Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The multiple roles of autophagy in cancer

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved, catabolic process that involves the entrapment of cytoplasmic components within characteristic vesicles for their delivery to and degradation within lysosomes. Autophagy is regulated via a group of genes called AuTophaGy-related genes and is executed at basal levels in virtually all cells as a homeostatic mechanism for maintaining cellular integrity. The levels and cargos of autophagy can be modulated in response to a variety of intra- and extracellular cues to bring about specific and selective events. Autophagy is a multifaceted process and alterations in autophagic signalling pathways are frequently found in cancer and many other diseases. During tumour development and in cancer therapy, autophagy has paradoxically been reported to have roles in promoting both cell survival and cell death. In addition, autophagy has been reported to control other processes relevant to the aetiology of malignant disease, including oxidative stress, inflammation and both innate and acquired immunity. It is the aim of this review to describe the molecular basis and the signalling events that control autophagy in mammalian cells and to summarize the cellular functions that contribute to tumourigenesis when autophagy is perturbed.
Security Requirements for RFID Computing Systems

Many security and privacy protocols for RFID systems have been proposed [8, 13, 19, 20]. In most cases these protocols are evaluated in terms of security based on some model. Often the model was introduced by the creator of the protocol, in some cases borrowing parameters from the protocol for model parameters. Moreover, the models that are discussed may represent only one aspect of the necessary security services that are needed in an RFID system. Here we describe several of the security requirements that are needed in an RFID system. Further, we model these requirements. These models incorporate security requirements that include privacy of tag data, privacy of ownership, and availability of tag identity. We also construct less restrictive versions of many of these models to reflect the security needed for some less security-intensive RFID applications. Finally, we compare our model to Juels’ models [13], Avoine’s models [4] and Ohkubo et al.’s models [20].
Contrasting effects of solar radiation on dissolved organic matter and its bioavailability to marine bacterioplankton

The effect of ultraviolet radiation on the bioavailability of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to marine bacterioplankton was investigated in the Mediterranean Sea (Strait of Gibraltar, South and North Aegean Sea) and in the Caribbean Sea off Curacao. Surface‐water samples (collected between 1 and 85 m in depth) exposed to solar radiation did not show a distinct pattern in subsequent bacterial growth. However, samples collected from a pronounced chlorophyll maximum (two stations in the Strait of Gibraltar and four stations in the Aegean Sea) displayed in a 50% lower bacterial activity in the radiation‐exposed treatments compared with the dark controls. In contrast, mesopelagic water samples (200–350 m in depth) exposed to surface solar radiation exhibited a two‐ to fourfold increase in bacterial activity compared with the corresponding dark controls. Addition of the model protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) to mesopelagic‐water samples and subsequent exposure to solar radiation resulted in a 50% lower rate of bacterial activity compared with the dark treatments, thus indicating the occurrence of photochemically induced changes to this labile compound. This decrease in bacterial activity in BSA‐amended, irradiated water was also detectable in surface waters sampled off Curaçao, whereas BSA amendment to surface water from the Mediterranean Sea did not result in a distinct pattern of bacterial activity.
How do minor mergers promote inside-out growth of ellipticals, transforming the size, density profile and dark matter fraction?

There is observational evidence for inside-out growth of giant elliptical galaxies since z & 2 3, which is - in contrast to disk galaxies - not driven by in-situ star formation. Many of the � 10 11 M⊙ systems at high redshift have small sizes � 1kpc and surface brightness profiles with low Sersic indices n. The most likely descendants at z = 0 have, on average, grown by a factor of two in mass and a factor of four in size, indicating r / Mwith α & 2. They also have surface brightness profiles with n & 5. This evolution can be qualitatively explained on the basis of two assumptions: compact ellipticals predominantly grow by collisionless minor (mass-ratio 1:10) or intermediate (mass-ratio 1:5) 'dry' mergers, and they are embedded in massive dark matter halos which support the stripping of merging satellite stars at large radii. We draw these conclusions from idealized collisionless mergers spheroidal galaxies - with and without dark matter - with mass ratios of 1:1, 1:5, and 1:10. The sizes evolve as r / Mwith α 8 (n � 5.5 without dark matter), reaching a final value of n = 9.5 after doubling the stellar mass. This is accompanied by a significant increase of the dark matter fraction (from � 40 per cent to & 70 per cent) within the stellar half- mass radius, driven by the strong size increase probing larger, dark matter dominated regions. For equal-mass mergers the effect is much weaker. We conclude that only a few intermediate mass-ratio mergers (� 3 5 with initial mass-ratios of 1:5) of galaxies embedded in massive dark matter halos can result in the observed concurrent inside-out growth and the rapid evolution in profile shapes. This process might explain the existence of present day giant ellipticals with sizes, r > 4kpc, high Sersic indices, n > 5, and a significant amount of dark matter within the half-light radius. Apart from negative stellar metallicity gradients such a 'minor' merger scenario also predicts significantly lower dark matter fractions for z � 2 compact quiescent galaxies and their rare present day analogues.
PARTIAL SUMS OF CERTAIN MEROMORPHIC FUNCTIONS

The purpose of the present paper is to establish some results concerning the partial sums of meromorphic starlike and meromorphic convex functions analogous to the results due to H. Silverman [ J. Math. Anal. Appl.209(1997), 221-227]. Furthermore, we consider the partial sums of certain integral operator.
A comprehensive interface definition framework for software components

Component bused software engineering (CBSE) represents an exciting and promising paradigm for software development, attracting much interest and effort from industrial practice and scientific research. Software components are one of the key issues in CBSE. While practical, the current component models are limited in providing support for CBSE. We introduce a framework aimed at comprehensive interface modelling for software components in the context of CBSE. This framework deals with interface signature, interface constraints, interface packaging and configurations, and non functional properties of software components.
Evaluating the Employment Impact of Business Incentive Programs in EU Disadvantaged Areas. A case from Northern Italy

Business incentive programs have been increasingly popular within the EU as regional economic development tools to promote employment growth in areas with severely distressed and/or declining socio-economic conditions. Reliable evidenced on the effective net employment impact of such initiatives are greatly needed to help refining future intervention as, to these days, European policy makers' decisions can mostly be supported only by monitoring and survey analyses. This paper proposes a method of analysis to assess the employment impact of the business incentive initiatives implemented in the EU areas with declining industrial production (EU 'Objective 2' areas). The proposed method is a comparison-group evaluation approach that uses panels of employment data aggregated by geographic areas (similarly to the evaluation approach successfully adopted by recent studies of the US Enterprise Zone Programs). Details of the proposed method of analysis are illustrated through an empirical application: the evaluation of the business incentive program co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund in the 'Objective 2' areas of the Piedmont region (Italy). Results from such application prove the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed method for impact evaluation analyses with longitudinal data, and highlight how the Piedmont's business incentive program did not significantly affect employment in the 'Objective 2 areas'.
Essays on Public Education Expenditure, Trade Openness and Economic Growth of India

This study addresses some of the widely debated issues in the empirical education and trade literature in the context of India. Chapter 3 examines the impact of public education expenditure and trade openness on economic growth of India using aggregate or country level data. The estimation results indicate that public education expenditure has a positive effect on growth but the impact is not very robust and sensitive to different estimation methods. The major contribution of this chapter to the existing literature has been to establish the dynamism in India’s trade-growth nexus. The nature of the relationship between trade openness and economic growth of India has changed following the change in policy regime since the 1980s. In Chapter 4, I investigate the trade-growth nexus further by employing disaggregated level analysis. Firstly, I disaggregate GDP by agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors and try to check which sector benefitted most from trade openness. Secondly, I try to assess whether trade openness affects manufacturing sector growth at the Indian state level. The latter analysis has been conducted using panel model analysis for 22 states. Econometric analysis indicates that the effect of trade openness has been heterogeneous across sectors. Only the services sector seemed to have reaped the benefits of increasing openness, so far. Consequently, no significant relationship could be found between agricultural sector performance and trade openness. It seems that the agricultural sector suffers from gross underinvestment and its performance still relies heavily on the monsoon cycles. At the country level, manufacturing sector failed to take advantage of the trade openness but the picture of stagnancy is not uniformly true when we look at the state-level manufacturing performance. I therefore re-estimate the relationship between state-level manufacturing
Reproducibility of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Measurements in Malignant Breast Masses

This study aimed to evaluate the reproducibility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements in malignant breast masses, and to determine the influence of mammographic parenchymal density on this reproducibility. Sixty-six patients with magnetic resonance findings of the mass were included. Two breast radiologists measured the ADC of the malignant breast mass and the same area on the contralateral normal breast in each patient twice. The effects of mammographic parenchymal density, histology, and lesion size on reproducibility were also assessed. There was no significant difference in the mean ADC between repeated measurements in malignant breast masses and normal breast tissue. The overall reproducibility of ADC measurements was good in both. The 95% limits of agreement for repeated ADCs were approximately 30.2%-33.4% of the mean. ADC measurements in malignant breast masses were highly reproducible irrespective of mass size, histologic subtype, or coexistence of microcalcifications; however, the measurements tended to be less reproducible in malignant breast masses with extremely dense parenchymal backgrounds. ADC measurements in malignant breast masses are highly reproducible; however, mammographic parenchymal density can potentially influence this reproducibility.
Sums of extreme values of subordinated long-range dependent sequences: moving averages with finite variance

In this paper we study the limiting behavior of sums of extreme values of long range dependent sequences defined as functionals of linear processes with finite variance. If the number of extremes in a sum is large enough, we obtain asymptotic normality, however, the scaling factor is relatively bigger than in the i.i. d case, meaning that the maximal terms have relatively smaller contribution to the whole sum. Also, it is possible for a particular choice of a model, that the scaling need not to depend on the tail index of the underlying marginal distribution, as it is well-known to be so in the i.i. d. situation. Furthermore, subordination may change the asymptotic properties of sums of extremes.
Barriers to horizontal cell transformation by extracellular vesicles containing oncogenic H-ras

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) enable the exit of regulatory, mutant and oncogenic macromolecules (proteins, RNA and DNA) from their parental tumor cells and uptake of this material by unrelated cellular populations. Among the resulting biological effects of interest is the notion that cancer-derived EVs may mediate horizontal transformation of normal cells through transfer of mutant genes, including mutant ras. Here, we report that H-ras-mediated transformation of intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-18) results in the emission of exosome-like EVs containing genomic DNA, HRAS oncoprotein and transcript. However, EV-mediated horizontal transformation of non-transformed cells (epithelial, astrocytic, fibroblastic and endothelial) is transient, limited or absent due to barrier mechanisms that curtail the uptake, retention and function of oncogenic H-ras in recipient cells. Thus, epithelial cells and astrocytes are resistant to EV uptake, unless they undergo malignant transformation. In contrast, primary and immortalized fibroblasts are susceptible to the EV uptake, retention of H-ras DNA and phenotypic transformation, but these effects are transient and fail to produce a permanent tumorigenic conversion of these cells in vitro and in vivo, even after several months of observation. Increased exposure to EVs isolated from H-ras-transformed cancer cells, but not to those from their indolent counterparts, triggers demise of recipient fibroblasts. Uptake of H-ras-containing EVs stimulates but fails to transform primary endothelial cells. Thus, we suggest that intercellular transfer of oncogenes exerts regulatory rather than transforming influence on recipient cells, while cancer cells may often act as preferential EV recipients.
University Students' Satisfaction with their Academic Studies: Personality and Motivation Matter

Although there is consensus about the importance of students' satisfaction with their academic studies as one facet of academic success, little is known about the determinants of this significant outcome variable. Past research rarely investigated the predictive power of multiple predictors simultaneously. Hence, we examined how demographic variables, personality, cognitive and achievement-related variables (intelligence, academic achievement), as well as various motivational constructs were associated with three different dimensions of satisfaction (satisfaction with study content, satisfaction with the conditions of the academic program, satisfaction with the ability to cope with academic stress) assessed approximately 2 years apart. Analyzing data of a sample of university students (N = 620; Mage = 20.77; SDage = 3.22) using structural equation modeling, our results underline the significance of personality and motivational variables: Neuroticism predicted satisfaction with academic studies, but its relevance varied between outcome dimensions. Regarding the predictive validity of motivational variables, the initial motivation for enrolling in a particular major was correlated with two dimensions of subsequent satisfaction with academic studies. In contrast, the predictive value of cognitive and achievement-related variables was relatively low, with academic achievement only related to satisfaction with the conditions of the academic program after controlling for the prior satisfaction level.
The Gallup poll : public opinion

This work is the only complete compilation of polls taken by the Gallup Organization, the world's most reliable and widely quoted research firm, in calendar year 2013. It is an invaluable tool for ascertaining the pulse of American public opinion as it evolves over the course of a given year, and-over time-documents changing public perceptions of crucial political, economic, and societal issues. It is a necessity for any social science research.
Protective effect of breastfeeding on invasive Haemophilus influenzae infection: a case-control study in Swedish preschool children.

BACKGROUND In Orebro County a 2.5-fold increase in the incidence of Haemophilus influenzae (HI) meningitis was found between 1970 and 1980, an observation that initiated the present study. MATERIALS AND METHODS In order to search for associations between morbidity in invasive HI infection and possible risk factors, a case-control study was conducted over a 6-year period from 1987 to 1992, before general Hib vaccination was introduced in Sweden. Fifty-four cases with invasive HI infection 139 matched controls were studied for possible risk factors such as day-care outside the home, short duration of breastfeeding, passive smoking, low socioeconomic level of the household, many siblings in the family, allergy, frequent, infections, repeated antibiotic treatments and immunoglobulin deficiency. RESULTS Multivariate analysis showed a significant association between invasive HI infection and two independent factors, i.e. short duration (< 13 weeks) of exclusive breastfeeding, odds ratio (OR) 3.79 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-8.8) and history of frequent infections, OR 4.49 (95% CI : 1.0-21.0). For the age at onset 12 months or older, the associations were stronger, OR 7.79 (95% CI : 2.4-26.6) and 5.86 (95% CI : 1.1-30.6), respectively. When breastfeeding duration in weeks was analysed as a continuous variable the OR was 0.95 (95% CI : 0.92-0.99), indicating a decreased risk with each additional week. Increased OR were observed for other risk factors as well but not of the magnitude found for short duration of breastfeeding. DISCUSSION The association of decreased risk for invasive HI infection and long duration of breastfeeding was persisting beyond the period of breastfeeding itself. This finding supports the hypothesis of a long-lasting protective effect of breastfeeding on the risk for invasive HI infection. CONCLUSION A decreased risk for invasive HI infection with long duration of breastfeeding was found. Our results do have implications for strategies in breastfeeding promotion, especially in countries where Hib vaccination is too costly and not yet implemented.
Perceptions toward Law Librarianship as a Career Choice: A Study of Law Students in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study aimed to discover law students’ perceptions of law librarianship as a career choice. The descriptive survey is the research method used for this study. The population consisted of undergraduate law students of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye and Babcock University, Ilperu-Remo in Ogun State in the 2013/2014 academic session. The 2013/2014 academic session has 510 registered law students in Olabisi Onabanjo University, 269 students in Babcock University. Thirty percent of the population of law students in each school was sampled for the study. This translates to 234. 234 questionnaires was distributed. 223 questionnaires were returned representing 95.3% rate of response. Data collected were analyzed using frequency count and simple percentages. The study shows a low perception of law students toward law librarianship as a career choice. The study concluded with recommendations. Keywords : Law librarianship, law students, career choice , Olabisi Onabanjo University, Babcock University
On the Compositionality and Semantic Interpretation of English Noun Compounds

In this paper we present a study covering the creation of compositional distributional representations for English noun compounds (e.g. computer science ) using two compositional models proposed in the literature. The compositional representations are ﬁrst evaluated based on their similarity to the corresponding corpus-learned representations and then on the task of automatic classiﬁcation of semantic relations for English noun compounds. Our experiments show that compositional models are able to build meaningful representations for more than half of the test set compounds. However, using pre-trained compositional models does not lead to the expected performance gains for the semantic relation classiﬁcation task. Models using compositional representations have a similar performance as a basic classiﬁcation model, despite the advantage of being pre-trained on a large set of compounds.
Whole-Genome and Chromosome Evolution Associated with Host Adaptation and Speciation of the Wheat Pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola

The fungus Mycosphaerella graminicola has been a pathogen of wheat since host domestication 10,000–12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. The wheat-infecting lineage emerged from closely related Mycosphaerella pathogens infecting wild grasses. We use a comparative genomics approach to assess how the process of host specialization affected the genome structure of M. graminicola since divergence from the closest known progenitor species named M. graminicola S1. The genome of S1 was obtained by Illumina sequencing resulting in a 35 Mb draft genome sequence of 32X. Assembled contigs were aligned to the previously sequenced M. graminicola genome. The alignment covered >90% of the non-repetitive portion of the M. graminicola genome with an average divergence of 7%. The sequenced M. graminicola strain is known to harbor thirteen essential chromosomes plus eight dispensable chromosomes. We found evidence that structural rearrangements significantly affected the dispensable chromosomes while the essential chromosomes were syntenic. At the nucleotide level, the essential and dispensable chromosomes have evolved differently. The average synonymous substitution rate in dispensable chromosomes is considerably lower than in essential chromosomes, whereas the average non-synonymous substitution rate is three times higher. Differences in molecular evolution can be related to different transmission and recombination patterns, as well as to differences in effective population sizes of essential and dispensable chromosomes. In order to identify genes potentially involved in host specialization or speciation, we calculated ratios of synonymous and non-synonymous substitution rates in the >9,500 aligned protein coding genes. The genes are generally under strong purifying selection. We identified 43 candidate genes showing evidence of positive selection, one encoding a potential pathogen effector protein. We conclude that divergence of these pathogens was accompanied by structural rearrangements in the small dispensable chromosomes, while footprints of positive selection were present in only a small number of protein coding genes.
Using Semantic Preferences to Identify Verbal Participation in Role Switching Alternations

We propose a method for identifying diathesis alternations where a particular argument type is seen in slots which have different grammatical roles in the alternating forms. The method uses selectional preferences acquired as probability distributions over WordNet. Preferences for the target slots are compared using a measure of distributional similarity. The method is evaluated on the causative and conative alternations, but is generally applicable and does not require a priori knowledge specific to the alternation.