Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Histologic Characteristics and Prognostic Significance in Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Biliary Differentiation: Subdivision and Comparison With Ordinary Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The morphologic characteristics and biologic behavior of small liver cancers with hepatic and biliary differentiation, and their histogenesis, remain unclear. In this study, 35 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) smaller than 3 cm in diameter with biliary differentiation were divided into 3 groups, group 1 [cytokeratin (CK) 19-negative/mucin-negative], group 2 (CK 19-positive/mucin-negative), and group 3 (CK 19-positive/mucin-positive). Sixty-one HCCs without biliary differentiation were used as controls. We compared the histologic features of these tumors and the postoperative outcomes. Three morphologic features of HCCs with biliary differentiation were respectively observed in 40% (14/35), 60% (21/35), and 42.9% (15/35) as follows: (1) cancer cells with intermediate morphology, (2) prominent inflammatory cell infiltrate, (3) desmoplastic stroma; neural cell adhesion molecule and c-kit expression were noted in 25.7%(9/35) and 8.6%(3/35), respectively. Extrahepatic tumor recurrence after surgery occurred in 0% (0/16) of group 1, 33.3% (3/9) of group 2, 40.0% (4/10) of group 3, and 8.2% (5/61) of the ordinary HCCs. The tumor-related survival of group 3 patients was worse than that of patients with ordinary HCCs, but there were no differences between the survival of group 1, or group 2 patients and those with ordinary HCCs. Our results suggest that the biliary differentiation does occur even in small HCC, and a mucin-producing cancer cells indicates aggressive tumor behavior. The combination of intermediate cancer cells, inflammatory cell infiltrate, and desmoplastic stroma is likely to be related to the biliary differentiation of HCC.
Pengaruh Sisa Anggaran, Pendapatan Sendiri Dan Dana Perimbangan Terhadap Belanja Modal

T ujuan penelitian in i adalah menelaah tentang pengaruh deficit, pendapatan personal dan budget anggaran terhadap perubahan belanja modal di kabupaten/kota di Indonesia. Sampel yang dipergunakan ada 30 kabupaten/kota di Indonesia dengan menggunakan data yang tersedia di internet. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa variabel badget anggaran (diukur dengan DBH) secara partsial berpengaruh pada perubahan belanja modal, sementara variabel pendapatan personal (PAD) tidak memiliki pengaruh terhadap perubahan belanja modal. K a ta Kunci: A n g g a r a n , M o d a l , D e sen tr a l isasi. THE EFFECT OF BUDGET DEFISIT, PERSONAL INCOME AND FUND BUDGET TOWARDS CAPITAL EXPENDITURE . P u r p o se of this study is t o examine the effect of budget deficit, personal income, and fund budget toward capital expenditure in the changes of districts’/ municipalities’ budget in Indonesia. The used samples are 30 (thirty) districts/ municipalities in Indonesia which its data is available in internet. Result of data a na ly sis shows tha t variable of fund budget (measured by DBH changes) which partially effects toward the changes of capital expenditure budget, while variable of budget deficit (measured by SiLPA changes) and variable of personal income (measured by PAD changes) do not have effect toward capital expenditure. Keywords: Budget , Capital , Desentralisation
Antioxidant capacities and total polyphenol contents of hydro-ethanolic extract of phytococktail from trans-Himalaya.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant potential of hydro-ethanolic extract of a novel phytococktail comprising of sea buckthorn, apricot, and Rhodiola (SAR) from trans-Himalaya. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity of the extract increased in a dose-dependent manner (upto 0.1 mg/mL), and was found to be about 38% of that of ascorbic acid at 0.1 mg/mL. The hydro-ethanolic extract of SAR also scavenged the ABTS(.+) radical generated by ABTS/potassium persulfate (PPS) system and was found to be about 62% of that of ascorbic acid at 0.1 mg/ mL. The total antioxidant power of the extract was determined by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Total phenolic content was found to be 1.28016 × 10(-3) mol gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g extract. Total flavonoid and flavonol contents were estimated to be 2.5970 × 10(-4) mol and 4.87 × 10(-4) mol quercetin equivalent/g extract, respectively. The hydro-ethanolic extract of this phytococktail indicated presence of essential phytoconstituents of polyphenols, flavonoids, flavonols, and ascorbic acid, which contributed significantly to its antioxidant capacity. The combination of the 3 plants may well support their use in traditional medicine to combat oxidative stress and high-altitude sickness.
Probing electrostatic interactions and ligand binding in aspartyl‐tRNA synthetase through site‐directed mutagenesis and computer simulations

Faithful genetic code translation requires that each aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetase recognise its cognate amino acid ligand specifically. Aspartyl‐tRNA synthetase (AspRS) distinguishes between its negatively‐charged Asp substrate and two competitors, neutral Asn and di‐negative succinate, using a complex network of electrostatic interactions. Here, we used molecular dynamics simulations and site‐directed mutagenesis experiments to probe these interactions further. We attempt to decrease the Asp/Asn binding free energy difference via single, double and triple mutations that reduce the net positive charge in the active site of Escherichia coli AspRS. Earlier, Glutamine 199 was changed to a negatively‐charged glutamate, giving a computed reduction in Asp affinity in good agreement with experiment. Here, Lysine 198 was changed to a neutral leucine; then, Lys198 and Gln199 were mutated simultaneously. Both mutants are predicted to have reduced Asp binding and improved Asn binding, but the changes are insufficient to overcome the initial, high specificity of the native enzyme, which retains a preference for Asp. Probing the aminoacyl‐adenylation reaction through pyrophosphate exchange experiments, we found no detectable activity for the mutant enzymes, indicating weaker Asp binding and/or poorer transition state stabilization. The simulations show that the mutations' effect is partly offset by proton uptake by a nearby histidine. Therefore, we performed additional simulations where the nearby Histidines 448 and 449 were mutated to neutral or negative residues: (Lys198Leu, His448Gln, His449Gln), and (Lys198Leu, His448Glu, His449Gln). This led to unexpected conformational changes and loss of active site preorganization, suggesting that the AspRS active site has a limited structural tolerance for electrostatic modifications. The data give insights into the complex electrostatic network in the AspRS active site and illustrate the difficulty in engineering charged‐to‐neutral changes of the preferred ligand. Proteins 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An exploratory study of electronic mail as a rich communication medium in a global virtual organization

The paper explores how intra-organizational communication in a global virtual organization was impacted as the dominant communication mode, evolved from postal messages to facsimile to electronic mail, over a ten year period. Drawing on theories of communication media, we have proposed that changes in organizational communication mode will affect the nature and outcomes of organizational communication in terms of message frequency, message length, message cycle time, participation rate, idea generation, information gathering, social orientation, and decision-making speed. To test these propositions, we analyzed a dataset containing 907 written documents (187 regular post, 407 fax, and 312 email), collected from the archives of a global organization between 1989 and 1999. Results show support for email as a rich communication medium compared with other written media, particularly in terms of increased participation rates, idea generation, socially-oriented communication, and decision-making speed.
Physicians’ perceptions of clinical supervision and educational support via videoconference: a systematic review

We conducted a systematic review of the perceptions of physicians about clinical supervision and educational support via videoconferencing. A search of literature databases, reference lists and specific journals was performed for relevant articles published between 1990 and 2013. A total of 1288 studies were identified, of which 13 fulfilled the inclusion criteria for review. Six studies concerned education, six concerned clinical practice and one concerned supervision. The studies employed a wide variety of methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative techniques, so a meta-analysis was not practicable. Overall satisfaction and acceptance rates were reported in nine studies, mainly using Likert scales. Several positive aspects of videoconferencing were reported, including increased education and clinical practice support, and autonomy for rural areas. The main negative aspects related to the technology itself, poorer interaction and decreased rapport building when using videoconferencing. There is a paucity of literature regarding the perceptions of videoconferencing-based supervision of junior doctors in rural areas. No studies have considered measures of cost effectiveness. More rigorous study design in future research is recommended.
Under the radar: Community safety nets for AIDS-affected households in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract Safety nets are mechanisms to mitigate the effects of poverty on vulnerable households during times of stress. In sub-Saharan Africa, extended families, together with communities, are the most effective responses enabling access to support for households facing crises. This paper reviews literature on informal social security systems in sub-Saharan Africa, analyses changes taking place in their functioning as a result of HIV/AIDS and describes community safety net components including economic associations, cooperatives, loan providers, philanthropic groups and HIV/AIDS initiatives. Community safety nets target households in greatest need, respond rapidly to crises, are cost efficient, based on local needs and available resources, involve the specialized knowledge of community members and provide financial and psycho-social support. Their main limitations are lack of material resources and reliance on unpaid labour of women. Changes have taken place in safety net mechanisms because of HIV/AIDS, suggesting the resilience of communities rather than their impending collapse. Studies are lacking that assess the value of informal community-level transfers, describe how safety nets assist the poor or analyse modifications in response to HIV/AIDS. The role of community safety nets remains largely invisible under the radar of governments, non-governmental organizations and international bodies. External support can strengthen this system of informal social security that provides poor HIV/AIDS-affected households with significant support.
Being an excellent team: understanding how politics influence team performance

This research develops a model based on the transaction cost theory and resource allocation theory to predict how politics (i.e. autocracy and opportunism) affect team performance in technology industries. Directly related to resource adequacy, team performance is associated with top management autocracy and peer teams’ opportunism indirectly via the mediation of collective affective commitment. The relationships between collective affective commitment and team performance and between resource adequacy and team performance are moderated by top management autocracy and peer teams’ opportunism, respectively. Empirical testing of this model, by investigating personnel of work teams in high-tech firms, explores changes in politics in technology industries. Lastly, this study provides managerial implications and research limitations based on its empirical findings.
Characterization of the promoter region of the human melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene.

We sequenced 3201 bp upstream from the ATG translation start codon of the human melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R). A number of transcriptional initiation sites were detected over a region of approximately 600 base pairs upstream of the receptor coding region. These consist of GC-rich regions, each including SP-1 consensus binding motifs. Neither a TATA nor a CAAT box was found in this region. The 5'-flanking region also contains the consensus regulatory elements for AP-1, AP-2, and several E-boxes. Gel shift assays targeting the three GC boxes confirmed binding of SP-1. A promoter assay revealed that the minimal region exhibiting promoter activity was located between nucleotides -517 and -282 in human melanoma SK-Mel-2 cells. Further deletion from -517 to -447, which removed an SP-1 site, completely abolished luciferase activity. In conclusion, the MC1R promoter shares the characteristics of many other GPCR promoters. These characteristics include GC-rich sequence, lack of a TATA box, and binding of SP-1.
Rigorous Dynamics and Consistent Estimation in Arbitrarily Conditioned Linear Systems

The problem of estimating a random vector x from noisy linear measurements y=Ax+w with unknown parameters on the distributions of x and w, which must also be learned, arises in a wide range of statistical learning and linear inverse problems. We show that a computationally simple iterative message-passing algorithm can provably obtain asymptotically consistent estimates in a certain high-dimensional large-system limit (LSL) under very general parameterizations. Previous message passing techniques have required i.i. d. sub-Gaussian A matrices and often fail when the matrix is ill-conditioned. The proposed algorithm, called adaptive vector approximate message passing (Adaptive VAMP) with auto-tuning, applies to all right-rotationally random A. Importantly, this class includes matrices with arbitrarily bad conditioning. We show that the parameter estimates and mean squared error (MSE) of x in each iteration converge to deterministic limits that can be precisely predicted by a simple set of state evolution (SE) equations. In addition, a simple testable condition is provided in which the MSE matches the Bayes-optimal value predicted by the replica method. The paper thus provides a computationally simple method with provable guarantees of optimality and consistency over a large class of linear inverse problems.
GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE, HUMAN CAPITAL CREATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

This paper studies the impact of government expenditure for human capital - education and health - on economic growth, and the actual human capital created. The sample is non-Communist developing countries with a population of 2 million. The regressions indicate that differences in government expenditure on human capital (as a share of GNP) have (a) no statistically significant impact on the rate of economic growth, and (b) limited impact on the actual levels of education and health achieved.
A retrospective cohort mortality study of iron ore (hematite) miners in Minnesota.

In a retrospective cohort mortality study of 10,403 Minnesota iron-ore (hematite) miners no excesses of lung cancer mortality were found among either underground (Standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 100) or above ground (SMR = 88) miners. Yugoslav-born miners incurred a two-fold significant excess mortality for lung cancer that did not appear to be associated with their mining exposures. Significant excesses in mortality due to stomach cancer were found for both underground (SMR = 167) and aboveground (SMR = 181) miners as compared with U.S. white males. However, except among Finnish-born miners, these excesses disappeared when comparisons were made with the appropriate county rate. The apparent absence of significant radon exposure, a strict smoking prohibition underground, an aggressive silicosis control program, and the absence of underground diesel fuel use may explain why these underground miners did not appear to incur the lung cancer risk reported in other studies.
Recasting Reform: An Analysis of Electoral Reform Initiatives in Fourteen Parliamentary Democracies

While successful electoral system change has received considerable scholarly attention in recent years, comparatively little is known about the vast majority of cases where reform was unsuccessfully attempted or never attempted at all. Yet understanding these outcomes is vital to explaining the phenomenon of electoral reform. This dissertation illuminates the important spectrum of outcomes between stasis (no-change) and successful reform. In doing so, it examines the first step toward any potential voting system change: reform proposals and investigations. It asks how and when governments investigate electoral reform. Do reform investigations follow the same patterns as successful reforms? Using survival analysis of original data from 14 parliamentary democracies, this dissertation tests two complementary sets of hypotheses inspired by empirical studies of successful electoral reform and informed by different theoretical approaches to the study of institutional change. The first is a functionalist argument that suggests reform tends to occurs in order to bring “poorly performing” electoral systems closer to a better-functioning ideal. The second is a path-dependent explanation that emphasizes the self-reinforcing nature of political institutions. The analysis finds that reform is rarely proposed in response to apparent “failures” of the electoral system. Instead, the nature of the party system and the degree of institutional consolidation appear to be far better predictors of reform investigation.
Myofibroblasts have an impact on expression, dimerization and signaling of different ErbB receptors in OSCC cells

Abstract Introduction: Receptors of the ErbB family belong to the key players in cancer development and are targets of several therapeutic approaches. Their functional dependency on the tumor microenvironment, especially on CAFs is albeit still poorly understood. Our objective was to investigate the impact of CAF secretome on ErbB receptor expression and signaling behavior in OSCC. Methods: Stimulation of PE/CA-PJ15 OSCC cells with conditioned media of TGF-β1-activated fibroblasts was used as model system for CAF to cancer cell communication. Thereby costimulation with inhibitors against matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK), phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3-K), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) or knockdown of Her3 by siRNA was utilized for detailed investigation of the expression, dimerization and signaling pattern of ErbB in western blot and coimmunoprecipitation. Results: Our results show that soluble factors in activated fibroblast secretome stimulate metalloproteinase activity in the membrane of cancer cells. Thereby ligands are released that activate EGFR and subsequently upregulates EGFR expression via the STAT3 pathway. Simultaneously, the expression of PKCɛ was enhanced via a PI3-kinase/Akt-mediated pathway and a negative feedback regulation loop on EGFR downstream signaling generated. Furthermore, the activated fibroblasts secretome stimulated the highly oncogenic hetero-dimerization between HER3 and p95HER2. That protein association is inversely dependent on the expression level of HER3. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that the activated fibroblasts secretome can induce a counterbalanced regulation of protein expression, downstream signaling and the dimerization patterns of different ErbB receptor subtypes in the cancer cell. Thus, the combinatorial targeting of CAFs and selective ErbB receptor subtype inhibitors may provide a useful approach in cancer therapy.
Involvement of the dorsal subiculum and rostral basolateral amygdala in cocaine cue extinction learning in rats

Memory system circuitry may regulate how cues associated with cocaine are extinguished, and understanding neurosubstrates of extinction may lead to the development of improved treatment strategies for cocaine addiction. Sites within the hippocampus and amygdala were investigated for their role in regulating cocaine cue extinction learning. Initially, rats were trained to self‐administer cocaine under a second‐order reinforcement schedule (cocaine and cocaine cues present) followed by a 2‐week abstinence period. Using lidocaine, rats next underwent bilateral inactivation of the dorsal subiculum (dSUB) or rostral basolateral amygdala (rBLA), asymmetric inactivation of the dSUB and rBLA, unilateral inactivation of the dSUB or rBLA, or ipsilateral inactivation of the dSUB and rBLA prior to cocaine cue extinction training sessions (only cocaine cues present) on two consecutive days. Relative to vehicle, bilateral and asymmetric lidocaine treatments in the dSUB and rBLA slowed cocaine cue extinction learning. Specifically, vehicle‐treated rats exhibited a significantly larger difference in responding from Day 1 to Day 2 of extinction training than lidocaine‐treated rats. In comparison, unilateral or ipsilateral lidocaine treatments in the dSUB and rBLA did not slow cocaine cue extinction learning. Rats treated with lidocaine and vehicle exhibited a similar difference in responding from Day 1 to Day 2 of extinction training. These results indicate that sites within the hippocampus and amygdala need to be functionally active simultaneously in at least one brain hemisphere for acquisition of cocaine cue extinction learning. These results further suggest that a serial circuit within each hemisphere mediates acquisition of cocaine cue extinction learning.
A tumor suppressor locus in familial and sporadic chordoma maps to 1p36

Previous cytogenetic/FISH data have demonstrated 1p36 deletions in a relapsing familial clivus chordoma developed by a patient who has 2 daughters, respectively affected with childhood astrocytoma and clivus chordoma. Using an approach that combined the LOH (loss of heterozygosity) study of the father chordoma and the daughter astrocytoma and a segregation analysis from parents to sibs using 17 CA‐repeats spanning 1p36.32–1p36.11, we mapped the cancer susceptibility locus in this family to the 1p36 region. The LOH and haplotype information was elaborated using a pairwise linkage analysis that gave a maximum lod score of 1.2. Additional LOH data relating to 6 sporadic chordomas allowed us to define an SRO (the smallest region of overlapping loss) of about 25 cM from D1S2845 (1p36.31) to D1S2728 (1p36.13). Our overall findings converge on mapping to 1p36 a tumor‐suppressor gene involved in familial and sporadic chordoma. Int. J. Cancer 87:68–72, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.