Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of stage and clinical/prognostic factors for lung cancer from SEER registries: AJCC staging and collaborative stage data collection system

The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7th edition introduced major changes in the staging of lung cancer, including the tumor (T), node (N), metastasis (M)—TNM—system and new stage/prognostic site‐specific factors (SSFs), collected under the Collaborative Stage Version 2 (CSv2) Data Collection System. The intent was to improve the stage precision that could guide treatment options and ultimately lead to better survival. This report examines stage trends, the change in stage distributions from the AJCC 6th to the 7th edition, and findings of the prognostic SSFs for 2010 lung cancer cases.
Increased homocysteine, homocysteine-thiolactone, protein homocysteinylation and oxidative stress in the circulation of patients with Eales’ disease

Background Eales’ disease (ED) is an idiopathic retinal vascular disorder. It presents with inflammation and neovascularization in the retina. Adult men, aged between 15 and 40 years are more susceptible than women. Homocysteine has been implicated in other ocular diseases including age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and optic neuropathy. The present study investigates the role of homocysteine in ED. Methods Forty male subjects, 20 with ED and 20 healthy controls, were recruited to the study. Their blood samples were used to measure thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione (GSH), homocysteine, homocysteine-thiolactone, extent of homocysteine conjugation with proteins and plasma copper concentration. Results In the ED group, plasma homocysteine (18.6 ± 1.77 µmol/L, P < 0.001) and homocysteine-thiolactone (45.3 ± 6.8 nmol/L, P < 0.0001) concentrations were significantly higher compared to homocysteine (11.2 ± 0.64 µmol/L) and homocysteine-thiolactone (7.1 ± 0.94 nmol/L) concentrations in control subjects. TBARS (P < 0.011) and protein homocysteinylation (P < 0.030) were higher in the ED group while GSH (5.9 ± 0.44 µmol/L, P < 0.01) and copper (6.6 ± 0.42 µmol/L, P < 0.001) were lower compared to GSH (8.1 ± 0.41 µmol/L) and copper (15.4 ± 0.73 µmol/L) concentrations in control subjects. Conclusions Increased homocysteine, and its metabolite thiolactone, is associated with the functional impairment of protein due to homocysteinylation in ED.
The influence of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer behavioral intentions by moderating role of switching barriers in satellite pay TV market

DOI: 10.14254/2071789X.2018/11-4/13 ABSTRACT. This study empirically tested the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in pay television (pay TV) industry and examined the moderating role of switching barriers in predicting customer behavior. This research incorporates a new component of switching barrier which is social ties to understand customers’ behavioral intentions. Data were gathered from 245 pay TV customers via the application of a survey. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that there are positive relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, social ties moderate the relationships between customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The study has limited generalizability as it used a single satellite pay TV provider’s customers as samples. Conducting comparative research in other contexts such as IPTV or cable TV would be useful to understand the whole population. Pay TV service provider should not only concentrate on customer satisfaction to gain customers’ positive behavioral intentions, but also to consider switching barriers as a tool for competitiveness. Particularly, this study suggests service provider to raise social ties as a way to prevent customer to switch to another service provider. This study extends previous research on customer behavioral intentions in the context of pay TV and incorporating social ties as a new switching barriers’ component.
Reactive synaptogenesis and neuron densities for neuropeptide Y, somatostatin, and glutamate decarboxylase immunoreactivity in the epileptogenic human fascia dentata

This study determined differences of fascia dentata (FD) peptide and inhibitory neuroanatomy between patients with epileptogenic hippocampal sclerosis (HS), those with extrahippocampal seizure pathologies, and autopsy comparisons. Surgically treated temporal lobe epilepsy patients were clinically classified into two pathogenic categories: (1) HS with focal mesial temporal neuroimaging and histories of initial precipitating injuries to the brain (n = 18) and (2) non-HS patients with extrahippocampal mass lesions or idiopathic seizures (i.e., without lesions or HS; mass lesion/idiopathic; n = 9). The hippocampal sections were studied for (1) granule cell, hilar, CA4, and CA3 neuron densities; (2) hilar densities and the percentage of neurons immunoreactive (IR) for neuropeptide Y (NPY), somatostatin (SS), and glutamate decarboxylase (GAD); (3) densities of GAD neurons in the lower granule cell and infragranular zone (basket-like cells); (4) the semiquantitative pattern of IR peptides/GAD FD molecular layer axon sprouting; (5) IR gray values (GV) of the FD molecular layers; and (6) the thickness of the supragranular molecular layer. Results showed the following. (1) Compared to autopsies, both HS and mass lesion/idiopathic patients showed less granule cell and CA3 neuron densities, but there were no statistical differences between the latter two pathogenic categories. (2) By contrast, compared to autopsies and mass lesion/idiopathic cases, HS patients showed less hilar and CA4 neuron densities, and there were no differences between autopsies and mass lesion/idiopathic. (3) Compared to autopsies, the NPY and SS hilar neuron densities in HS patients, but not mass lesion/idiopathic cases, were less. (4) Compared to autopsies, the hilar GAD neuron densities for HS and mass lesion/idiopathic patients were not less. (5) In HS patients the averaged percentages of hilar SS neurons were less than autopsies, and no other differences of IR hilar percentages were found. (6) The densities of GAD basket-like neurons and the thickness of the supragranular molecular layer were not different between any combination of pathogenic categories and autopsies. (7) By semiquantitative visual assessments, peptides/GAD axon sprouting into the FD was greater in HS compared to mass lesion/idiopathic or autopsies. (8) Compared to mass lesion/idiopathic cases, in HS NPY outer molecular layer GVs were lower, SS GVs were not different, and GAD inner molecular layer GVs were higher. (9) Analyses comparing the two pathogenic categories and neuron densities with peptides/GAD axon sprouting found six comparisons that correlated sprouting with hilar and CA4 neuron losses, and four comparisons showing greater sprouting in HS compared to mass lesion/idiopathic.
Brd4-Independent Transcriptional Repression Function of the Papillomavirus E2 Proteins

ABSTRACT The papillomavirus E2 protein is a critical viral regulatory protein with transcription, DNA replication, and genome maintenance functions. We have previously identified the cellular bromodomain protein Brd4 as a major E2-interacting protein and established that it participates in tethering bovine papillomavirus type 1 E2 and viral genomes to host cell mitotic chromosomes. We have also shown that Brd4 mediates E2-dependent transcriptional activation, which is strongly inhibited by the disruption of E2/Brd4 binding as well as by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) knockdown of Brd4 expression levels. Since several mutants harboring single amino acid substitutions within the E2 transactivation domain that are defective for both transcriptional transactivation and Brd4 binding are also defective for transcriptional repression, we examined the role of Brd4 in E2 repression of the human papillomavirus E6/E7 promoter. Surprisingly, in a variety of in vivo assays, including transcription reporter assays, HeLa cell proliferation and colony reduction assays, and Northern blot analyses, neither blocking of the binding of E2 to Brd4 nor shRNA knockdown of Brd4 affected the E2 repression function. Our study provides evidence for a Brd4-independent mechanism of E2-mediated repression and suggests that different cellular factors must be involved in E2-mediated transcriptional activation and repression functions.
SSEA4-Positive Pig Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells are Primed for Differentiation into Neural Cells

Neural cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have the potential for autologous cell therapies in treating patients with severe neurological disorders or injury. However, further study of efficacy and safety are needed in large animal preclinical models that have similar neural anatomy and physiology to humans such as the pig. The pig model for pluripotent stem cell therapy has been made possible for the first time with the development of pig iPSCs (piPSCs) capable of in vitro and in vivo differentiation into tissues of all three germ layers. Still, the question remains if piPSCs are capable of undergoing robust neural differentiation using a system similar to those being used with human iPSCs. In this study, we generated a new line of piPSCs from fibroblast cells that expressed pluripotency markers and were capable of embryoid body differentiation into all three germ layers. piPSCs demonstrated robust neural differentiation forming βIII-TUB/MAP2+ neurons, GFAP+ astrocytes, and O4+ oligodendrocytes and demonstrated strong upregulation of neural cell genes representative of all three major neural lineages of the central nervous system. In the presence of motor neuron signaling factors, piPSC-derived neurons showed expression of transcription factors associated with motor neuron differentiation (HB9 and ISLET1). Our findings demonstrate that SSEA4 expression is required for piPSCs to differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes and furthermore develop specific neuronal subtypes. This indicates that the pigs can fill the need for a powerful model to study autologous neural iPSC therapies in a system similar to humans.
EGFR mutations in US Hispanic versus non-Hispanic white patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

CONTEXT Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. First-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors improve progression-free survival in lung cancers with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. EGFR mutations occur predominantly in exons 19 and 21 in lung adenocarcinomas of Asians (∼30%), whites (∼15%), and African Americans (∼19%). However, minimal information exists on the prevalence or type of genetic changes that occur in lung cancers in US Hispanic patients. We investigated the EGFR mutation frequency in primary lung adenocarcinomas in US Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites. OBJECTIVE To evaluate EGFR mutations in lung adenocarcinomas from US Hispanic patients compared with those from non-Hispanic white patients. DESIGN DNA samples were extracted from paraffin-embedded tissue of consecutive lung adenocarcinomas from 83 patients. Samples were collected from 40 Hispanics and 43 non-Hispanic whites. Mutations in EGFR were analyzed using a custom assay. Results. -Fourteen of 83 patients (16.9%) had EGFR mutations in their tumor DNA, including 6 of 40 Hispanics (15.0%) and 8 of 43 non-Hispanic whites (18.6%). No association with age, sex, or tumor stage was identified. Smoking history could not be obtained for most of the 83 patients, although 8 of the 11 patients with EGFR mutations for whom smoking history was obtained were nonsmokers. Most of the tumors with EGFR mutations (12 of 14; 85.7%) were acinar with lepidic or papillary subtypes. EGFR mutations occurred in exon 19 (42.8%), exon 18 (28.6%), exon 20 (28.6%), and exon 21 (14.3%). Two cases had 2 mutations identified in different exons. CONCLUSION The frequency of EGFR mutations is similar in US Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites.
Diet-Induced Hyperinsulinemia Accelerates Growth of Androgen-Independent PC-3 Cells In Vitro

We investigated the effect of insulin and diet-induced hyperinsulinemia on the growth of the PC-3 cells in vitro and discerned the growth promoting effect of insulin in the androgen-independent cells. Sprague-Dawley rats were kept on a high-fat diet for 4 wk for the induction of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Insulin alone or serum of the rats kept on either normal-pellet diet or high-fat diet was used to stimulate the serum-starved PC-3 cells growth in culture. S961, a high-affinity insulin-receptor antagonist, was used to confirm the insulin-mediated effects. Significant impairment in the glucose disposal rate and increase in the serum glucose and insulin levels was observed in the high-fat-diet-fed rats. The media supplemented with the serum of the high-fat-diet-fed rats accelerated the growth of the PC-3 cells in comparison to that of normal-pellet-diet-fed rats. Insulin treatment led to accelerated growth of the serum-starved PC-3 cells in a dose-dependent manner and inhibited by the S961 pretreatment. Insulin and serum of the diet-induced hyperinsulinemic rats promote the growth of androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells. Further, our results provide support for the concept that diet-associated elevation in insulin level may augment the growth of prostate cancer cells.
Dampak Penanaman Modal Asing terhadap Penanaman Modal Dalam Negeri di Indonesia: Crowding In atau Crowding Out?

The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economy is a complex matters. One of the phenomenon which important to analyzed is the impact of FDI to domestic direct investment (DDI). The two impact of FDI to DDI is crowding-in (CI), and crowding out (CO). The aim of this research is to analyze the impact of FDI to DDI in Indonesian economy at agregate and sectoral level. We employed the investment model developed by Agosin and Machado (2005) from investment accelerator model. The model assumed that FDI is exogenous variable. Ordinary least square (OLS) method is employed to estimate the parameter of the model. The DDI and FDI data is obtained from Capital Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia (BKPM) and GDP data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). The series is at quarterly level covering the periode of 2001-2014.We found that at the agregate level, FDI does crowd-in DDI in Indonesia. At the sectoral level, crowding-in effect is detected on agriculture sector, mining sector, manufacture sector, electricity, gas and water supply sector, real estate sector, and private service sector. The crowding-out effect is detected on construction sector, trade, hotel and restaurant sector, and transport and communication sector. The exogeneity test for FDI showed that past economic growth do not explain FDI, hence the exogeneity assumption of FDI variable is filled.
IRF4 rs12203592 functional variant and melanoma survival

Inherited genetic factors may modulate clinical outcome in melanoma. Some low‐to‐medium risk genes in melanoma susceptibility play a role in melanoma outcome. Our aim was to assess the role of the functional IRF4 SNP rs12203592 in melanoma prognosis in two independent sets (Barcelona, N = 493 and Essen, N = 438). Genotype association analyses showed that the IRF4 rs12203592 T allele increased the risk of dying from melanoma in both sets (Barcelona: odds ratio [OR] = 6.53, 95% CI 1.38–30.87, Adj p = 0.032; Essen: OR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.04–2.72, Adj p = 0.035). Survival analyses only showed significance for the Barcelona set (hazard ratio = 4.58, 95% CI 1.11–18.92, Adj p = 0.036). This SNP was also associated with tumour localization, increasing the risk of developing melanoma in head or neck (OR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.07–2.98, Adj p = 0.032) and protecting from developing melanoma in the trunk (OR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.41–0.85, Adj p = 0.004). These findings suggest for the first time that IRF4 rs12203592 plays a role in the modulation of melanoma outcome and confirms its contribution to the localization of the primary tumour.
A Comparative Study of Chinese, American and Japanese Nurses’ Perceptions of Ethical Role Responsibilities

This article reports a survey of nurses in different cultural settings to reveal their perceptions of ethical role responsibilities relevant to nursing practice. Drawing on the Confucian theory of ethics, the first section attempts to understand nursing ethics in the context of multiple role relationships. The second section reports the administration of the Role Responsibilities Questionnaire (RRQ) to a sample of nurses in China (n = 413), the USA (n = 163), and Japan (n = 667). Multidimensional preference analysis revealed the patterns of rankings given by the nurses to the statements they considered as important ethical responsibilities. The Chinese nurses were more virtue based in their perception of ethical responsibilities, the American nurses were more principle based, and the Japanese nurses were more care based. The findings indicate that the RRQ is a sensitive instrument for outlining the embedded sociocultural factors that influence nurses’ perceptions of ethical responsibilities in the realities of nursing practice. This study could be important in the fostering of partnerships in international nursing ethics.
Renal Osteodystrophy in Predialysis and Hemodialysis Patients: Comparison of Histologic Patterns and Diagnostic Predictivity of Intact PTH

Background: Comparison of renal osteodystrophy in predialysis and hemodialysis has been rarely reported. Distinct patterns of renal osteodystrophy could be found in these conditions. In addition the use of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and other markers for noninvasive diagnosis may result in different predictive values in predialysis and hemodialysis patients. Methods: 79 consecutive patients with conservative chronic renal failure and 107 patients on hemodialysis were studied. All patients were subjected to bone biopsy for histological and histomorphometric evaluation. The patients had no exposure to aluminium before dialysis and relatively low exposure while on hemodialysis. Results: In the predialysis patients, bone biopsies showed 9 cases of adynamic bone disease (ABD) and 8 cases of osteomalacia (OM), 50 patients with mixed osteodystrophy and 2 cases of hyperparathyroidism. Among the hemodialysis patients 12 cases had ABD, 3 cases OM, 30 mixed osteodystrophy, and 61 patients hyperparathyroidism. In the predialysis patients with chronic renal failure, bone aluminium was on average 4.5 mg/kg dry weight, while in dialysis patients the average value was 35.4 mg/kg dry weight. Discriminant analysis of low turnover osteodystrophy (ABD and OM) by intact PTH showed higher accuracy in dialysis than in predialysis patients. Correlation studies of intact PTH versus bone formation rate, osteoblast surface/bone surface and osteoclast surface/bone surface showed significantly steeper slopes in dialysis than in predialysis patients, which indicates that bone resistance to PTH is more marked in predialysis patients. Conclusions: The prevalence of ABD and OM in the geographic area investigated is lower than in other reports. Aluminium exposure does not seem to be the cause of low turnover osteodystrophy in the present population. The predictive value of intact PTH in the noninvasive diagnosis of renal bone disease is higher in hemodialysis patients than in predialysis patients. Predialysis chronic renal failure, when compared to the dialysis stage, seems to be characterized by resistance of bone tissue to PTH.
Predictive Strength of Lending Technologies in Funding SMEs

Using a proprietary database of lending decisions (N = 9,898) for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), the paper investigates how banks cope with the adverse selection dilemma. Based on an intertemporal framework, we qualify incorrect and correct lending decisions of banks and investigate the power of lending technologies to predict errors and correct choices. Findings suggest that adverse selection can be better controlled by a durable bank–firm relationship, as well as by an atomistic loan decision process, at the local level. By contrast, a loan decision‐making process based exclusively on hard financial information about SMEs may lead to adverse selection errors.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Foreign Aid in the Education Sector in Africa: The Case of Primary Education

Since 2000, Official Development Assistance has played a crucial role in efforts related to the achievement of MDGs. This is especially the case in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) which is the world's largest recipient of foreign aid. This paper assesses the effectiveness of aid and its efficient use in achieving universal primary education in sub-Saharan Africa. The impact of aid is assessed for a sample of 35 SSA countries over the decade 2000–10. The results suggest that higher aid to education significantly increases primary completion rate. This result is robust to the use of various methods of estimation, the inclusion of instrument to account for the endogeneity of aid and the set of control variables included in regressions. Our findings suggest that education aid can be used as a policy instrument to achieve the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which is to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.
Summary of effectiveness and impact of rotavirus vaccination with the oral pentavalent rotavirus vaccine: A systematic review of the experience in industrialized countries

The pentavalent rotavirus (RV) vaccine RotaTeq™ has been available in industrialized countries since 2006. Several studies have been conducted to evaluate the benefit of RV vaccination under routine conditions of use. A systematic review of all publicly available data from RotaTeq™ vaccine-effectiveness and vaccination-impact studies in the USA, Europe and Australia between 2006 and February 2010 was undertaken. Depending on the population studied, effectiveness of up to 100% (95% confidence interval 85–100%) associated with decreased hospitalizations for RV gastroenteritis (RVGE) was seen. Vaccination-impact studies demonstrated that the burden of RVGE has been reduced significantly since the introduction of RV vaccination. Evidence included reductions in healthcare utilization due to RVGE (hospitalizations and emergency-department visits reduced by up to 90%), reductions in the magnitude and duration of the RV season as assessed by laboratory testing for RV, and the possible induction of herd immunity.
Targeted Disruption of the Mouse 3-Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase Gene Causes Severe Neurodevelopmental Defects and Results in Embryonic Lethality*

d-3-Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (Phgdh; EC 1.1.1.95) is the first committed enzyme of l-serine biosynthesis in the phosphorylated pathway. To determine the physiological importance of Phgdh-dependent l-serine biosynthesis in vivo, we generated Phgdh-deficient mice using targeted gene disruption in embryonic stem cells. The absence of Phgdh led to a drastic reduction of l-serine metabolites such as phosphatidyl-l-serine and sphingolipids. Phgdh null embryos have small bodies with abnormalities in selected tissues and died after days post-coitum 13.5. Striking abnormalities were evident in the central nervous system in which the Phgdh null mutation culminated in hypoplasia of the telencephalon, diencephalon, and mesencephalon; in particular, the olfactory bulbs, ganglionic eminence, and cerebellum appeared as indistinct structures. These observations demonstrate that the Phgdh-dependent phosphorylated pathway is essential for normal embryonic development, especially for brain morphogenesis.