Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perfusion MDCT enables early detection of therapeutic response to antiangiogenic therapy.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to determine whether perfusion CT can be used to detect early changes in therapeutic response to antiangiogenic therapy in an animal tumor model. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-five rats implanted with R3230 mammary adenocarcinoma (diameter, 1.2-2.0 cm) randomly received 7.5 or 30 mg/kg of an antiangiogenic agent, sorafenib, by daily gavage for 4 (n = 4), 9 (n = 9), or 14 (n = 5) days. Seven untreated animals served as a control group. Perfusion MDCT was performed at days 0, 4, 9, and 14 with 0.4 mL of ioversol (350 mg/mL) and included four 5-mm slices covering the entire tumor volume. Changes in tumor growth were determined by volumetric analysis of CT data. Serial changes in tumor volume and blood flow were assessed and correlated with pathology findings. RESULTS All control tumors grew larger (from 2.0 +/- 0.7 cm(3) at day 0 to 5.9 +/- 1.0 cm(3) at day 14), whereas all treated tumors shrank (from 2.5 +/- 1.1 to 2.1 +/- 1.0 cm(3)), with a statistically significant rate of growth or shrinkage in both groups (p < 0.05). Although perfusion in the control tumors changed little from day 0 to day 14 (day 0, 18.1 +/- 9.2 mL/min/100 g; day 4, 15.8 +/- 5.6; day 9, 21.7 +/- 12.2; day 14, 27.7 +/- 34), in the sorafenib group, the mean blood flow was significantly lower at day 4 (5.2 +/- 3.2 mL/min/100 g, 77% decrease), day 9 (6.4 +/- 4.0 mL/min/100 g, 66% decrease), and day 14 (6.3 +/- 5.2 mL/min/100 g, 83% decrease) compared with day 0 (23.8 +/- 11.6 mL/min/100 g) (p < 0.05). Poor correlation was seen between changes in blood flow and tumor volume for days 0-9 (r(2) = 0.34), 4-9 (r(2) = 0.0004), and 9-14 (r(2) = 0.16). However, when comparing day 4 images with days 9 and 14 images, seven of 14 (50%) sorafenib-treated tumors had focal areas of new perfusion that correlated with areas of histopathologic viability despite the fact that these tumors were shrinking in size from day 4 onward (day 4, 2.18 +/- 0.8 cm(3); day 9, 1.98 +/- 0.8 cm(3)). CONCLUSION Perfusion MDCT can detect focal blood flow changes even when the tumor is shrinking, possibly indicating early reversal of tumor responsiveness to antiangiogenic therapy. Given that changes in tumor volume after antiangiogenic therapy do not necessarily correlate with true treatment response, physiologic imaging of tumor perfusion may be necessary.
The Tumoricidal Activity of Memory CD8+ T Cells Is Hampered by Persistent Systemic Antigen, but Full Functional Capacity Is Regained in an Antigen-Free Environment1

Naive T cells can be tolerized in the periphery by diverse mechanisms. However, the extent to which memory T cells are susceptible to tolerance induction is less well defined. Vaccination of mice with a minimal CTL epitope derived from human adenovirus type 5 E1A in IFA s.c. readily tolerizes naive as well as recently activated CD8+ T cells due to the overwhelming systemic and persistent presence of the peptide. We have now studied the effect of this peptide on established memory cells, which were induced at least 50 days before by virus vaccination. Memory cells did not undergo peripheral deletion and kept their ability to produce IFN-γ as well as their cytolytic activity in response to Ag directly ex vivo. However, memory CTL responses in virus vaccinated mice injected with peptide ceased to control tumor outgrowth. Interestingly, functional capacities were regained when T cells were transferred to an Ag-free environment in vivo as determined by their ability to reject an otherwise lethal tumor challenge. Together, these findings indicate that memory CTL responses can be functionally incapacitated, but are not, in contrast to naive or recently activated T cells, irreversibly tolerized by persistent systemic Ag, as memory T cells quickly regain effector function upon disappearance of the Ag.
Hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acids from the Pacific krill show high ligand activities for PPARs[S]

PPARs regulate the expression of genes for energy metabolism in a ligand-dependent manner. PPARs can influence fatty acid oxidation, the level of circulating triglycerides, glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity. Here, we demonstrate that 5-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (HEPE), 8-HEPE, 9-HEPE, 12-HEPE and 18-HEPE (hydroxylation products of EPA) obtained from methanol extracts of Pacific krill (Euphausia pacifica) can act as PPAR ligands. Two of these products, 8-HEPE and 9-HEPE, enhanced the transcription levels of GAL4-PPARs to a significantly greater extent than 5-HEPE, 12-HEPE, 18-HEPE, EPA, and EPA ethyl-ester. 8-HEPE also activated significantly higher transcription of GAL4-PPARα, GAL4-PPARγ, and GAL4-PPARδ than EPA at concentrations greater than 4, 64, and 64 μM, respectively. We also demonstrated that 8-HEPE increased the expression levels of genes regulated by PPARs in FaO, 3T3-F442A, and C2C12 cells. Furthermore, 8-HEPE enhanced adipogenesis and glucose uptake. By contrast, at the same concentrations, EPA showed weak or little effect, indicating that 8-HEPE was the more potent inducer of physiological effects.
Ability and Employer Learning: Evidence from the Economist Labor Market

I study the human capital development and firm-worker matching processes for PhD economists. This group is useful for this purpose because the types of jobs they hold can be easily categorized and they have an observable productivity measure (that is, publications.) I derive a two-period model to motivate an empirical analysis of economist job matching upon graduation, matching ten years later, and productivity in the first ten years. I show that matching to a higher ranked institution affects productivity. I present evidence that employers improve their estimates of economists' ability early in their career in a way that determines longer-term job placement. I also find that the initial placement of economists to institutions does not show much evidence of systematic misallocation along observable characteristics.
Do teachers receive proper in-service training to implement changing policies: perspectives from the South African case?

Worldwide there is a responsibility of governments to provide learners with quality education to face the challenges of change. Emanating from this challenge, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in South Africa introduces in the last decade several curriculum changes which impacted on the delivery of quality education for all. This research focuses on the question if the DBE can provide proper in-service training for teachers to comply with the challenges of the implementation of a new national curriculum: Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The theoretical framework for this paper is based on systems theory. A qualitative research design will be employed in this paper. A selection of 15 different schools in Gauteng was used as a sample of a bigger population. Data collection consists of document analysis and semi-structured interviews exploring teachers’ experiences regarding in-service training towards the implementation of CAPS. Findings revealed that CAPS is implemented prematurely and without proper in-service training.
Whispered Speech Recognition Using Deep Denoising Autoencoder and Inverse Filtering

Due to the profound differences between acoustic characteristics of neutral and whispered speech, the performance of traditional automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems trained on neutral speech degrades significantly when whisper is applied. In order to deeply analyze this mismatched train/test situation and to develop an efficient way for whisper recognition, this study first analyzes acoustic characteristics of whispered speech, addresses the problems of whispered speech recognition in mismatched conditions, and then proposes a new robust cepstral features and preprocessing approach based on deep denoising autoencoder (DDAE) that enhance whisper recognition. The experimental results confirm that Teager-energy-based cepstral features, especially TECCs, are more robust and better whisper descriptors than traditional Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC). Further detailed analysis of cepstral distances, distributions of cepstral coefficients, confusion matrices, and experiments with inverse filtering, prove that voicing in speech stimuli is the main cause of word misclassification in mismatched train/test scenarios. The new framework based on DDAE and TECC feature, significantly improves whisper recognition accuracy and outperforms traditional MFCC and GMM-HMM (Gaussian mixture density—Hidden Markov model) baseline, resulting in an absolute 31% improvement of whisper recognition accuracy. The achieved word recognition rate in neutral/whisper scenario is 92.81%.
SENSITIVE TO FREEZING6 Integrates Cellular and Environmental Inputs to the Plant Circadian Clock1[W][OA]

The sensitive to freezing6 (sfr6) mutant of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is late flowering in long days due to reduced expression of components in the photoperiodic flowering pathway in long-day photoperiods. Microarray analysis of gene expression showed that a circadian clock-associated motif, the evening element, was overrepresented in promoters of genes down-regulated in sfr6 plants. Analysis of leaf movement rhythms found sfr6 plants showed a sucrose (Suc)-dependent long period phenotype; unlike wild-type Arabidopsis, the clock in sfr6 plants did not have a shorter rhythm in the presence of Suc. Other developmental responses to Suc were unaltered in sfr6 plants, suggesting insensitivity to Suc is restricted to the clock. We investigated the effect of sfr6 and Suc upon clock gene expression over 24 h. The sfr6 mutation resulted in reduced expression of the clock components CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1, GIGANTEA, and TIMING OF CAB1. These changes occurred independently of Suc supplementation. Wild-type plants showed small increases in clock gene expression in the presence of Suc; this response to Suc was reduced in sfr6 plants. This study shows that large changes in level and timing of clock gene expression may have little effect upon clock outputs. Moreover, although Suc influences the period and accuracy of the Arabidopsis clock, it results in relatively minor changes in clock gene expression.
Trade Competitiveness of Cash Crops in Post-WTO Period in Andhra Pradesh

In Andhra Pradesh, cotton and groundnut are the major cash crops. There are significant changes in the competitiveness of these two crops due to technological and policy environment. This paper examines the trends in area, production, and yield and competitiveness of these two crops in pre- and post-WTO period and their implications for producers, consumer surplus and social cost benefits at state level. Trade competitiveness of groundnut and cotton increased during post-WTO period as revealed from DRC and NPC. In the case of cotton, growth rate in area and production are consistently higher, but negative for groundnut. In the case of cotton, the state had clear competitive advantage and the adoption of Bt cotton varieties raised it further. The state is an efficient and competitive producer of groundnut, but its profitability is adversely affected by fluctuations in prices and yields. Welfare gain was higher in the case of cotton than groundnut due to free markets.
Children’s Speech Recognition Scores: The Speech Intelligibility Index and Proficiency Factors for Age and Hearing Level

Objective: The objective of this study was to predict consonant recognition scores of adults, children, and children with hearing impairment, using the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII). It was hypothesized that an adult-derived transfer function would be insufficient to predict the scores for children, and that transfer functions for normally hearing listeners would be insufficient to predict scores for children with hearing impairment. Proficiency corrections for age and hearing loss were explored. Design: A 21-consonant test of speech recognition was applied across five signal to noise ratios in a forced choice procedure. Four adults (aged 27–32 yrs), 15 children with normal hearing (aged 6.6–16.9 yrs), and 14 children with mild to severe hearing loss (aged 7.5–18 yrs) participated. The SII was computed for each listener and each test condition using the one-third octave band method. Transfer functions were fitted to the data of each group. Results: The adult-derived transfer function over-predicted the children’s scores. Significant increases in prediction accuracy were obtained when the effects of age and hearing loss were incorporated into the transfer function as proficiency factors. Conclusions: The SII could successfully be used to predict speech recognition scores for both adults and children, once the effects of age and hearing loss were included in the development of a transfer function. Specific proficiency factors developed here may not generalize to other data sets. Nonetheless, the results shed light on factors to consider when using the SII to predict children’s speech recognition scores.
In vivo administration of 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 suppresses the expression of RANKL mRNA in bone of thyroparathyroidectomized rats constantly infused with PTH

It is known that pharmacological or toxic doses of vitamin D induce bone resorption both in vivo and in vitro, whereas physiological doses of the vitamin have a protective effect on bone in vivo. To investigate the discrepancies of the dose‐dependent effect of vitamin D on bone resorption, we examined the in vivo effect of 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] on the expression of the receptor activator of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) mRNAs in bone of thyroparathyroidectomized (TPTX) rats infused with or without parathyroid hormone (PTH). Continuous infusion of 50 ng/h of PTH greatly increased the expression of RANKL mRNA in bone of TPTX rats. Expression of OPG mRNA was not altered by PTH infusion. When graded doses of 1,25(OH)2D3 was daily administered orally for 14 days to normocalcemic TPTX rats constantly infused with PTH, 0.01 and 0.1 μg/kg of 1,25(OH)2D3 inhibited the PTH‐induced RANKL mRNA expression, but 0.5 μg/kg of the vitamin did not inhibit it. Regulator of G protein signaling‐2 (RGS‐2) gene expression was suppressed by 1,25(OH)2D3 dose‐dependently, but PTH/PTHrP receptor mRNA expression was not altered. Bone morphometric analyses revealed that 1,25(OH)2D3 suppressed PTH‐induced osteoclast number in vivo. These results suggest that pharmacological or toxic doses of 1,25(OH)2D3 stimulate bone resorption by inducing RANKL, but a certain range of physiological doses of the vitamin inhibit PTH‐induced bone resorption, the latter mechanism appeared to be mediated, at least in part, by the suppression of the PTH/PTHrP receptor‐mediated signaling. J. Cell. Biochem. 90: 267–277, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
TMS Induced Plasticity in Human Cortex

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS) is a novel, non-invasive and painless technique to stimulate the human brain with the intent to alter excitability or function of the stimulated cortex or its connections. This review focuses on RTMS induced changes in excitability, the potential mechanisms underlying these effects, and the usefulness of this knowledge to gain insight into mechanisms of other processes such as learning.
Why Do Poor People Co-Hold Debt and Liquid Savings?

Abstract I examine the use of flexible savings-and-loan accounts offered by SafeSave, a microfinance institution serving poor slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I find that 59 per cent of the clients co-hold, meaning that they borrow at high interest rates and simultaneously hold low-yield liquid savings. Co-holders could immediately pay down, on average, 32 per cent of their debt using liquid savings and thus avoid significant interest payments. The results show that co-holders are more likely to be regular workers subject to little income uncertainty, suggesting that co-holding is not a consequence of liquidity needs. The paper discusses alternative explanations.
Loss of TRIM33 causes resistance to BET bromodomain inhibitors through MYC- and TGF-β–dependent mechanisms

Significance Inhibitors of bromodomain and extraterminal domain family proteins (BETi) have generated considerable excitement and are in clinical trials for treatment of several cancers. Cancers treated with targeted therapies eventually become resistant, yet molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to BETi are poorly understood. To discover novel molecular mechanisms mediating resistance to BETi, we performed a shRNA-based genetic screen. We found that loss of tripartite motif-containing protein 33 (TRIM33), a chromatin-associated E3 ubiquitin ligase, confers resistance to BETi. TRIM33 loss diminished BETi-mediated reduction in MYC expression and enhanced TGF-β signaling. Notably, inhibition of TGF-β signaling increased sensitivity of cells to the antiproliferative effects of BETi. In particular, a TGF-β receptor inhibitor potentiated growth suppression by BETi, suggesting a clinically viable strategy for combination therapy. Bromodomain and extraterminal domain protein inhibitors (BETi) hold great promise as a novel class of cancer therapeutics. Because acquired resistance typically limits durable responses to targeted therapies, it is important to understand mechanisms by which tumor cells adapt to BETi. Here, through pooled shRNA screening of colorectal cancer cells, we identified tripartite motif-containing protein 33 (TRIM33) as a factor promoting sensitivity to BETi. We demonstrate that loss of TRIM33 reprograms cancer cells to a more resistant state through at least two mechanisms. TRIM33 silencing attenuates down-regulation of MYC in response to BETi. Moreover, loss of TRIM33 enhances TGF-β receptor expression and signaling, and blocking TGF-β receptor activity potentiates the antiproliferative effect of BETi. These results describe a mechanism for BETi resistance and suggest that combining inhibition of TGF-β signaling with BET bromodomain inhibition may offer new therapeutic benefits.
From the Cover: Negative regulation of defense responses in plants by a conserved MAPKK kinase

The enhanced disease resistance 1 (edr1) mutation of Arabidopsis confers resistance to powdery mildew disease caused by the fungus Erysiphe cichoracearum. Resistance mediated by the edr1 mutation is correlated with induction of several defense responses, including host cell death. Double mutant analysis revealed that all edr1-associated phenotypes are suppressed by mutations that block salicylic acid (SA) perception (nim1) or reduce SA production (pad4 and eds1). The NahG transgene, which lowers endogenous SA levels, also suppressed edr1. In contrast, the ein2 mutation did not suppress edr1-mediated resistance and associated phenotypes, indicating that ethylene and jasmonic acid-induced responses are not required for edr1 resistance. The EDR1 gene was isolated by positional cloning and was found to encode a putative MAP kinase kinase kinase similar to CTR1, a negative regulator of ethylene responses in Arabidopsis. Taken together, these data suggest that EDR1 functions at the top of a MAP kinase cascade that negatively regulates SA-inducible defense responses. Putative orthologs of EDR1 are present in monocots such as rice and barley, indicating that EDR1 may regulate defense responses in a wide range of crop species.
Evaluation of white blood cell count, neutrophil percentage, and elevated temperature as predictors of bloodstream infection in burn patients.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether specific values of or changes in temperature, white blood cell count, or neutrophil percentage were predictive of bloodstream infection in burn patients. DESIGN Retrospective review of electronic records. SETTING Intensive care center at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center. PATIENTS Burn patients with blood cultures obtained from 2001 to 2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Temperature recorded at the time blood cultures were obtained; highest temperature in each 6-hour interval during the 24 hours prior to this; white blood cell count and neutrophil percentage at the time of obtaining the blood culture and during the 24 hours preceding the blood culture; demographic data; and total body surface area burned. RESULTS A total of 1063 blood cultures were obtained from 223 patients. Seventy-three people had 140 blood cultures from which microorganisms were recovered. Organisms that were recovered from blood cultures included 80 that were gram negative, 54 that were gram positive, 3 that were mixed gram positive/gram negative, and 3 yeasts. Although white blood cell count and neutrophil percentage at the time of the culture were statistically different between patients with and patients without bloodstream infection, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed these values to be poor discriminators (receiver operating characteristic curve area = 0.624). Temperature or alterations in temperature in the preceding 24-hour period did not predict presence, absence, or type of bloodstream infection. CONCLUSIONS Temperature, white blood cell count, neutrophil percentage, or changes in these values were not clinically reliable in predicting bloodstream infection. Further work is needed to identify alternative clinical parameters, which should prompt blood culture evaluations in this population.
Cancer Nursing Research in Queensland, Australia: Barriers, Priorities, and Strategies for Progress

Nursing research is an integral component of improving the care of people with cancer; however, the literature suggests that many organizational, resource, and attitudinal barriers to research remain. The aim of the present study was to systematically describe the research experience, attitudes, and opinions of nurses in Queensland, Australia, about priorities and strategies for developing cancer nursing research. A mail survey was sent to all 589 members of the Oncology Nurses Group of Queensland to assess their research knowledge, experience, and attitudes. A response rate of 54.2% (319 nurses) was obtained. Results suggest that many nurses in this study have access to and are reading available research regularly. However, many nurses reported only limited education and skills in research, scarce resources, and limited time to participate in research. Few nurses were involved in developing research proposals, were presenting at conferences, or were writing for publication. Despite these constraints, most of the sample indicated high levels of interest in participating in conducting research. Furthermore, most nurses in this study viewed research as important to patient care and as being an important role for clinical nurses. The top 3 priority areas for cancer nursing research were identified as psychosocial support, pain management, and symptom management. Specific strategies identified for developing nursing research included providing information, support, mentorship, and resources. Professional groups were viewed as having an important role in the development of nursing research in education, lobbying, and facilitating networking among researchers.
Learning Paraphrastic Sentence Embeddings from Back-Translated Bitext

We consider the problem of learning general-purpose, paraphrastic sentence embeddings in the setting of Wieting et al. (2016b). We use neural machine translation to generate sentential paraphrases via back-translation of bilingual sentence pairs. We evaluate the paraphrase pairs by their ability to serve as training data for learning paraphrastic sentence embeddings. We find that the data quality is stronger than prior work based on bitext and on par with manually-written English paraphrase pairs, with the advantage that our approach can scale up to generate large training sets for many languages and domains. We experiment with several language pairs and data sources, and develop a variety of data filtering techniques. In the process, we explore how neural machine translation output differs from human-written sentences, finding clear differences in length, the amount of repetition, and the use of rare words.