Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MET is a potential target for use in combination therapy with EGFR inhibition in triple‐negative/basal‐like breast cancer

MET, a cell surface receptor for hepatocyte growth factor, is involved in the development of triple‐negative/basal‐like breast cancer (TNBC/BLBC). However, its utility as a therapeutic target in this subtype of breast cancer is poorly understood. To evaluate MET fully as a potential therapeutic target for TNBC/BLBC, we investigated the relationship between MET expression and clinical outcomes of patients with breast cancer and the functional effect of MET inhibition. Using automated immunohistochemistry (Ventana), we analyzed MET expression in 924 breast cancer patients with relevant clinicopathologic parameters. BLBC showed the strongest relationship with MET expression (57.5%, p < 0.001). High expression of MET in breast cancer resulted in poor overall survival (p = 0.001) and disease‐free survival (DFS, p = 0.010). MET expression was relatively high in TNBC cell lines, and the silencing of MET via small interfering RNA reduced cell proliferation and migration. We observed reduced TNBC cell viability after treatment with the MET inhibitor PHA‐665752. In the most drug‐resistant cell line, MDA‐MB‐468, which showed elevated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression, silencing of EGFR resulted in increased sensitivity to PHA‐665752 treatment. We confirmed that PHA‐665752 synergizes with the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib to decrease the viability of MDA‐MB‐468 cells. TNBC patients coexpressing MET and EGFR showed significantly worse DFS than that in patients expressing EGFR alone (p = 0.021). Our findings strongly suggest that MET may be a therapeutic target in TNBC and that the combined therapy targeting MET and EGFR may be beneficial for the treatment of TNBC/BLBC patients.
Forecasting Volatility with a GARCH(1,1) Model: Some New Analytical and Monte Carlo Results

This paper aims at explaining the poor forecasting performance of the GARCH(1,1) model reported in many empirical studies. A number of previous applied studies compare the conditional volatility forecasts of the GARCH(1,1) model to those of a model that assumes constant conditional variance (homoscedasticity) and conclude that the GARCH(1,1) model does not outperform the homoscedastic one. In these studies, the comparison of the relative forecasting accuracy of the two models is usually based on a selected formal statistical test that compares the Mean Squared Errors (MSEs) of the volatility forecasts of the two models. Some recent theoretical studies argue that the poor forecasting performance of the GARCH(1,1) model found in empirical studies is deceptive, since the utilization of the squared shocks as a proxy for the unobserved true conditional volatility increases the MSE of the volatility forecasts (MSE-inflation), rendering the MSE criterion invalid for proper evaluation of the forecasting accuracy of GARCH(1,1). However, the analytical results presented in this paper show that the utilization of the squared shocks as a proxy for the unobserved true conditional volatility "inflates" equally the MSEs of the forecasts of the GARCH(1,1) and the homoscedastic models and thus the MSE criterion remains capable to evaluate properly the relative forecasting performance of the two models. We also provide useful suggestions for proper statistical evaluation of the volatility forecasts of GARCH(1,1), together with an empirical illustration based on five bilateral exchange rates for the US dollar.
Air-gas exchange reevaluated: clinically important results of a computer simulation.

PURPOSE The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of air-gas exchange techniques and the factors that influence the final concentration of an intraocular gas tamponade. Parameters were varied to find the optimum method of performing an air-gas exchange in ideal circumstances. METHODS A computer model of the eye was designed using 3D software with fluid flow analysis capabilities. Factors such as angular distance between ports, gas infusion gauge, exhaust vent gauge and depth were varied in the model. Flow rate and axial length were also modulated to simulate faster injections and more myopic eyes, respectively. The flush volume of gas required to achieve a 97% intraocular gas fraction concentration were compared. RESULTS Modulating individual factors did not reveal any clinically significant difference in the angular distance between ports, exhaust vent size, and depth or rate of gas injection. In combination, however, there was a 28% increase in air-gas exchange efficiency comparing the most efficient with the least efficient studied parameters in this model. The gas flush volume required to achieve a 97% gas fill also increased proportionately at a ratio of 5.5 to 6.2 times the volume of the eye. CONCLUSIONS A 35-mL flush is adequate for eyes up to 25 mm in axial length; however, eyes longer than this would require a much greater flush volume, and surgeons should consider using two separate 50-mL gas syringes to ensure optimal gas concentration for eyes greater than 25 mm in axial length.
Regional and Seasonal Differences in the Cotton Basis

The cotton basis is examined graphically and statistically to determine if the basis differs across U.S. production regions and within the crop year as economic theory predicts. The analysis indicates the basis differs for some, but not all, regions consistent with the theory. Results also show that the typical seasonal pattern is not apparent for regions which export most of their cotton, most likely because demand in these regions is seasonal.
High-resolution numerical simulations of resuspending gravity currents: Conditions for self-sustainment

Received 21 February 2005; revised 30 June 2005; accepted 29 August 2005; published 22 December 2005. [1] We introduce a computational model for high-resolution simulations of particle-laden gravity currents. The features of the computational model are described in detail, and validation data are discussed. Physical results are presented that focus on the influence of particle entrainment from the underlying bed. As turbulent motions detach particles from the bottom surface, resuspended particles entrained over the entire length of the current are transferred to the current’s head, causing it to become denser and potentially accelerating the front of the current. The conditions under which turbidity currents may become self-sustaining through particle entrainment are investigated as a function of slope angle, current and particle size, and particle concentration. The effect of computational domain size and initial aspect ratio of the current on the evolution of the current are also considered. Applications to flows traveling over a surface of varying slope angle, such as turbidity currents spreading down the continental slope, are modeled via a spatially varying gravity vector. Particular attention is given to the resulting particle deposits and erosion patterns.
Regional Polarization under the Socialist-Market System since 1978: A Case Study of Guangdong Province in South China

This paper is an empirical study examining the trends of spatial polarization under the new regime of the socialist-market system in Guangdong province in south China. It was found that a regional polarization process toward the core Zhujiang Delta region has occurred. The roles of old central cities such as Shaoguan, Zhanjiang, and Shantou outside the core region have been gradually weakened while some emerging cities such as Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Shunde, Nanhai, and Panyu in the core region have become strong growth centers. The dominant role of Guangzhou, established in the prereform planning system, has also been significantly weakened in the postreform period. Among the forces of development from above, below, and outside, local government revenue and savings per capita were found to be the key factors determining the level of development in various localities, confirming the key role of ‘local state corporatism’ in regional development in China.
Prevalence, antibiotic resistance and molecular characterisation of Staphylococcus aureus in pigs at agricultural fairs in the USA

Fairs and petting zoos have been associated with outbreaks of zoonotic disease. Previously, the presence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was documented in commercial pigs; therefore, it was hypothesised that antibiotic-resistant S aureus may also occur in pigs exhibited at agricultural fairs. To test this hypothesis, 157 pigs were swabbed at two state fairs in 2008 to 2009. Both nares were sampled and cultures were grown in enrichment broth, then plated onto selective MRSA plates and blood plates. S aureus was confirmed using phenotypic and molecular methods, and was analysed using spa typing, gene-specific polymerase chain reaction and antibiotic susceptibility testing. The presence of S aureus was confirmed in samples collected from pigs exhibited at USA pig shows. Twenty-five of 157 (15.9 per cent) samples were positive for S aureus. Two isolates (8 per cent) were resistant to meticillin; 23/25 (92 per cent), 14/25 (56 per cent) and 15/25 (60 per cent) were resistant to tetracycline, erythromycin and clindamycin, respectively. spa typing revealed multiple isolates of spa type t034 (9/25, 36 per cent) and t337 (7/25, 28 per cent) and singletons of t002, t209, t526, t1236, t1334, t1683, t3075, t5784 and t5883. These results verify the presence of antibiotic-resistant S aureus in pigs exhibited at USA fairs, suggesting that pigs are a potential reservoir for S aureus within this environment.
Dehydration stress extends mRNA 3′ untranslated regions with noncoding RNA functions in Arabidopsis

The 3′ untranslated regions (3′ UTRs) of mRNAs play important roles in the regulation of mRNA localization, translation, and stability. Alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) generates mRNAs with different 3′ UTRs, but the involvement of this process in stress response has not yet been clarified. Here, we report that a subset of stress-related genes exhibits 3′ UTR extensions of their mRNAs during dehydration stress. These extended 3′ UTRs have characteristics of long noncoding RNAs and likely do not interact with miRNAs. Functional studies using T-DNA insertion mutants reveal that they can act as antisense transcripts to repress expression levels of sense genes from the opposite strand or can activate the transcription or lead to read-through transcription of their downstream genes. Further analysis suggests that transcripts with 3′ UTR extensions have weaker poly(A) signals than those without 3′ UTR extensions. Finally, we show that their biogenesis is partially dependent on a trans-acting factor FPA. Taken together, we report that dehydration stress could induce transcript 3′ UTR extensions and elucidate a novel function for these stress-induced 3′ UTR extensions as long noncoding RNAs in the regulation of their neighboring genes.
Filtering, City Change and the Supply of Low-priced Housing in Canada

This paper examines the filtering process and shows the extent of the forces that are gentrifying Canadian cities. The 1996 census micro data are used to develop rent- and price-age profiles of dwellings in each of Canada's census metropolitan areas. The analysis shows that the filtering process is both too slow and, at best, can have too small an effect to be a part of a government strategy for reducing the housing burdens of low-income people. Filtering is not helping lower-income households. The most important finding shows the reversal in the direction of filtering in all Canadian metropolitan areas since 1981. The rents and prices of older dwellings have been rising faster than those of the newer units. The steep 1971 rent- and price-age profiles for Montreal and Toronto are explained to show that government policies would not be able to induce the amount of filtering needed to have a noticeable effect on the welfare of lower-income households. The pressures that eventually find expression in gentrified neighbourhoods are affecting much of the older housing stock. Cities in other countries that are experiencing gentrification may be subject to the same pressures.
The Value Premium: Rational, Irrational or Random

Using data from the stock markets of Japan, the UK and the US, this paper examines the time series properties of a price index derived from a zero net investment strategy of buying value stocks and short selling growth stocks. We use the results of this analysis to consider implications for the validity of competing hypotheses on the source of the value premium. Overall, the results from this study indicate that the US value premium displays different characteristics to the value premiums for the UK and Japan. This has farreaching implications for financial modelling and for the success, or otherwise, of investment strategies based on the existence of a value premium.
Effects of subclinical mastitis on heat stability of fluid milk.

Abstract The heat stability curves of milk taken from individual healthy and infected quarters of heifer and aged cows were examined at various stages of lactation. It was found that at any given milking the maximum and natural heat stabilities of the milk drawn from the four quarters of healthy cows were always the same. The pooled milk from all quarters gave heat stabilities similar to those of the individual quarters. Variations in pH on different days of testing did not always cause changes in the heat stability of the the milk. Milk drawn from infected quarters generally gave much lower heat stabilities than milk drawn from healthy quarters of the same cow at the same milking. This lower heat stability was associated with a higher pH of the milk. The heat stability curves of milk from infected quarters also showed a shift to the alkaline side. The heat stability of mixed subclinical mastitic milk and uninfected milk could not be predicted from the heat stabilities of either milk. The heat stability of late-lactation milk was high and associated with high pH.
Treatment of Psoriatic Nails with Topical Cyclosporin: A Prospective, Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study

Background: Nail involvement is a frequent event in the course of psoriasis causing severe distress. While systemic cyclosporin (CsA) represents a well-established therapy of psoriasis, its topical use is limited by the difficult penetration of the molecule through the skin and the nail because of its highly lipophilic nature. Objectives: We carried out a prospective randomized placebo-controlled study in order to analyze the effectiveness and tolerability of topical oil-dissolved 70% CsA solution in nail psoriasis. Methods: Sixteen adult patients with nail psoriasis, divided randomly into two groups of 8 patients (group A and group B), were treated respectively with a 70% maize-oil-dissolved oral CsA solution and maize oil alone. To compare the therapeutic effectiveness, all patients were evaluated, before starting the treatment and after 12 weeks of therapy, by the same dermatologists. The patients were also asked to assess the severity of their nail involvement at baseline and at the end of the treatment. Results: In group A, 3 patients came to a complete resolution of nail lesions and 5 showed a substantial improvement of the overall severity score. In group B, a slight improvement was noted in only 1 patient. All the patients of group A judged positively the results of the therapy, while in group B only 1 patient reported a moderate improvement. Conclusion: Our results show that topical therapy with oral CsA solution is a safe, effective and cosmetically highly acceptable treatment modality for nail psoriasis. The ability of CsA to influence keratinocyte proliferation and T-cell lymphokine release, reducing the cornification of the upper layers of the epidermis, may prevent the typical alterations observed in nail psoriasis.
Strain Differences in Extracellular Amino Acid Neurotransmitter Levels in the Hippocampi of Major Histocompatibility Complex Congenic Mice in Response to Toluene Exposure

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible role of the major histocompatibility complex locus in neurotransmitter systems in the mouse hippocampus following toluene exposure. Methods: We compared the changes in toluene-induced extracellular amino acid neurotransmitter levels in the hippocampi of 2 strains of male congenic mice, C57BL/10 (H-2b) and B10.BR/Sg (H-2k). In vivo microdialysis was performed in each freely moving mouse after a single intraperitoneal injection of toluene (300 mg/kg), and neurotransmitters in the hippocampal microdialysates were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: The basal extracelluar glutamate and glycine levels in the hippocampi of the C57BL mice were significantly higher than those in the B10.BR mice. However, the basal extracellular taurine levels in the hippocampi of the C57BL mice were significantly lower than those in the B10.BR mice. Although no changes in the glutamate levels were observed after toluene injection in either strain, the glycine levels increased significantly after toluene injection in the C57BL mice. On the other hand, significantly lower taurine levels were observed after toluene injection in both strains of mice. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate the existence of a relationship between H-2 haplotypes and hippocampal neurotransmitter levels in mice.
When Do Long-Run Identifying Restrictions Give Reliable Results?

Many recent articles have identified behavioral disturbances in vector autoregressions by imposing restrictions on the long-run effects of shocks. This article demonstrates that this approach will be unreliable unless the underlying economy satisfies three types of strong restrictions. Although many aspects of these issues have been raised before, this article draws out and illustrates the implications for inferences under the long-run scheme. Furthermore, it provides strategies for dealing with the problems.
Local employer competition and training of workers

ABSTRACT The new training literature suggests that in a monopsonistic market employers will not only pay for firm-specific training but also pay for general training if the risk of poaching is limited. This implies that training should decrease with more competition for employees among firms. Using worker-level data for Germany on training participation and on training duration, the authors find empirical support for this hypothesis. Specifically, the authors find that employees are significantly less likely to participate in training if the local density of firms in a sector is high and they have shorter training durations when the local sector concentration is low.
Exploring the Impact of Ongoing Colonial Violence on Aboriginal Students in the Postsecondary Classroom

Framed within an Anishnaabe method and an anti-colonial discursive framework, this thesis explores how Aboriginal students confront narratives of colonial violence in the postsecondary classroom while at the same time living and experiencing colonial violence on a daily basis. In order to garner an understanding of what pedagogies might be useful in postsecondary classrooms that cover such curricula, I explored these questions by interviewing 8 Aboriginal students and 5 Aboriginal professors who were taking or teaching courses on Aboriginal peoples and colonial history. I also engaged two Aboriginal Elders in conversations on pedagogy because they are recognized as carriers of Aboriginal traditional knowledge. Drawing on the literature I theorize colonization as violent, ongoing and traumatic. Specifically, I trace how education for Aboriginal peoples has always been and continues to be part of the colonial regime--one that is marked by violence, abuse and a regime that has had devastating consequences for Aboriginal peoples. This thesis confirms that despite some changes to the educational system Aboriginal students and professors interviewed in this research still confront significant challenges when they enter sites such as the postsecondary classroom. The most profound finding in this thesis was the extent of racism that Aboriginal students confront and negotiate in postsecondary classrooms. These negotiations are especially profound and painful in mixed classrooms where the narrative of ongoing colonial violence is discussed. Aboriginal students also employ a number of strategies to resist ongoing colonialism and racism. The narrative of racism is not new but it does reaffirm that colonialism continues to have devastating effects on Aboriginal peoples. It also reaffirms the pervasiveness of violence in our society despite the fact that many would rather ignore or downplay the level of violence that exists. There is no doubt that the Aboriginal students interviewed in this research describe a significant psychological toll in an environment of ongoing colonialism and is especially difficult when revisiting historical and ongoing accounts of violence of their own colonial history. The thesis offers some suggestions for mitigating this impact in the classroom.
The Meta Indigenous Politico-Administrative System, Good Governance, and the Modern Republican State in Cameroon

Traditional or indigenous politico-administrative institutions, as opposed to those of western origin, appear to be regaining their once lost allure in Africa. Yet, it is not enough to simply extol or advocate a return to tradition. There is a need to examine the implicit hypothesis of such advocacy. Are traditional institutions truly capable of making a positive contribution to ongoing efforts to promote good governance and, ultimately, development in Africa? The present study attempts to address this question by analysing the traditional system of Meta, an acephalous polity with a tradition of autonomous chiefdoms and village-centric orientation, in the Northwest Region, Cameroon. A sample of village-level initiatives undertaken within the polity’s decentralized indigenous politico-administrative framework, and region-wide development projects under the auspices of centralized modern institutional bodies, are compared. Results show the indigenous systems markedly outperforming their modern counterparts, particularly based on outcome measures of good governance. This provides some empirical justification for recommending the incorporation of traditional institutions in the modern governance process in Cameroon in particular and Africa in general.
Author response: Primary marginal zone lymphoma of the CNS presenting as a diffuse leptomeningeal process

Dr. Kunchok et al. describe a patient similar to our reported patient,1 ultimately diagnosed with low-grade, primary leptomeningeal, marginal zone B cell lymphoma. As illustrated in both cases, the malignancy can initially masquerade as a subarachnoid hemorrhage on neuroimaging. However, additional features, including an indolent clinical course, presence of cortical symptoms, and extracranial (spinal) leptomeningeal enhancement, should expand the differential diagnosis. In the patient reported by Kunchok et al., the presence of higher protein levels with elevated intracranial pressure and spinal leptomeningeal enhancement are notable findings that suggest a more advanced disease state compared to that of our patient. Whether these clinical features are simply related to longer-standing disease or to a more aggressive lymphoma variant is unclear. It is also worth noting that this patient had an incomplete response to chemotherapy and progressed to craniospinal radiotherapy. Continued reporting of this rare primary CNS malignancy will hopefully lead not only to increased awareness of its existence, but to more robust evidence-based treatment protocols.