Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tumoral Prostate Shows Different Expression Pattern of Somatostatin Receptor 2 (SSTR2) and Phosphotyrosine Phosphatase SHP-1 (PTPN6) According to Tumor Progression

Prostate proliferation is dependent of androgens and many peptide hormones. Recent reports suggest that SSTR2 and SHP-1 were two fundamental components on antiproliferative effect of somatostatin. Many studies on SHP-1 revealed that the expression of this protein was diminished or abolished in several of the cancer cell lines and tissues examined. However, it is necessary to confront the cell lines data with real situation in cancer cases. Our studies have shown that epithelial expressions of both proteins, SHP-1 and SSTR2, in normal and benign hyperplasia are localized in the luminal side of duct and acinar cells. Also, SSTR2 is expressed in stromal cells. In malignant prostate tissue, SHP-1 was diminished in 28/45 cases or absent in 12/45 cases, whereas SSTR2 epithelial was diminished in 38/45 cases or lost in only 2/45 cases. The intensity of immunostained was highly negative correlated with Gleason grade for two proteins.
Form, Intonation and Function of Clarification Requests in German Task-Oriented Spoken Dialogues

We present a classification-scheme for describing the form (including intonation) and function of clarification requests (CRs) that is more fine-grained than extant classifications, and a study of a corpus of German task-oriented dialogues where we used this scheme to annotate the occuring CRs. Among the correlations between form and function we found was a hitherto undescribed correlation between intonation of CRs and their interpretation, which could possibly aid dialogue systems in interpreting CRs.
The Tyranny of Inequality

Life is replete with instances where two closely related parties forego mutually advantageous opportunities: peace treaties are not signed, inefficient regulations are not altered, and possibilities for investment are frittered away. Since the parties are in close contact, asymmetric information cannot be an explanation for the failure to agree. The explanation this paper offers is based on the assumption that when two parties interact repeatedly, not all aspects of the relationship are contractible. Each party's property rights in the relationship then become endogenous. Efficiency and distribution are not separable in such a world, leading the parties to forego perfectly contractible opportunities. The inability to cooperate is especially severe when one of the parties has relatively poor production opportunities which may explain why the inefficient have undue sway. We explore a number of applications.
Secondary follicle growth and oocyte maturation during encapsulated three-dimensional culture in rhesus monkeys: effects of gonadotrophins, oxygen and fetuin.

BACKGROUND An alginate-based matrix supports the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of non-human primate follicles and, in the presence of FSH, permits the in vitro development of pre-antral follicles to the small antral stage, including the production of ovarian steroids and paracrine factors. The current study investigated the ability of gonadotrophins, fetuin and oxygen (O₂) to improve primate follicle growth and oocyte maturation in vitro. METHODS Macaque secondary follicles were isolated from the early follicular phase ovaries, encapsulated in a sodium alginate matrix and cultured individually for 40 days in supplemented medium. The effects of recombinant human (rh) FSH (15, 3 and 0.3 ng/ml for high, medium and low FSH, respectively), bovine fetuin (1 or 0 mg/ml) and O₂ (5 or 20% v/v) were examined. Half of the follicles in each culture condition received rhLH on Day 30-40. Follicles that reached antral stage were treated with rh chorionic gonadotrophin for 34 h to initiate oocyte meiotic maturation. Media were analyzed for ovarian steroids and anti-müllerian hormone (AMH). RESULTS Improved culture conditions supported non-human primate, secondary follicle growth to the antral stage and, for the first time, promoted oocyte maturation to the MII stage. In the presence of fetuin at 5% O₂, follicles had the highest survival rate if cultured with high or medium FSH, whereas follicles grew to larger diameters at Week 5 in low FSH. Oocyte health and maturation were promoted under 5% O₂. High FSH stimulated steroid production by growing follicles, and steroidogenesis by follicles cultured with low FSH was promoted by LH. AMH biosynthesis was elevated with high compared with low FSH and for longer under 5% O₂ than under 20% O₂. CONCLUSIONS This encapsulated 3D culture model permits further studies on the endocrine and local factors that influence primate follicle growth and oocyte maturation, with relevance to enhancing fertility preservation options in women.
Intravitreal Melphalan for Vitreous Seeds: Initial Experience in China

Purpose. To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal melphalan for vitreous seeds from retinoblastoma in Chinese patients. Methods. This is a retrospective review of 17 consecutive Chinese patients (19 eyes) with viable vitreous seeds from retinoblastoma. The patients received multiple intravitreal injections of 20 ug melphalan. Results. The International Classification of Retinoblastoma groups were B in 1 eye, C in 5 eyes, D in 11 eyes, and E in 2 eyes. On average, 6 injections (range: 1–15) were given to each eye at the interval of 2–4 weeks. Successful control of vitreous seeds was achieved in 16 of 19 eyes (84.21%). Globe retention was achieved in 73.68% (14/19) eyes. The patients were followed up for 27 months on average (median: 26; range: 17–42 months). There is a significant difference in response to intravitreal melphalan for cloud, spheres, and dust seeds with a median number of injections of 9, 6, and 3, respectively (P = 0.003). Complications related to intravitreal melphalan included vitreous hemorrhage, cataract, salt-and-pepper retinopathy, and pupil posterior synechia. There was no case of epibulbar extension or systemic metastasis within the period of follow-up. Conclusion. Intravitreal melphalan achieved a high local control rate for vitreous seeds without extraocular extension and with acceptable toxicity in Chinese retinoblastoma patients.
Using Reflective Writing Practices to Articulate Student Learning in Counselor Education

ABSTRACT One of our goals as counselor educators is to develop students who are reflective learners to then become reflective practitioners. Many of our accreditation standards and program mission statements discuss reflective practice, but very few teaching activities on developing reflective practices are included in counseling literature. How do we train students to become reflective practitioners? This article presents a creative teaching practice that counselor educators can apply to coursework. The author discusses the use of reflective writing practices to help students expand their learning, find meaning in their learning experiences, and articulate learning outcomes tied to course objectives and program standards. The article includes the description of one particular model, the DEAL Model for Critical Reflection, and a process of how to apply the model in counselor education. In addition, an explanation of learning categories and examples of associated question prompts are included.
Proteins from Punctularia atropurpurascens with Biotechnological Applications

Basidiomycetes are able to biodegrade waste and xenobiotic molecules through the production of extracellular enzymes. For example, white-rot fungi produce lignin-degrading enzymes which are capable of efficiently decolorizing dye solutions. Many mushrooms also produce lectins, a group of proteins which bind specifically to the carbohydrates in glycoconjugates. Several fungal lectins target their specificities towards oligosaccharides present in mammalian glycoproteins, thus constituting excellent ligands for the preparation of affinity adsorbents useful in isolation and characterization of these glycoproteins. In this study we isolated and characterized two different proteins, a lectin and a laccase, present in extracts from Punctularia atropurpurascens. The lectin isolated from the mycelium extract, was immobilized on activated-Sepharose and used to evaluate the interaction with three glycoproteins. The adsorbent was able to efficiently adsorb and elute bovine lactoferrin, constituting a promising tool for the purification of this glycoprotein. In vitro experiments revealed that the lectin also exhibited antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus niger. Laccase activity was detected in the extracellular extract from P. atropurpurascens. This enzyme, in both soluble and immobilized forms, was able to degrade Remazol Brilliant Blue R and Acid Blue 25 dyes. The biological activities found in this fungus demonstrate its potential for various biotechnological applications.
Adultez Emergente y características culturales de la etapa en universitarios chilenos

Emerging Adulthood is a period of life between 18 and 29 years old, culturally constructed and not universal. Given the paucity of studies about this developmental stage in Chile, the objective of this research was to characterize Emerging Adulthood and determine its most important features in Chilean university students using a qualitative approach, focused at the protagonists themselves. Six focus groups formed by 60 university students revised the items of the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) or discussed their beliefs about three areas defined a priori: Identity and self-concept, Relationship with parents and leaving home, and Love and sexuality. The presence of the Emerging Adulthood stage in university students is evident since its central features are present in this group; also there is evidence of others aspects that belong to cultural characteristics of the own Chilean university students which are related to the importance given to the family and social relationships.
On SIFTs and their scales

Scale invariant feature detectors often find stable scales in only a few image pixels. Consequently, methods for feature matching typically choose one of two extreme options: matching a sparse set of scale invariant features, or dense matching using arbitrary scales. In this paper we turn our attention to the overwhelming majority of pixels, those where stable scales are not found by standard techniques. We ask, is scale-selection necessary for these pixels, when dense, scale-invariant matching is required and if so, how can it be achieved? We make the following contributions: (i) We show that features computed over different scales, even in low-contrast areas, can be different; selecting a single scale, arbitrarily or otherwise, may lead to poor matches when the images have different scales. (ii) We show that representing each pixel as a set of SIFTs, extracted at multiple scales, allows for far better matches than single-scale descriptors, but at a computational price. Finally, (iii) we demonstrate that each such set may be accurately represented by a low-dimensional, linear subspace. A subspace-to-point mapping may further be used to produce a novel descriptor representation, the Scale-Less SIFT (SLS), as an alternative to single-scale descriptors. These claims are verified by quantitative and qualitative tests, demonstrating significant improvements over existing methods.
Computing Limb-darkening Coefficients from Stellar Atmosphere Models

We explore the sensitivity of limb-darkening coefficients computed from stellar atmosphere models to different least-squares fitting methods. We demonstrate that conventional methods are strongly biased to fitting the stellar limb. Our suggested method of fitting by minimizing the radially integrated squared residual yields improved fits with better flux conservation. The differences of the obtained coefficients from commonly used values are observationally significant. We show that the new values are in better agreement with solar limb-darkening measurements, as well as with coefficients reported from analyses of eclipsing binary light curves.
Motivation and performance in the information systems field: a survey of related studies

Motivation is important. In today's economy, it is vital that all scarce resources especially human resources be utilized efficiently and effectively. Daft and Steers state unequivocally that motivation is the foundation upon which human resources may be optimally utilized (1986). Prior studies of motivation in the information systems (IS) profession have led to inconclusive and, even contradictory results. It may be that these apparently inconsistent results are actually evidence of a rapidly changing and evolving profession. Several IS research articles have documented rapidly occurring changes within IS job environments, changes in development methodologies and IS organizational structure. Thus, an assessment of the fit between the IS professional and the changing IS work environment is a fundamental component of IS human resource management. Knowledge of job fit in this profession is crucial to each phase of human resource development, from recruitment to evaluation and training. The primary purpose of this paper is to review personnel literature within the context of a larger picture of IS motivation: • Motivation in the IS profession • The evolving IS work environment ° Job fit within the IS profession • Related studies from other disciplines MOTIVATION IN THE IS PROFESSION Three previous studies have focused on motivational differences in the IS profession: 1978: Couger and Zawacki began their large study of IS motivational characteristics. Final results were reported in their 1980 book. 1986: Ferratt and Short attempted to replicate the Couger and Zawacki results, but were unable to do so. 1989: Myers examined IS and other professions, in order to resolve questions rising from the seminal Couger and Zawacki study, and the more recent Ferratt and Short study. The first two studies have led to striking contradictions, providing many questions and few broadly accepted conclusions. Couger and Zawacki report that IS and non-IS people are fundamentally different in terms of growth and social needs (1980). On this basis, Couger and Zawacki conclude that managers of IS staff should structure work environments so as to address the unique needs of IS personnel. On the other hand, Ferratt and Short, in an attempt to replicate the Couger and Zawacki research, found n_9_ significant differences between IS and non-IS people, within equivalent occupational classes (1986). On the basis of these very different results, Ferratt and Short conclude that IS training and development need not be entirely unique to the IS profession. In Motivating and Managing Computer Personnel, J. Daniel Couger and Robert Zawacki report the findings from one of the earliest investigations of motivation within the IS profession (1980). This often quoted study reports two important differences between IS professionals and non-IS professionals:
Apoptosis – associated genes and their role in predicting responses to neoadjuvant breast cancer treatment

Summary Background Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is used in the treatment of breast carcinoma because it substantially reduces the size of the primary tumor and lymph node metastases. The present study investigated biomarkers that can predict a pathologic response to the therapy. Material/Methods The role of apoptosis in regression of the tumors after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was determined by TUNEL and anti-active caspase 3 assay. The transcriptional profile of 84 key apoptosis genes was evaluated in both pre-therapeutically obtained tumor tissue by core needle biopsy and in specimens removed by final surgery, using a pathway-specific real-time PCR assay. Obtained data were analyzed by hierarchical cluster analysis and correlation analysis. The immunohistochemical profile of each tumor was determined using the standard ABC method. Results On the basis of a hierarchical cluster analysis of 13 significantly changed genes, we divided patients into good and poor prognosis groups, which correlate well with progression-free survival. In the good prognosis group, we found a statistically significant down-regulation of the expression of MCL1 and IGF1R genes after neoadjuvant treatment. We also found a statistically significant overexpression of BCL2L10, BCL2AF1, CASP8, CASP10, CASP14, CIDEB, FADD, HRK, TNFRSF25, TNFSF8 and CD70 genes. In contrast, we found up-regulation of IGF1R after the treatment in the group with poor prognosis. Conclusions Gene expression profiling using real-time PCR assay is a valuable research tool for the investigation of molecular markers, which reflect tumor biology and treatment response.
Selective deficits in the expression of striatal‐enriched mRNAs in Huntington's disease

We have identified and cataloged 54 genes that exhibit predominant expression in the striatum. Our hypothesis is that such mRNA molecules are likely to encode proteins that are preferentially associated with particular physiological processes intrinsic to striatal neurons, and therefore might contribute to the regional specificity of neurodegeneration observed in striatal disorders such as Huntington's disease (HD). Expression of these genes was measured simultaneously in the striatum of HD R6/1 transgenic mice using Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays. We found a decrease in expression of 81% of striatum‐enriched genes in HD transgenic mice. Changes in expression of genes associated with G‐protein signaling and calcium homeostasis were highlighted. The most striking decrement was observed for a newly identified subunit of the sodium channel, beta 4, with dramatic decreases in expression beginning at 8 weeks of age. A subset of striatal genes was tested by real‐time PCR in caudate samples from human HD patients. Similar alterations in expression were observed in human HD and the R6/1 model for the striatal genes tested. Expression of 15 of the striatum‐enriched genes was measured in 6‐hydroxydopamine‐lesioned rats to determine their dependence on dopamine innervation. No changes in expression were observed for any of these genes. These findings demonstrate that mutant huntingtin protein causes selective deficits in the expression of mRNAs responsible for striatum‐specific physiology and these may contribute to the regional specificity of degeneration observed in HD.
Dose-adjusted EPOCH chemotherapy for untreated large B-cell lymphomas: a pharmacodynamic approach with high efficacy.

We hypothesized that incremental improvements in the cyclophosphamide-doxorubicin-vincristine-prednisone (CHOP) chemotherapy regimen through optimization of drug selection, schedule, and pharmacokinetics would improve outcome in patients with large B-cell lymphomas. A prospective multi-institutional study of administration of etoposide, vincristine, and doxorubicin for 96 hours with bolus doses of cyclophosphamide and oral prednisone (EPOCH therapy) was done in 50 patients with previously untreated large B-cell lymphomas. The doses of etoposide, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide were adjusted 20% each cycle to achieve a nadir absolute neutrophil count below 0.5 x 10(9)/L. The median age of the patients was 46 years (range, 20-88 years); 24% were older than 60 years; and 44% were at high-intermediate or high risk according to International Prognostic Index (IPI) criteria. There was a complete response in 92% of patients, and at the median follow-up time of 62 months, the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 70% and 73%, respectively. Neither IPI risk factors nor the index itself was associated with response, PFS, or OS. Doses were escalated in 58% of cycles, and toxicity levels were tolerable. Significant inverse correlations were observed between dose intensity and age for all adjusted agents, and drug clearance of doxorubicin and free etoposide was also inversely correlated with age (r = -0.54 and P(2) =. 08 and r = -0.45 and P(2) =. 034, respectively). Free-etoposide clearance increased significantly during successive cycles (P(2) =. 015). Lymphomas with proliferation of at least 80% had somewhat lower progression and those expressing bcl-2 had significantly higher progression (P(2) =. 04). Expression of bcl-2 may discriminate the recently described activated B-like from germinal-center B-like large-cell lymphomas and provide important pathobiologic and prognostic information. Dose-adjusted EPOCH may produce more cell kill than CHOP-based regimens. Dynamic dose adjustment may overcome inadequate drug concentrations, particularly in younger patients, and compensate for increased drug clearance over time.
NOVELTY SEARCH AND THE PROBLEM WITH OBJECTIVES TO APPEAR IN: GENETIC PROGRAMMING THEORY AND PRACTICE IX (GPTP 2011). NEW YORK, NY: SPRINGER

By synthesizing a growing body of work in search processes that are n ot driven by explicit objectives, this paper advances the hypothesis that there is a f und mental problem with the dominant paradigm of objective-based search in evolutionary computation and genetic programming: Most ambitiousobjectives do not illuminate a path to themselves. That is, the gradient of improvement induced by ambitious objectives tends to lead not to the objective itself but inste ad to dead-end local optima. Indirectly supporting this hypothesis, great dis coveries often are not the result of objective-driven search. For example , the major inspiration for both evolutionary computation and genetic programming, na tural evolution, innovates through an open-ended process that lacks a final objective. Similarly, large-scale cultural evolutionary processes, such as the evo lution of technology, mathematics, and art, lack a unified fixed goal. In addition, dir ect evidence for this hypothesis is presented from a recently-introduced se arch algorithm called novelty search. Though ignorant of the ultimate objective of se arch, in many instances novelty search has counter-intuitively outperformed s earching directly for the objective, including a wide variety of randomly-genera ted problems introduced in an experiment in this chapter. Thus a new unders tanding is beginning to emerge that suggests that searching for a fixed objective , which is the reigning paradigm in evolutionary computation and even machine learn ing as a whole, may ultimately limit what can be achieved. Yet the liberating implication of this hypothesis argued in this paper is that by embracing searc h processes that are notdriven by explicit objectives, the breadth and depth of what is reachable through evolutionary methods such as genetic programming ay be
On Fermi systems with strong forward scattering in d spatial dimensions

Abstract We consider a specific generalization to spatial dimensions d greater than one of a formalism, based upon conservation laws and the associated ward identities, that exactly solves the one-dimensional Luttinger model, and expose its inadequacies for d > 1. We conclude that findings arrived at through application of this generalized formalism concerning systems of fermions with strong forward scattering, in particular that d = 1 would be the cross-over dimension from Luttinger- to Fermi-liquid state, are open to question.
DIETARY FAT A N D PLASMA LIPIDS

METABOLISM OF L I P I D S . RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIETARY LIPIDS A N D BLOOD LIPIDS . E A R L Y W O R K . I N F L U E N C E O F D I E T A R Y CHOLESTEROL . D I E T A R Y S A T U R A T E D A N D P O L Y U N S A T U R A T E D FATTY A C I D S . M O N O U N S A T U R A T E D F A T T Y A C I D S . I N F L U E N C E OF T R I A C Y L G L Y C E R O L S T R U C T U R E . EXPERIMENTAL D E S I G N A N D PROBLEMS OF I N T E R P R E T A T I O N . P R A C T I C A L AS D I S T I N C T FROM EXPERIMENTAL DIETS . Habitual diet and blood lipoprotein concentrations Influence of modifying dietary fat on blood lipoprotein concentrations . CONCLUSION . REFERENCES . 63 64 64 65 67 67 67 69 12 75 75 18 78 19 80 81