Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intersection of motor volumes predicts the outcome of ambush predation of larval zebrafish

ABSTRACT Escape maneuvers are key determinants of animal survival and are under intense selection pressure. A number of escape maneuver parameters contribute to survival, including response latency, escape speed and direction. However, the relative importance of these parameters is context dependent, suggesting that interactions between parameters and predatory context determine the likelihood of escape success. To better understand how escape maneuver parameters interact and contribute to survival, we analyzed the responses of larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) to the attacks of dragonfly nymphs (Sympetrum vicinum). We found that no single parameter explains the outcome. Instead, the relative intersection of the swept volume of the nymph's grasping organs with the volume containing all possible escape trajectories of the fish is the strongest predictor of escape success. In cases where the prey's motor volume exceeds that of the predator, the prey survives. By analyzing the intersection of these volumes, we compute the survival benefit of recruiting the Mauthner cell, a neuron in anamniotes devoted to producing escapes. We discuss how the intersection of motor volume approach provides a framework that unifies the influence of many escape maneuver parameters on the likelihood of survival. Summary: To survive predation, the volume of space prey can flee must exceed the volume of space predators can reach, providing a generalizable framework to explain predator–prey interactions.
Growth of hepatocellular carcinoma in the regenerating liver

Liver resection and liver transplantation are the treatment modalities with the greatest potential for curing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tumor recurrence after resection for HCC is, however, a major problem, and an increased rate of recurrence after living donor transplantation versus cadaveric whole liver transplantation has been suggested. Factors involved in liver regeneration may stimulate the growth of occult tumors. The aim of this project was to test the hypothesis that a microscopic HCC tumor in the setting of partial hepatectomy would show enhanced growth and signs of increased invasiveness corresponding to the size of the liver resection. Hepatectomy was performed to various degrees in groups of Buffalo rats with the concomitant implantation of a fixed number of hepatoma cells in the remnant liver; a control group underwent only resection. After 21 days, the sizes and numbers of the tumors and the expression of alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP), cyclin D1, calpain small subunit 1 (CAPNS1), CD34 (a microvessel density marker), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) were evaluated and compared between the groups. The tumor volume and number increased significantly with the size of the partial hepatectomy (P < 0.05). The largest resections were also associated with increased hepatoma cell infiltration in the lungs and significant up‐regulation of cyclin D1, AFP, CAPNS1, CD34, VEGF, and VEGFR2. The results suggest that liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy facilitates the growth and malignant transformation of microscopic HCC, and this could be significant for liver resection and partial liver transplantation strategies for HCC. Liver Transpl 17:866‐874, 2011. © 2011 AASLD.
LKB1 pro‐oncogenic activity triggers cell survival in circulating tumor cells

During intravasation, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detach from the epithelium of origin and begin the epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, where they lose epithelial features and pass through the endothelium to enter circulation. Although detachment from the extracellular matrix is a strong source of metabolic stress, which induces anoikis, CTCs can survive. Recently, the tumor suppressor liver kinase B1 (LKB1) has gained attention for its role as a proto‐oncogene in restoring the correct ATP/AMP ratio during metabolic stress. The aim of this study was to assess LKB1 expression in epithelial‐negative CTCs isolated from patients with metastatic breast cancer and to characterize its possible association with EMT and stemness features. Transcriptome analysis of EpCAM‐negative CTCs indicated that over 25% of patients showed enhanced LKB1 levels, while almost 20% of patients showed enhanced levels of an EMT transcription factor known as ZEB1. Transcriptome and immunofluorescence analyses showed that patients with enhanced LKB1 were correspondingly ZEB1 negative, suggesting complementary activity for the two proteins. Only ZEB1 was significantly associated with cancer stem cell (CSC) markers. Neither LKB1 nor ZEB1 upregulation showed a correlation with clinical outcome, while enhanced levels of stemness‐associated CD44 correlated with a lower progression‐free and overall survival. Ex vivo models showed that MDA‐MB‐231, a mesenchymal tumor cell line, grew in suspension only if LKB1 was upregulated, but the MCF‐7 epithelial cell line lost its ability to generate spheroids and colonies when LKB1 was inhibited, supporting the idea that LKB1 might be necessary for CTCs to overcome the absence of the extracellular matrix during the early phases of intravasation. If these preliminary results are confirmed, LKB1 will become a novel therapeutic target for eradicating metastasis‐initiating CTCs from patients with primary breast cancer.
How Do Human Capital Investors Form Earnings Expectations

The net capital value of expected life-cycle earnings is widely considered to index the economic attractiveness of alternative careers. This basic idea is fundamental to a rich and varied empirical literature ranging across such issues as the distribution of income, the demand for higher education and the theory of occupational choice. Estimates of the attractiveness or "expected profitability" of human capital investments invariably employ some variant of current earnings as a measure of expected earnings. Implicitly these estimates assume that the market for human capital is efficient in the sense that all current information is reflected in these earnings. They are treated as unbiased estimates of future earnings. Unlike markets in securities and some commodities, however, there is good reason to expect that here current prices are not the best estimates of future prices. Interperiod arbitrage in labor services is too costly to have much of an equalizing effect on expected prices at different dates. As Freeman [3] has shown, a lagged adjustment to current earnings, as may occur for lengthy investment periods like those for higher education, can produce cycles in earnings. These earnings cycles can then feed back to suppliers of training, by introducing severe variability in the demands for their services. Such a cyclical pattern need not necessarily occur, however. Even if demanders of training do not have sophisticated expectations about earnings cycles in their "chosen" career, suppliers of this training are quite likely to learn of these patterns. They should therefore be reluctant to adjust their capacity slavishly to accommodate these cycles. We thus might expect the behavior of suppliers to act as a dampener on the variability of this type of human capital investment. The greater the costs of adjusting capacity to accommodate demand cycles, the more inflexible, over time, will be the supply of this training. In addition, the intensity of the cycles in the production of human capital will depend on the sophistication of the demanders. While lagged adjustment to spot prices can produce the cycles described, demanders have incentives to forecast future market conditions, thus mitigating such cycles. Although Freeman's [3] results support indirectly the hypothesis that
The Cancer Stem Cell Hypothesis: Failures and Pitfalls

Based on the clonal evolution model and the assumption that the vast majority of tumor cells are able to propagate and drive tumor growth, the goal of cancer treatment has traditionally been to kill all cancerous cells. This theory has been challenged recently by the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis, that a rare population of tumor cells, with stem cell characteristics, is responsible for tumor growth, resistance, and recurrence. Evidence for putative CSCs has been described in blood, breast, lung, prostate, colon, liver, pancreas, and brain. This new hypothesis would propose that indiscriminate killing of cancer cells would not be as effective as selective targeting of the cells that are driving long-term growth (ie, the CSCs) and that treatment failure is often the result of CSCs escaping traditional therapies. The CSC hypothesis has gained a great deal of attention because of the identification of a new target that may be responsible for poor outcomes of many aggressive cancers, including malignant glioma. As attractive as this hypothesis sounds, especially when applied to tumors that respond poorly to current treatments, we will argue in this article that the proposal of a stemlike cell that initiates and drives solid tissue cancer growth and is responsible for therapeutic failure is far from proven. We will present the point of view that for most advanced solid tissue cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme, targeting a putative rare CSC population will have little effect on patient outcomes. This review will cover problems with the CSC hypothesis, including applicability of the hierarchical model, inconsistencies with xenotransplantation data, and nonspecificity of CSC markers.
Is there a role for positron emission tomography with 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose in the initial staging of nodal negative oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

The aim of our study was to assess the value of positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for the staging of clinically nodal negative necks in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) using sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy and elective neck dissection (END) as “gold standard” for comparison.
ON cone bipolar cells in rat express the metabotropic receptor mGluR6

Abstract The rod bipolar cell and about five types of ON cone bipolar cells depolarize to light by employing a sign-reversing metabotropic glutamate receptor. Glutamate responses are similar in both rod bipolar and cone bipolar cells, but the receptor mediating this response (mGluRo) was so far demonstrated only in rod bipolar cells. To test if ON cone bipolar cells also express mGluR6, we immunoreacted rat retina with an antibody specific for mGluRo, and studied the staining from serial ultrathin sections. We demonstrate that mGluR6 is indeed expressed in the dendritic tips of cone bipolar cells, the majority of which receive a ribbon synapse, and thus probably are ON cone bipolar cells. We further show that half of the dendritic tips contacting the cones stain for mGluR6, thus implying that all ON cone bipolar cell types express mGluR6.
The contribution of observational studies to the knowledge of drug effectiveness in heart failure.

AIMS Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the golden standard for the assessment of drug efficacy. Little is known about the add-on value of observational studies in heart failure (HF). We aimed to assess the contribution of observational studies to actual knowledge regarding the effectiveness of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), and beta-blockers (BB) in HF. METHODS Observational studies that assessed the effectiveness of ACEI and BB in HF were identified by searching Medline, Embase, Cochrane Database (1990-2005) and the bibliographies of published articles. Cohort, case-control and time-series analysis studies were considered for inclusion. Studies with <100 patients and those who did not perform a multivariate analysis were excluded. RESULTS A total of 23 cohort studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies of ACEI and BB showed a decrease in mortality with drug use in elderly patients with a broad range of ejection fraction (EF), and in those with depressed EF. Additionally, they showed a decrease in mortality in patients with renal insufficiency. The effect of ACEI and BB in HF with preserved EF was not clear, although last evidence suggests a potential benefit. Low-dose ACEI and BB may have beneficial effects. Target doses of ACEI seemed superior to low doses, but there was no clear dose-response relationship. CONCLUSIONS Observational studies in HF validate the effectiveness of ACEI and BB in populations underrepresented or excluded from RCTs. Observational studies of drug effectiveness provide relevant additional information for clinical practice.
Fondaparinux‐associated heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia

Large licensing trials did not find any association between the use of fondaparinux and the development of heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Fondaparinux is in fact recommended as an option for the management of HIT. Since the first report of fondaparinux‐associated HIT in 2007, additional reports have been published. However, the rarity of these cases, differences in case definition, and lack of larger case series have prevented better understanding of this disease. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical manifestations of fondaparinux‐associated HIT, the predictive value of pretest probability (4Ts) scoring system, and the outcomes associated with current management.
Two‐dimensional MR spectroscopy of minimal hepatic encephalopathy and neuropsychological correlates in vivo

To evaluate regional cerebral metabolic and structural changes in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) using two‐dimensional (2D) MR spectroscopy (MRS) and T 1 ‐weighted MRI, to correlate the observed MR changes with neuropsychological (NP) test scores, and to compare the diagnostic accuracy of MRI, 2D MRS, and NP tests in discriminating between patients and healthy subjects.
Possible Relationship between Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin, Hepcidin, and Inflammation in Haemodialysed Patients

Background: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) binds small, iron-carrying molecules – siderophores. On the other hand, hepcidin is a small defensin-like peptide produced by hepatocytes, modulated in response to anaemia, hypoxia, or inflammation. We tested the hypothesis that NGAL may be related to hepcidin, not only to iron metabolism, in 182 prevalent haemodialysed patients. Methods: Iron status (iron, total iron-binding capacity, ferritin, total saturation of transferrin, TSAT), complete blood count, creatinine, albumin, serum lipids were assessed using standard laboratory methods. Soluble receptor of transferrin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, prohepcidin, hepcidin and NGAL were measured in serum using commercially available kits. Results: Serum NGAL, prohepcidin, hepcidin levels were significantly higher in haemodialysed patients over healthy volunteers (579.11 ± 213.95 vs. 78.43 ± 32.21 ng/ml, p < 0.001, 320.54 ± 182.65 vs. 98.65 ± 34.32 ng/ml, p < 0.01, 155.30 ± 94.05 vs. 23.65 ± 12.76 ng/ml, p < 0.001, respectively). Serum NGAL correlated strongly with residual renal function (r = –0.54, p < 0.001), Kt/V (r = 0.41, p < 0.001), hepcidin (r = –0.28, p < 0.01), serum creatinine (r = 0.63, p < 0.001), iron (r = 0.25, p < 0.01), TSAT (r = 0.30, p < 0.001), ferritin (r = 0.33, p < 0.001), hsCRP (r = 0.32, p < 0.001). In multiple regression analysis, residual renal function, hepcidin, creatinine and hsCRP were predictors of serum NGAL in haemodialysed patients. Conclusions: NGAL is highly induced in dialysed patients. NGAL could reflect both kidney function and iron metabolism. Taking into account the antimicrobial properties of NGAL, further studies are needed to address the role of NGAL in iron metabolism and inflammation in renal failure.
Student satisfaction and loyalty in Denmark: Application of EPSI methodology

Monitoring and managing customers’ satisfaction are key features to benefit from today’s competitive environment. In higher education context, only a few studies are available on satisfaction and loyalty of the main customers who are the students, which signifies the need to investigate the field more thoroughly. The aim of this research is to measure the strength of determinants of students’ satisfaction and the importance of antecedents in students’ satisfaction and loyalty in Denmark. Our research model is the modification of European Performance Satisfaction Index (EPSI), which takes the university’s image direct effects on students’ expectations into account from students’ perspective. The structural equation model of student satisfaction and loyalty has been evaluated using partial least square path modelling. Our findings confirm that the EPSI framework is applicable on student satisfaction and loyalty among Danish universities. We show that all the relationships among variables of the research model are significant except the relationship between quality of software and students’ loyalty. Results further verify the significance of antecedents in students’ satisfaction and loyalty at Danish universities; the university image and student satisfaction are the antecedents of student loyalty with a significant direct effect, while perceived value, quality of hardware, quality of software, expectations, and university image are antecedents of student satisfaction. Eventually, our findings may be of an inspiration to maintain and improve students’ experiences during their study at the university. Dedicating resources to identified important factors from students’ perception enable universities to attract more students, make them highly satisfied and loyal.
A Theory of Semi-Permanent Wage Search

The concept of job search has received much attention in the recent literature. This attention has focused on the problem of the individual's optimal strategy of employment acceptance when wages are random over employers. In this view, the problem centers on whether the cost of turning down a job offer and continuing to search is likely to be more than offset by the later discovery of a significantly better wage. One difficulty with these works is that they are generally vague about the exact nature of search costs. A recent work by Seater [13], however, has explicitly identified the utility value of the time spent searching as an important component of the cost of search. This result derives from the reasonable assumption that individuals view search activity, like work, to be an alternative to leisure. Therefore search activity must be viewed as part of the problem of the optimal allocation of time. The present analysis continues in this spirit in that it also views search as onerous and explicitly considers the time allocation problem. This consideration of the time allocation problem leads to a natural extension of the existing search literature. These previous studies assume that the individual searcher visits a fixed number of potential employers per unit of time. A more realistic approach would allow the number of search attempts made per unit of time to depend on the fraction of his time the individual spends searching. The individual searcher should choose this search intensity as part of the problem of the optimal allocation of his time. An important contribution of the present analysis is that it explicitly solves this time alloca-
The Bengalese Finch: A Window on the Behavioral Neurobiology of Birdsong Syntax

Abstract: The Bengalese finch Lonchura striata var. domestica is a domesticated strain of a wild species, the white‐rumped munia Lonchura striata of Southeast Asia. Bengalese finches have been domesticated in Japan for 240 years. Comparing their song syntax with that of their wild ancestors, we found that the domesticated strain has highly complex, conspicuous songs with finite‐state syntax, while the wild ancestor sang very stereotyped linear songs. To examine the functional utility of the song complexity, we compared serum levels of estradiol and measured the amount of nesting materials carried into the nest by female birds that were stimulated with either the complex “domesticated” song or the simple wild‐type song. In the females stimulated with complex songs the estradiol levels were significantly higher and the amount of nesting material carried was significantly greater. We then performed brain lesions in the song system to identify the neural substrates that are responsible for these differences in song behavior. In Bengalese finches lesions of NIf, a higher order song control nucleus, resulted in simplification of the complex song syntax. That is, the complex “domesticated” syntax changed into the simple wild‐type syntax. Based on these data, we hypothesize that mutations in the song control nuclei have occurred that enabled complex song syntax and became fixed into the population of domesticated Bengalese finches through a process of indirect sexual selection.
Bahia grass pollen specific IgE is common in seasonal rhinitis patients but has limited cross‐reactivity with Ryegrass

Background: Perennial Ryegrass is a major cause of rhinitis in spring and early summer. Bahia grass, Paspalum notatum, flowers late into summer and could account for allergic rhinitis at this time. We determined the frequency of serum immunoglobulin (Ig)E reactivity with Bahia grass in Ryegrass pollen allergic patients and investigated IgE cross‐reactivity between Bahia and Ryegrass.
Plagiarism in Their Own Words: What Chinese and American Students Say about Academic Dishonesty

Abstract This study investigates perceptions of and attitudes toward plagiarism by Chinese ESL students and American students with questionnaire and interview as the main sources of data. It was found that Chinese students exhibited less knowledge of plagiarism than American students due to a lack of previous instruction. Chinese students showed different perceptions about some cases of plagiarism such as using memorized words without citing, which may have been caused by the emphasis on memorization in Chinese learning culture. However, Chinese students held similar attitudes toward plagiarism; that is, they thought it was morally wrong and should not be tolerated unless it was unintentional. Based on the findings, this paper calls for Chinese scholars to spend more time addressing the problem by making it part of the curriculum.
Diffusion-weighted imaging discriminates between cytotoxic and vasogenic edema in a patient with eclampsia.

BACKGROUND The pathophysiology of eclampsia remains unclear. While the majority of patients develop reversible T2 hyperintense signal abnormalities on MR scans and reversible neurological deficits, some patients do develop infarctions (permanent T2 hyperintense abnormalities) and permanent neurological impairment. Routine MRI cannot prospectively differentiate between these two patient groups. Echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging, however, is a new technique that clearly differentiates between cytotoxic and vasogenic edema. CASE DESCRIPTION A 30-year-old woman developed symptoms consistent with eclampsia 24 hours after delivering premature twins. An MRI demonstrated extensive, diffuse T2 hyperintense signal abnormalities involving subcortical white matter and adjacent gray matter with a posterior predominance, consistent with either infarction or hypertensive ischemic encephalopathy. Diffusion-weighted images demonstrated increased diffusion, consistent with vasogenic edema and hypertensive ischemic encephalopathy. CONCLUSIONS Unlike routine MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging reliably differentiates between vasogenic edema and cytotoxic edema. Consequently, in eclamptic patients diffusion-weighted imaging can afford clear differentiation between hypertensive ischemic encephalopathy and infarction, two very different entities with very different treatment protocols. Diffusion-weighted imaging should be performed in all eclamptic patients and should greatly affect their management.