaction as the dependent variable. This study explored employees’ satisfaction as consist of satisfaction with the last performance appraisal ratings, satisfaction toward supervisor in relation with appraisal process and satisfaction toward the performance appraisal system. Data from companies in Malaysia were collected to test these relationships. The findings showed that distributive and informational justice are significantly related to satisfaction with the last appraisal ratings; distributive, interpersonal and informational justice are significantly related to satisfaction with supervision; and distributive and informational justice are related to satisfaction toward the performance appraisal system. It also showed that distributive, interpersonal and informational justice are related to overall employees’ satisfaction. Implication of the justice concerns and practice of a more just performance appraisals are discussed.