Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cullin 4A is associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition and poor prognosis in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma

AIM To explore the functional role of cullin 4A (CUL4A), a core subunit of E3 ubiquitin ligase, in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHCC). METHODS The expression of CUL4A in PHCC cell lines was evaluated by Western blot and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was adopted to investigate the relationship between CUL4A expression and clinicopathological characteristics of PHCC. Univariate analysis and multivariate regression analysis were performed to analyze the risk factors related to overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of PHCC patients. Wound healing, Transwell and Matrigel assays were utilized to explore the function of CUL4A in PHCC metastasis. Furthermore, expression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers was verified in cells with CUL4A knockdown or overexpression. The relationship between CUL4A expression and E-cadherin expression was also analyzed by IHC assay. Finally, the role of ZEB1 in regulating CUL4A mediated PHCC was detected by IHC, Western blot, Transwell and Matrigel assays. RESULTS CUL4A overexpression was detected in PHCC cell lines and clinical specimens. Clinicopathological analysis revealed a close correlation between CUL4A overexpression and tumour differentiation, T, N and TNM stages in PHCC. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that high CUL4A expression was correlated with poor OS and PFS of PHCC patients. Univariate analysis identified the following four parameters as risk factors related to OS rate of PHCC: T, N, TNM stages and high CUL4A expression; as well as three related to PFS: N stage, TNM stage and high CUL4A expression. Further multivariate logistic regression analysis identified high CUL4A expression as the only independent prognostic factor for PHCC. Moreover, CUL4A silencing in PHCC cell lines dramatically inhibited metastasis and the EMT. Conversely, CUL4A overexpression promoted these processes. Mechanistically, ZEB1 was discovered to regulate the function of CUL4A in promoting the EMT and metastasis. CONCLUSION CUL4A is an independent prognostic factor for PHCC, and it can promote the EMT by regulating ZEB1 expression. CUL4A may be a potential therapeutic target for PHCC.
Recall of physical activity advice was associated with higher levels of physical activity in colorectal cancer patients

Objectives The present study tested the hypothesis that recall of receiving physical activity (PA) advice would be associated with higher levels of PA in patients with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Setting Colorectal cancer patients who were diagnosed in 2010 or 2011, and had been treated in the English National Health Service (NHS). Participants 17 753 respondents completed at least one section of the survey relevant to the current study and after exclusion of 171 with dementia (since results relied on recall), 15 254 had complete data for the current study. 60% were male, 67% were >65 years and 96% were from a white ethnic group. Primary and secondary outcome measures Patients completed the ‘Living with and Beyond Colorectal Cancer’ Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) survey in 2013. The survey included questions on receiving exercise advice/information (‘PA advice’), and the frequency of currently doing at least 30 min of brisk PA per day (‘PA level’: 0, 1–4 or 5–7 days, within the past week; with the top category meeting UK guidelines). Results A third of respondents (31%) recalled receiving PA advice. Independent of demographics and treatment, patients who recalled having PA advice were more likely to be currently doing some brisk PA (51% in the advice group vs 42% in the no advice group; OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.60 to 1.90; p<0.001), and more likely to be meeting PA guidelines (25% vs 20%; OR 1.70, CI 1.54 to 1.88; p<0.001). Conclusions Recalling being given PA advice after a diagnosis of CRC was associated with higher levels of PA. However, less than a third of patients recalled receiving advice. Future research should examine the context in which advice is given and randomised trials are required. However, encouraging clinicians working with patients with CRC to give brief PA advice is warranted and may help improve outcomes for CRC survivors.
Hard-Object Feeding in Sooty Mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) and Interpretation of Early Hominin Feeding Ecology

Morphology of the dentofacial complex of early hominins has figured prominently in the inference of their dietary adaptations. Recent theoretical analysis of craniofacial morphology of Australopithecus africanus proposes that skull form in this taxon represents adaptation to feeding on large, hard objects. A modern analog for this specific dietary specialization is provided by the West African sooty mangabey, Cercocebus atys. This species habitually feeds on the large, exceptionally hard nuts of Sacoglottis gabonensis, stereotypically crushing the seed casings using their premolars and molars. This type of behavior has been inferred for A. africanus based on mathematical stress analysis and aspects of dental wear and morphology. While postcanine megadontia, premolar enlargement and thick molar enamel characterize both A. africanus and C. atys, these features are not universally associated with durophagy among living anthropoids. Occlusal microwear analysis reveals complex microwear textures in C. atys unlike those observed in A. africanus, but more closely resembling textures observed in Paranthropus robustus. Since sooty mangabeys process hard objects in a manner similar to that proposed for A. africanus, yet do so without the craniofacial buttressing characteristic of this hominin, it follows that derived features of the australopith skull are sufficient but not necessary for the consumption of large, hard objects. The adaptive significance of australopith craniofacial morphology may instead be related to the toughness, rather than the hardness, of ingested foods.
ENSO as a mediator of the solar influence on climate

Using a climate model of intermediate complexity, we simulate the response of the El Niño -Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system to solar and orbital forcing over the Holocene. Solar forcing is reconstructed from radiocarbon production rate data [Bond et al., 2001], using various scaling factors to account for the conflicting estimates of solar irradiance variability [Fröhlich and Lean, 2004]. As estimates of the difference since the Maunder Minimum range from 0.05 % to 0.5 % of the solar "constant" , we consider these two extreme scenarios, along with the intermediate case of 0.2%, corresponding to differences of, respectively, 0.17, 0.68 and 1.7 Wm−2, in terms of top-of-the-atmosphere insolation. We show that for large or moderate forcings, the low-passed filtered east-west sea-surface temperature gradient along the equator responds linearly to irradiance forcing, with a phase lag of less than a year. In contrast, the 0.05%case shows no significant variability above that inherent to the model’s chaotic behavior. Wavelet analysis suggests a statistically-significant enhancement of the century-to-millenial scale ENSO variability for moderate-to-strong irradiance forcing. Orbitally-driven insolation forcing is found to produce a long-term trend of increased ENSO variability from the early Holocene onwards. It adds approximately linearly to the solar response. Given the importance of ENSO in the climate system, the results suggest a potentially significant mechanism for longterm solar irradiance variability as a driver of natural climate change. A comparison to key Holocene climate records, from the Northern Hemisphere subtropics and midlatitudes, show support for this hypothesis. D R A F T April 13, 2006, 5:09pm D R A F T EMILE-GEAY ET AL.: SOLAR-MODULATED ENSO X 3
Nanostructure and microstructure of laser-interference-induced dynamic patterning of Co on Si

We have investigated the nanostructure and microstructure resulting from simultaneous ns laser irradiation with deposition of Co films on Si(001) substrates. The spatial order and length scales of the resulting nanopatterns and their crystalline microstructure were investigated as a function of film thickness h and laser energy density E using a combination of atomic force, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopies. The results could be classified into two distinct categories based on the laser energy density used. It was observed that the thickness-dependent E required to melt the Co film (ECo) was lower than for Si (ESi) primarily because of the higher reflectivity of Si. Consequently, for energy densities ECo < E1 < ESi that preferentially melted the Co film, spatially ordered nanoparticles were formed and were attributed to capillary-driven transport in the liquid phase. The ordering length scale corresponded to the interference fringe spacing Λ and the microstructure was primarily Co metal and a metal-rich silicide phase. The native oxide layer played an important role in minimizing the Co–Si reaction. For laser energy densities E2 ⩾ ESi, spatially ordered patterns with periodic length scales L < Λ were observed and resulted from interference of an incident laser beam with a beam transmitted into the Si substrate. These nanopatterns showed one- as well as two-dimensional spatial ordering of the nanostructures. The microstructure in this laser energy regime was dominated by silicide formation. These results suggest that various nanostructures and microstructures, ranging from nearly pure metal to a Si-rich silicide phase, can be formed by an appropriate choice of the laser energy simultaneously with film growth.
Invisible Wounds of War Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery

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The effect of service ram on reproductive performances and birth weight of lambs

: The investigation was conducted in population of Mis breed of sheep, divided into three groups. For reproduction had use rams of Ile de France breed. Induction and synchronization of oestrus was done off-season in October. The percentage of lambing sheep, sheep fertility, and number of lambs acquired per father, sex and birth type of lambs were observed. Ram 1 had a highest number of ewes lambed with an excellent percentage of mating success and highest fertility rate of ewes with differences on fertility rate of 17% (between group of ewes in ram 1 and ram 2), 36% (group of ewes in ram 1 and ram 3) and 19% (group of ewes in ram 2 and ram 3). The highest birth weight were on lambs born single from ram 3, born twins from ram1, triplets of ram 3. For the lambs born quadruplets (unfortunately only in rams 1 and 2 with one lamb of each was alive) the lamb of ram 2 was higher in birth weight. The male and female lambs of ram 3 got the highest birth weight while the female lambs of ram 1 acquired the lowest birth weight. The highest average birth weight of lambs was born single, male; born triplets’ male from lambs of ram 3 having an average birth weight of 6.36kg and 4.0 kg but got the lowest for lambs born twins on female lambs 3.66 kg. The male lambs of ram 1 got the highest average birth weight on lambs born twins with an average birth weight of 4.38 kg but the lowest on triplets born 3.3kg. Unfortunately only one each of the two ram with lambs born quadruplets alive both male and the higher was that lamb of ram 2 with a birth weight of 3.3 kg. Result showed the influence of ram on number of lambs born and lambs’ birth weight. Between subject effects Father* birth type showed a significant effect on birth weight of lambs.
Construction and Nonclinical Testing of a Puumala Virus Synthetic M Gene-Based DNA Vaccine

ABSTRACT Puumala virus (PUUV) is a causative agent of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Although PUUV-associated HFRS does not result in high case-fatality rates, the social and economic impact is considerable. There is no licensed vaccine or specific therapeutic to prevent or treat HFRS. Here we report the synthesis of a codon-optimized, full-length M segment open reading frame and its cloning into a DNA vaccine vector to produce the plasmid pWRG/PUU-M(s2). pWRG/PUU-M(s2) delivered by gene gun produced high-titer neutralizing antibodies in hamsters and nonhuman primates. Vaccination with pWRG/PUU-M(s2) protected hamsters against infection with PUUV but not against infection by related HFRS-associated hantaviruses. Unexpectedly, vaccination protected hamsters in a lethal disease model of Andes virus (ANDV) in the absence of ANDV cross-neutralizing antibodies. This is the first evidence that an experimental DNA vaccine for HFRS can provide protection in a hantavirus lethal disease model.
ITS-2 secondary structures and phylogeny of Anopheles culicifacies species

Background: Second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) has proven to contain useful biological information at higher taxonomic levels. Objectives: This study was carried out to unravel the biological information in the ITS2 region of An. culicifacies and the internal relationships between the five species of Anopheles culicifacies. Methodology: In achieving these objectives, twenty two ITS2 sequences (~370bp) of An. culicifacies species were retrieved from GenBank and secondary structures were generated. For the refinement of the primary structures, i.e. nucleotide sequence of ITS2 sequences, generated secondary structures were used. The improved ITS2 primary structures sequences were then aligned and used for the construction of phylogenetic trees. Results and discussions: ITS2 secondary structures of culicifacies closely resembled near universal eukaryotes secondary structure and had three helices, and the structures of helix II and distal region of helix III of ITS2 of An. culicifacies were strikingly similar to those regions of other organisms strengthening possible involvement of these regions in rRNA biogenesis. Phylogenetic analysis of improved ITS2 sequences revealed two main clades one representing sibling B, C and E and A and D in the other. Conclusions: Near sequence identity of ITS2 regions of the members in a particular clade indicate that this region is undergoing parallel evolution to perform clade specific RNA biogenesis. The divergence of certain isolates of An. culicifacies from main clades in phylogenetic analyses suggests the possible existence of camouflaged sub-species within the complex of culicifacies. Using the fixed nucleotide differences, we estimate that these two clades have diverged nearly 3.3 million years ago, while the sibling species in clade 2 are under less evolutionary pressure, which may have evolved much later than the members in clade 1.
Sensitivity of CO2 excretion to blood flow changes in trout is determined by carbonic anhydrase availability.

The blood transit time through the gills of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was modified by manipulation of cardiac output (Vb). The experiments tested the hypothesis that efficiency of CO2 excretion is sensitive to changes in blood flow owing to chemical equilibrium limitations. An extracorporeal blood shunt was used to continuously monitor blood gases in fish in which Vb was elevated (by 13.3 +/- 2.4 ml x min(-1) x kg(-1)) by intravascular saline injection or reduced (by 10.8 +/- 1.8 ml x min(-1) x kg(-1)) by removal of plasma. The arterial partial pressure of CO2 (Pa(CO2); an index of CO2 excretion efficiency) was increased with elevated Vb and was decreased with reduced Vb such that the changes in Pa(CO2) exhibited a significant positive sigmoidal relationship with the changes in Vb (r2 =0.75; P < 0.05). In contrast, there was no significant relationship between changes in the arterial partial pressure of O2 (Pa(O2); an index of O2 uptake efficiency) and changes in Vb (r2 = 0.07; P > 0.05). The intravenous administration of carbonic anhydrase (CA; 10 mg/kg) before vascular volume loading eliminated the increase in Pa(CO2) with increased Vb that was observed in control fish.
The population of dark matter subhaloes: mass functions and average mass-loss rates

Using a cosmological N-body simulation and a sample of resimulated cluster-like haloes, we study the mass-loss rates of dark matter subhaloes, and interpret the mass function of subhaloes at redshift zero in terms of the evolution of the mass function of systems accreted by the main halo progenitor (hereafter called the 'unevolved subhalo mass function'). When expressed in terms of the ratio between the mass of the subhalo at the time of accretion, m v , and the present day host mass, M 0 , the unevolved subhalo mass function is found to be universal, in that it is independent of the mass of the host halo. However, the subhalo mass function at redshift zero (hereafter called the 'evolved subhalo mass function') clearly depends on M 0 , in that more massive host haloes host more subhaloes. In order to relate the unevolved and evolved subhalo mass functions, we measure the subhalo mass-loss rate as a function of host mass and redshift. We find that the average, specific mass-loss rate of dark matter subhaloes depends mainly on redshift, with only a very weak dependence on the instantaneous ratio between the mass of the subhalo, m sb , and that of the host halo at that time M v . In fact, to good approximation, subhalo masses 'decay' exponentially, with a decay time that is proportional to the instantaneous dynamical time of the host halo. Combined with the fact that more massive haloes assemble later, these results suggest a pleasingly simple picture for the evolution and mass dependence of the evolved subhalo mass function. Less massive host haloes accrete their subhaloes earlier, which are thus subjected to mass-loss for a longer time. In addition, their subhaloes are typically accreted by denser hosts, which causes an additional boost of the mass-loss rate. To test the self-consistency of this picture, we use semi-analytical merger trees constructed using the extended Press-Schechter formalism, and evolve the subhalo populations using the average mass-loss rates obtained from our simulations. The resulting subhalo mass functions are found to be in good agreement with the simulations. Our model can be applied to semi-analytical methods of galaxy formation, to accurately follow the time evolution of subhalo masses.
Religiosidade, estratégias de coping e satisfação com a vida: Verificação de um modelo de influência em estudantes universitários

CONTEXTO: O ambiente universitário pode muitas vezes favorecer o desenvolvimento de problemas de saúde mental, uma vez que os universitários são submetidos a intenso nível de estresse e carga cognitiva. OBJETIVO: Verificar a influência da religiosidade na satisfação com a vida e na adoção de estratégias para lidar com os problemas. MÉTODOS: Estudo quantitativo com coleta de dados utilizando instrumentos psicométricos validados com 588 estudantes universitários de 18 a 63 anos. Foi utilizada a técnica de modelagem de equações estruturais para verificar um modelo de influência. RESULTADOS: Os resultados indicam que a Religiosidade influencia positivamente e de forma significativa a Satisfação com a Vida, bem como a adoção de Estratégias para Enfrentamento de Problemas. Os resultados não são generalizáveis, entretanto constituem evidência empírica da importância da religiosidade em termos de saúde mental. CONCLUSÃO: De forma geral, esta pesquisa pretendeu verificar um modelo teórico sistêmico, o qual hipotetizava uma interdependência entre as variáveis Religiosidade, Coping e Satisfação com a vida que se comprovou. Com isso, acredita-se que os resultados observados, teoricamente, sustentam as propostas sugeridas pela psicologia positiva.
Cross-Border Banking and Global Liquidity

We investigate global factors associated with bank capital flows. We formulate a model of the international banking system where global banks interact with local banks. The solution highlights the bank leverage cycle as the determinant of the transmission of financial conditions across borders through banking sector capital flows. A distinctive prediction of the model is that local currency appreciation is associated with higher leverage of the banking sector, thereby providing a conceptual bridge between exchange rates and financial stability. In a panel study of 46 countries, we find support for the key predictions of our model.
A brief study and comparison of Snort and Bro Open Source Network Intrusion Detection Systems

Security administration plays a vital role in network management tasks. The intrusion detection systems are primarily designed to protect the availability, confidentiality and integrity of critical network information systems. There are plenty of IDSes to choose from, both commercial and open source. Since most of the commercial intrusion detection systems are at typically thousands of dollars and they tend to represent a significant resource requirement in themselves, for small networks, use of such IDS is not feasible. Therefore mostly open source IDS are being used. This paper provides a general working behaviour, features and comparison of two most popular open source network IDS - SNORT & BRO. Keywords-alerts, intrusion, logging, network traffic, open source, packets
Participatory Online Surveillance as a Supplementary Tool to Sentinel Doctors for Influenza-Like Illness Surveillance in Italy

The monitoring of seasonal influenza yearly epidemics remains one of the main activity of national syndromic surveillance systems. The development of internet-based surveillance tools has brought an innovative approach to seasonal influenza surveillance by directly involving self-selected volunteers among the general population reporting their health status on a weekly basis throughout the flu season. In this paper, we explore how Influweb, an internet-based monitoring system for influenza surveillance, deployed in Italy since 2008 has performed during three years from 2012 to 2015 in comparison with data collected during the same period by the Italian sentinel doctors surveillance system.