Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunohistochemical expression of p53, nm23-HI, Ki67 and DNA ploidy: correlation with lymph node status and other clinical pathologic parameters in breast cancer.

BACKGROUND The different clinical evolution of breast cancer with similar pathological characteristics prompted the authors to investigate the prognostic significance of different biological markers. METHODS Seventy-one primary breast carcinoma specimens obtained by mastectomy or quadrantectomy were examined for the determination of the p53, nm23 and Ki67 expression, with immunohistochemistry, and the DNA content, with static cytometry. RESULTS p53 protein was expressed as nuclear staining in 58% of the cases and was associated with high levels of Ki67, non-diploid lesions and lymph-node status. Positive staining for nm23 was significantly correlated only with histologic grading. A predictive role in disease recurrence was demonstrated only in patients with a high Ki67 nuclear expression. CONCLUSIONS From these data, we may conclude that, besides all the other traditional clinical morphological parameters, a panel of different biological markers, such as Ki67 and the determination of p53 expression, may be utilized to further characterize breast cancer and its biological behavior.
Genetic variants in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor genes jointly contribute to kidney function in American Indians: the Strong Heart Family Study

Background: Cigarette smoking negatively affects kidney function. Genetic variants in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) genes have been associated with nicotine dependence, and are likely to influence renal function and related traits. Whereas each single variant may only exert a small effect, the joint contribution of multiple variants to the risk of disease could be substantial. Methods: Using a gene-family approach, we investigated the joint association of 61 tagging SNPs in seven genes encoding the nAChRs with kidney function in 3620 American Indians participating in the Strong Heart Family Study, independent of known risk factors. Kidney function was evaluated by estimated glomerular filtration rate, urinary albumin/creatinine ratio, albuminuria and chronic kidney disease. The joint impact of smoking-related variants was assessed using the weighted truncated product method. Results: Multiple SNPs showed marginal individual effect on renal function variability, and only a few survive multiple comparison correction. In contrast, a gene-family analysis considering the joint impact of all 61 SNPs reveals significant associations of the nAChR gene family with kidney function variables including estimated glomerular filtration rate, urinary albumin/creatinine ratio, and albuminuria (all Ps ⩽ 0.0001) after adjusting for established risk factors including cigarette smoking. Conclusion: Genetic variants in nAChR genes jointly contribute to renal function or kidney damage in American Indians. The effects of these genetic variants on kidney function or damage are independent of traditional risk factors including cigarette smoking per se.
TIME MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF EDUCATORS IN A STATE UNIVERSITY

This descriptive study revealed the time management practices of the faculty members in a state university in the Philippines. By employing self-made questionnaire, data on time management practices along with scheduling, goal setting, prioritizing tasks, managing paperwork and managing interruptions and challenges met by the teachers on managing their time were gathered. Analyses of the treated data showed that the respondents practiced scheduling, goal setting, prioritizing task, managing paperwork, and managing interruptions and excessive paperwork and reports is a common challenge met by the faculty members in managing their time. This study offered recommendations that may contribute significantly to their success as an educator and person.Time Management
Learning through environmental education : exploring the influences of environmental education programs on student learning and achievement

ii TABLE OF CONTENTS . iv LIST OF TABLES . vii LIST OF FIGURES . viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ix INTRODUCTION . 1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY . 3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS . 4 RESEARCH METHODS.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY . 5 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS . 6 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY . 7 ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION: DEFINITIONS AND GOALS . 7 ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING OUTCOMES IN THE BROADER EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT . 11 RESEARCH ON LEARNING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.14 EE-specific Outcomes . 14 Generic EE Outcomes . 20 Academic Achievement. 22 Critical Thinking . 28 Self-esteem . 30 Engagement and Motivation. 32 CLOSING REMARKS.33 METHODOLOGY . 35 ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN WASHINGTON STATE . 35 History of Environmental Education in Washington State.35 Washington State Definitions and Frameworks of Environmental Education . 38 Environmental Education in Washington State Schools: the Reality . 41 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY . 43 THE SETTING: SCHOOL AND SCHOOL DISTRICT DESCRIPTION . 44 School District.44 The School.45 STUDY PARTICIPANTS . 46 Students . 46 Teachers . 49 PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS.50 The Environmental Action Program.50 The Inquiry 10 Program . 61 Comparison of Features in EAP and Inquiry 10.62 RESEARCH APPROACH . 65 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION . 69 Quantitative data collection.71 WASL Tests . 71 Grade Point Averages . 71 Science Inquiry Tasks. 72 Science Inquiry Tasks: Reliability and Validly Analyses. 73 Student Attitudes Survey . 78
Assistors to continuous enrollment for women in Texas Even Start Family Literacy programs

Assistors to Continuous Enrollment for Women in Texas Even Start Family Literacy Programs. (August 2003) Yvette Teresa Dunn Perry, B.A., Northwestern State University; M.Ed., Northwestern State University Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Don F. Seaman Dr. Christine A. Stanley A quantitative and qualitative research study was conducted to discover what assistors promoted continuous enrollment of women in Texas Even Start Family Literacy programs. Two hundred seventy women who were enrolled for a second program year or longer anonymously completed a questionnaire that was available in both Spanish and English. Statements regarding which assistors promoted their continuous participation along with demographic statements were included in the questionnaire; free response comments were requested as well. Statistical measurements of factor analysis, frequency response, Chi-Square, and Analysis of Variance were used. Compared to previous research (Quigley, 1997) that identified three categories of barriers, this research identified five categories of assistors: situational, institutional, dispositional, parental, and program specific. Parental assistors, as a group, were statistically significant more than any of the other assistors when measured according to the independent variables of participants’ age, children’s age, and enrollment level. Institutional and dispositional assistors were found statistically significant when measured according to the variable of participants’ age. Post-hoc measures did not
The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Eimeria mitis (Apicomplexa: Coccidia)

In this study the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence of Eimeria mitis was sequenced, and its gene contents and genome organizations were compared with that of other Eimeria spp. The complete mt genome sequence of E. mitis is 6407 bp in size. It consists of 3 protein-coding genes (cox1, cox3, and cytb), 12 gene fragments for the large subunit (LSU) rRNA, and 7 gene fragments for the small subunit (SSU) rRNA, but no transfer RNA genes, similar to that of Eimeria spp. The putative direction of translation for three genes (cox1, cox3, and cytb) was the same as those of six other Eimeria spp. The A+T content of the E. mitis mt genome was 67.30%. The E. mitis mt genome sequence provides novel mtDNA marker for studying the molecular epidemiology and population genetics of E. mitis and has implications for the molecular diagnosis of chicken coccidiosis caused by E. mitis.
Politics and sinology: the case of Naitō Konan (1866–1934). By Joshua A. Fogel. (Harvard East Asian Monographs 114.) pp. xxiv, 420, front. Cambridge, Mass., Council of East Asian Studies, Harvard University, distributed by Harvard University Press, 1984. £17.60.

to adapt itself to the standards of the wider world pressing in on it, the Kuang-Hsii emperor, in the thick of the Powers' humiliating demands for concessions (Hong Kong et al.), in June 1898 embarked by decree on a programme of constitutional change calculated to turn him from benevolent despot into more or less constitutional monarch; that these ideas were largely put into his head, and the key decrees actually drafted, by K'ang Yu-wei with the backroom assistance, so to speak, of Liang Ch'i-ch'ao; but that, after barely a hundred days of this political spree, Kuang-Hsii was forced to rescind all his new decrees by his aunt (official mother), the Empress Dowager, to whom he owed the throne out of turn and who now resumed the regency she had given up less than ten years before. Dr. Kwong does not dispute the main occurrences of the Wu-hsii pien-hua (Reform of the Wu-hsii Year), of course, or of the Empress Dowager's coup to end it; but he does dispute the importance usually ascribed to K'ang Yu-wei in its initiation and execution. He shows that the Emperor had taken to ideas of reform before K'ang came on the scene — as had the Empress Dowager to some extent —, that K'ang almost certainly had no more than one audience with him — and then for a mere quarter of an hour or so —, and that the notion that K'ang had periodical audiences,as much as four hours long, and submitted nearly thirty memorials-to-the-throne that were the genesis of the royal decrees, all arises from Liang Ch'i-ch'ao and K'ang's own boast after the pair of them had become political refugees, and more especially when kudos was to be had from such claims during the Hsin-hai Revolution (1911). This question no doubt is more one of inference and interpretation than it is of fact. Dr. Kwong is breaking new ground with a few of his sources — eg. Timothy Richard's papers and the Grand Council archive now at Taipei —, but not with the majority. Against him there is the indirect evidence that today's conventional wisdom was already current in diplomatic reporting at the time, that the Dowager ordered the arrest of K'ang and Liang (with a dozen others) for sedition, and that they only escaped because rescued by the British and Japanese Legations respectively. All the same, aided by excellent bibliography, index and glossary, the revised story carries conviction and might become an overdue corrective to some of our Chinese-history textbooks, if only it were rather shorter, more methodical, and written in more felicitous English — that is, pruned of spurious pluperfects and the hundreds of words used in wrong senses which the reader has to be constantly stopping to sort out. Not so much a "mosaic" as a jigsaw puzzle.
Influence of Commodity Type, Percentage of Cracked Kernels, and Wheat Class on Population Growth of Stored-Product Psocids (Psocoptera: Liposcelidae)

ABSTRACT Differences in stored-product psocid progeny production as a function of commodity type, percentage of cracked kernels, and wheat class were examined using laboratory bioassays. Population growth of Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel, Liposcelis decolor (Pearman), Liposcelis paeta Pearman, and Liposcelis entomophila (Enderlein) (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae) was highest on sorghum Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, followed by wheat, Triticum aestivum L. , and rice, Oryza sativa L. , whereas progeny production was negligible on wheat germ. In a second experiment that did not include L. entomophila, population growth was examined on wheat containing 0, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100% cracked kernels. Progeny production did not increase as cracked kernel content increased. Instead, progeny production peaked at 20% for L. bostrychophila adults and nymphs, at 10% for L. decolor, and at 50% for L. paeta adults; no further increases were noted beyond these levels of cracked wheat content. In a third experiment that did not include L. entomophila, progeny production was examined on eight classes of wheat: hard red winter, hard red spring, soft white winter, soft white spring, soft club, durum, soft red winter, and hard white. Overall, progeny production was higher on durum wheat than on the other classes. The results indicate that there are considerable variations in psocid population growth among the different commodities tested, and this information may be used to predict the degree to which stored commodities are susceptible to psocid infestation.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Fusion to Dendritic Cells Declines as Cells Mature

ABSTRACT The maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) is associated with a diminished ability to support human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication; however, the precise step in the HIV life cycle impaired by DC maturation remains uncertain. Using an HIV virion-based fusion assay, we now show that HIV fusion to monocyte-derived DCs (MDDCs) both decreases and kinetically slows when DCs are induced to mature with poly(I:C) and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Specifically, laboratory-adapted CCR5-tropic 81A virions fused with markedly lower efficiency to mature MDDCs than immature DCs. In contrast, fusion of NL4-3, the isogenic CXCR4-tropic counterpart of 81A, was low in both immature and mature MDDCs. Fusion mediated by primary HIV envelopes, including seven CCR5- and four CXCR4-tropic envelopes, also decreased with DC maturation. The kinetics of virion fusion were also altered by both the state of DC maturation and the coreceptor utilized. Fusion of 81A and NL4-3 virions was delayed in mature compared to immature MDDCs, and NL4-3 fused more slowly than 81A in both mature and immature MDDCs. Surprisingly, primary envelopes with CXCR4 tropism mediated fusion to immature MDDCs with efficiencies similar to those of primary CCR5-tropic envelopes. This result contrasted with the marked preferential fusion of the laboratory-adapted 81A over NL4-3 in immature MDDCs and in ex vivo Langerhans cells, indicating that these laboratory-adapted HIV strains do not fully recapitulate all of the properties of primary HIV isolates. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the defect in HIV replication observed in mature MDDCs stems at least in part from a decline in viral fusion.
Doing it now or later with payoff externalities: Experimental evidence on social time preferences

We report experimental evidence on the effects of social preferences on intertemporal decisions. To this aim, we set up an intertemporal Dictator Game and investigate whether (and how) subjects change theirchoices, compared with those they had taken in absence of any payoff externality in a previous stage of the experiment. We run two treatments -INFO and BELIEF, respectively- depending on whether Dictators know -or are asked to elicit- their assigned Recipients' risk and time preferences. We find that high (own) risk aversion is associated with low (own) discounting. We also find that (heterogeneous) socialtime preferences are significant determinants of choices, in that Dictators display a marked propensityto account for the Recipients' intertemporal concerns.
Overexpression of regucalcin suppresses cell response for tumor necrosis factor‐α or transforming growth factor‐β1 in cloned normal rat kidney proximal tubular epithelial NRK52E cells

The regulatory role of regucalcin on cell responses for tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) or transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) was investigated using the cloned normal rat kidney proximal tubular epithelial NRK52E cells overexpressing regucalcin. NRK52E cells (wild type) and stable regucalcin (RC)/pCXN2‐transfected cells (transfectant) were cultured for 72 h in a medium containing 5% bovine serum (BS) to obtain subconfluent monolayers. After culture, cells were further cultured for 24–72 h in medium without BS containing either vehicle, TNF‐α (0.1 or 1.0 ng/ml of medium), or TGF‐β1 (1.0 or 5.0 ng/ml). Culture with TNF‐α or TGF‐β1 caused a significant decrease in the number of wild‐type cells. This decrease was significantly prevented in transfectants overexpressing regucalcin. Agarose gel electrophoresis showed the presence of low‐molecular‐weight deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragments of adherent wild‐type cells cultured with TNF‐α (1.0 ng/ml) or TGF‐β1 (5.0 ng/ml). This DNA fragmentation was significantly suppressed in transfectants. TNF‐α‐ or TGF‐β1‐induced cell death was significantly prevented in culture with caspase‐3 inhibitor (10−8 M). Nitric oxide (NO) synthase activity in wild‐type cells was significantly increased by addition of calcium chloride (10 µM) and calmodulin (5 µg/ml) into the enzyme reaction mixture. This increase was significantly suppressed in transfectants. Culture with TNF‐α caused a significant increase in NO synthase activity in wild‐type cells. The effect of TNF‐α was not seen in transfectants. Culture with TGF‐β1 did not cause a significant increase in NO synthase activity in wild‐type cells and transfectants. Culture with TNF‐α or TGF‐β1 caused a remarkable increase in α‐smooth muscle actin in wild‐type cells. This increase was significantly prevented in transfectants. The expression of Smad 2 or NF‐κB mRNAs was significantly increased in transfectants as compared with that of wild‐type cells. Smad 3 or glyceroaldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) mRNA expression was not significantly changed in transfectants. NF‐κB mRNA expression in wild‐type cells was significantly increased with culture of TNF‐α. Smad 2 mRNA expression was significantly enhanced in wild‐type cells cultured with TGF‐β1. These effects of TNF‐α or TGF‐β1 were not significantly enhanced in transfectants. This study demonstrates that overexpression of regucalcin has suppressive effects on cell responses which are mediated through intracellular signaling pathways of TNF‐α or TGF‐β1 in kidney NRK52E cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 1178–1190, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor mGlu7 Activates Phospholipase C, Translocates Munc-13-1 Protein, and Potentiates Glutamate Release at Cerebrocortical Nerve Terminals*

At synaptic boutons, metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGlu7 receptor) serves as an autoreceptor, inhibiting glutamate release. In this response, mGlu7 receptor triggers pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein activation, reducing presynaptic Ca2+ influx and the subsequent depolarization evoked release. Here we report that receptor coupling to signaling pathways that potentiate release can be seen following prolonged exposure of nerve terminals to the agonist l-(+)-phosphonobutyrate, l-AP4. This novel mGlu7 receptor response involves an increase in the release induced by the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin, suggesting a mechanism that is independent of Ca2+ channel activity, but dependent on the downstream exocytotic release machinery. The mGlu7 receptor-mediated potentiation resists exposure to pertussis toxin, but is dependent on phospholipase C, and increased phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate hydrolysis. Furthermore, the potentiation of release does not depend on protein kinase C, although it is blocked by the diacylglycerol-binding site antagonist calphostin C. We also found that activation of mGlu7 receptors translocate the active zone protein essential for synaptic vesicle priming, munc13-1, from soluble to particulate fractions. We propose that the mGlu7 receptor can facilitate or inhibit glutamate release through multiple pathways, thereby exerting homeostatic control of presynaptic function.
Rhombomere boundaries are Wnt signaling centers that regulate metameric patterning in the zebrafish hindbrain

The vertebrate hindbrain develops from a series of segments (rhombomeres) distributed along the anteroposterior axis. We are studying the roles of Wnt and Delta–Notch signaling in maintaining rhombomere boundaries as organizing centers in the zebrafish hindbrain. Several wnt genes (wnt1, wnt3a, wnt8b, and wnt10b) show elevated expression at rhombomere boundaries, whereas several delta genes (dlA, dlB, and dlD) are expressed in transverse stripes flanking rhombomere boundaries. Partial disruption of Wnt signaling by knockdown of multiple wnt genes, or the Wnt mediator tcf3b, ablates boundaries and associated cell types. Expression of dlA is chaotic, and cell types associated with rhombomere centers are disorganized. Similar patterning defects are observed in segmentation mutants spiel‐ohne‐grenzen (spg) and valentino (val), which fail to form rhombomere boundaries due to faulty interactions between adjacent rhombomeres. Stripes of wnt expression are variably disrupted, with corresponding disturbances in metameric patterning. Mutations in dlA or mind bomb (mib) disrupt Delta–Notch signaling and cause a wide range of patterning defects in the hindbrain. Stripes of wnt1 are initially normal but subsequently dissipate, and metameric patterning becomes increasingly disorganized. Driving wnt1 expression using a heat‐shock construct partially rescues metameric patterning in mib mutants. Thus, rhombomere boundaries act as Wnt signaling centers required for precise metameric patterning, and Delta signals from flanking cells provide feedback to maintain wnt expression at boundaries. Similar feedback mechanisms operate in the Drosophila wing disc and vertebrate limb bud, suggesting coaptation of a conserved signaling module that spatially organizes cells in complex organ systems. Developmental Dynamics 231:278–291, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Impact of Stagnating Casino Revenues on State and Local Tax Receipts

In the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, the popular press has noted a rebound in casino revenues in some states, and some expect casino revenues to grow and increase again along with any economic recovery. However, before the recent recession, there were trends indicating stagnation or a peak of casino revenues in most states, and as the last recession has indicated, casino revenues were not “recession-proof” as most had thought previously. In fact, casino revenues in most states saw big declines. In this paper, we show that the casino revenues have stagnated or declined partially due to a saturation point being reached with regard to casino gaming in many areas of the United States. The growth rate of casino revenues as well as the tax receipts for the state governments from casinos follows an ‘S’ curve which is similar to a product life cycle curve. The introduction of more gambling venues as well as putting in slot machines at race tracks may give a temporary boost to state gambling tax receipts, but longer run trends indicate that the years of casinos showing large gains in revenues may be over unless casino operations continue to re-invent themselves.