Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An miR-502–Binding Site Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in the 3′-Untranslated Region of the SET8 Gene Is Associated with Early Age of Breast Cancer Onset

Purpose: MicroRNAs regulate gene expression by binding to the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of target genes. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms of critical genes may affect their regulation by microRNAs. We have identified a single-nucleotide polymorphism within the miR-502 seed binding region in the 3′-UTR of the SET8 gene. SET8 methylates TP53 and regulates genome stability. We investigated the role of this SET8 single-nucleotide polymorphism and in concert with the TP53 codon 72 single-nucleotide polymorphism in the propensity for onset of breast cancer. Experimental Design: We measured the SET8 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in a case-control study on 1,110 breast cancer cases and 1,097 controls. Results: The SET8 CC and TP53 GG genotypes were independently associated with an earlier age of breast cancer onset in an allele-dose-dependent manner (for SET8, 52.2 years for TT, 51.4 for TC, and 49.5 for CC; and for TP53, 53.1 years for CC, 51.5 for GC, 50.7 for GG). Individuals with combined SET8 CC and TP53 GG genotypes developed cancer at a median age of 47.7 years as compared with 54.6 years for individuals with combined SET8 TT and TP53 CC genotypes. In the 51 breast cancer tissue samples tested, the SET8 CC genotype was associated with reduced SET8, but not miR-502, transcript levels. Conclusions: These data suggest that the miR-502–binding site single-nucleotide polymorphism in the 3′-UTR of SET8 modulates SET8 expression and contributes to the early development of breast cancer, either independently or together with the TP53 codon 72 single-nucleotide polymorphism. Larger studies with multiethnic groups are warranted to validate our findings. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(19):6292–300)
A Neural Collaborative Filtering Model with Interaction-based Neighborhood

Recently, deep neural networks have been widely applied to recommender systems. A representative work is to utilize deep learning for modeling complex user-item interactions. However, similar to traditional latent factor models by factorizing user-item interactions, they tend to be ineffective to capture localized information. Localized information, such as neighborhood, is important to recommender systems in complementing the user-item interaction data. Based on this consideration, we propose a novel Neighborhood-based Neural Collaborative Filtering model (NNCF). To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that the neighborhood information is integrated into the neural collaborative filtering methods. Extensive experiments on three real-world datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our model for the implicit recommendation task.
Waist Circumference Percentiles in Indigenous Argentinean School Children Living at High Altitudes.

BACKGROUND Central obesity is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVES The study objectives were to develop waist circumference (WC) percentiles, to determine if WC is associated with metabolic risk, and to compare our WC percentiles with those reported in the 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHODS A cross-sectional study of 1232 children (606 boys ) 5-14 years was performed from 2011 to 2014 in indigenous Koya children from northwestern Argentina. Anthropometric characteristics, glucose, lipids, and insulin levels were measured. Sex-specific reference percentiles were computed using the Lambda-Mu-Sigma (LMS) method. We obtained 2007-2010 NHANES data for comparison with our results. RESULTS Compared with the NHANES 90th percentile, WC values for children in this study were lower by an average of 11.05 cm for girls and 12.66 cm for boys. The prevalence of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was 11.8% in children with WC ≤50th percentile, 10.3% in children with WC >50th-70th percentile, 17.5% in children with WC >70th-90th percentile, and 21.3% in children with WC >90th percentile. The prevalence of high triglycerides (TG) was 19.5% in children with WC ≤50th percentile, 19.9% in children with WC >50th-70th percentile, 28.8% in children with WC >70th-90th percentile, and 39.7% in children with WC >90th percentile. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that high TG values (>150 mg/dL) were significantly associated with WC [odds ratio (OR)] 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.08; and low HDL-C values (<35 mg/dL) were significantly associated with WC (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.01-1.06), adjusted for age and gender. CONCLUSION We present for the first time WC reference data for indigenous Koya children ages 5-14 years. There was a significant association between WC and dyslipidemia in this community. Compared with the NHANES WC percentiles, our WC values were lower. These differences possibly reflect ethnicity or the lower prevalence of obesity.
Project ALERT’s Effects on Adolescents’ Prodrug Beliefs: A Replication and Extension Study

This article represents a replication and extension of previous studies of the effects of Project ALERT, a school-based substance use prevention program, on the prodrug beliefs of adolescents. Specifically, the authors’ research examined Project ALERT’s effects on adolescents’ intentions to use substances in the future, beliefs about substance use consequences, normative beliefs, and resistance self-efficacy. In all, 34 schools with Grades 6 to 8 completed this randomized controlled trial and 71 Project ALERT instructors taught 11 core lessons to 6th graders and 3 booster lessons to 7th graders (one grade level earlier than in previous studies). Students were assessed in 6th grade prior to the onset of the intervention, in 7th grade after the completion of the 2-year curriculum, and again 1 year later in 8th grade. The authors found no evidence to suggest that Project ALERT had a positive impact on any alcohol, cigarette, or marijuana prodrug beliefs. Implications for school-based substance use prevention are discussed.
Regulatory T Cells Prevent Transfer of Type 1 Diabetes in NOD Mice Only When Their Antigen Is Present In Vivo1

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) can potentially be used as tools to suppress pathogenic T cells in autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes. For use in therapy it is critically important to determine whether suppression by Tregs requires a population specific for the target of autoimmunity, such as pancreatic β cells in type 1 diabetes. Current reports in the NOD mouse model of type 1 diabetes are in conflict as to whether suppression of disease by Tregs is Ag-dependent. We have addressed this question by evaluating the effects of islet-specific TGF-β-induced Tregs in recipient mice in which the Treg Ag is either present or absent. Our data show that Treg numbers in pancreas are reduced in the absence of Ag and that there are Ag-dependent differences in the effects of Tregs on pathogenic T cells in the pancreas. By examining protection from diabetes induced by T cell transfer, we have clearly demonstrated that Tregs suppress only in the presence of their Ag and not in mice in which the islets lack the Treg Ag. Our results also suggest that in sufficiently large populations of polyclonal Tregs, there will be adequate numbers of islet-specific Tregs to suppress diabetes.
Inhibition of Inflammation and Fibrosis by a Complement C5a Receptor Antagonist in DOCA-Salt Hypertensive Rats

Abstract The anaphylatoxin C5a generated by activation of the innate immunity complement system is a potent inflammatory peptide mediator through the G-protein–coupled receptor C5aR (CD88) present in immune-inflammatory cells, including monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, T cells, and mast cells. Inflammatory cells infiltrate and initiate the development of fibrosis in the chronically hypertensive heart. In this study, we have investigated whether treatment with a selective C5aR antagonist prevents cardiovascular remodeling in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats. Control and DOCA–salt rats were treated with PMX53 (AcF-[OPdChaWR], 1 mg·kg−1·d−1 oral gavage) for 32 days; structural and functional changes in cardiovascular system were determined. DOCA-salt hypertension increased leukocyte extravasation into ventricular tissue, increasing collagen deposition and ventricular stiffness; PMX53 treatment attenuated these changes, thereby improving cardiac function. Further, treatment with PMX53 suppressed an increased expression of C5aR in the left ventricle from DOCA-salt rats, consistent with the reduced infiltration of inflammatory cells. Vascular endothelial dysfunction in thoracic aortic rings was attenuated by PMX53 treatment, but systolic blood pressure was unchanged in DOCA-salt rats. In the heart, PMX53 treatment attenuated inflammatory cell infiltration, fibrosis, and ventricular stiffness, indicating that C5aR is critically involved in ventricular remodeling by regulating inflammatory responses in the hypertensive heart.
Microglial Activation in Traumatic Brain Injury

Microglia have a variety of functions in the brain, including synaptic pruning, CNS repair and mediating the immune response against peripheral infection. Microglia rapidly become activated in response to CNS damage. Depending on the nature of the stimulus, microglia can take a number of activation states, which correspond to altered microglia morphology, gene expression and function. It has been reported that early microglia activation following traumatic brain injury (TBI) may contribute to the restoration of homeostasis in the brain. On the other hand, if they remain chronically activated, such cells display a classically activated phenotype, releasing pro-inflammatory molecules, resulting in further tissue damage and contributing potentially to neurodegeneration. However, new evidence suggests that this classification is over-simplistic and the balance of activation states can vary at different points. In this article, we review the role of microglia in TBI, analyzing their distribution, morphology and functional phenotype over time in animal models and in humans. Animal studies have allowed genetic and pharmacological manipulations of microglia activation, in order to define their role. In addition, we describe investigations on the in vivo imaging of microglia using translocator protein (TSPO) PET and autoradiography, showing that microglial activation can occur in regions far remote from sites of focal injuries, in humans and animal models of TBI. Finally, we outline some novel potential therapeutic approaches that prime microglia/macrophages toward the beneficial restorative microglial phenotype after TBI.
Redistribution of portal venous but not hepatic arterial flow is induced by hepatic nerve stimulation in the perfused rat liver.

The effects of hepatic nerve stimulation, norepinephrine and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) on hepatic hemodynamics were investigated in rat livers perfused in situ via both the portal vein and hepatic artery. Nerve stimulation caused a significant fall in total liver blood flow and an increase in portal and arterial pressures. Norepinephrine and 6-OHDA in addition to causing a fall in flow caused significant pressure increases in the bed perfused (arterial or portal). Under basal conditions, the inter- and intra-lobar distribution of microspheres (113Sn- or 57Co-labelled) introduced via the portal vein or via the hepatic artery was homogeneous in all 6 liver lobes. During nerve stimulation, homogeneity of interlobular microsphere distribution was maintained. However, the intralobar distribution of microspheres introduced via the portal vein displayed a significant redistribution from the periphery to the core of each of the four largest lobes studied (p < 0.05). In contrast, when microspheres were introduced via the hepatic artery, there was no universal redistribution of microspheres with only one lobe demonstrating a significant decrease in flow to the periphery (p > 0.05). Infusion of norepinephrine (10(-8) M) or 6-OHDA (1 mg.kg-1 body weight) via either the hepatic artery or the portal vein was without effect on the intrahepatic distribution of the microspheres. We conclude from our results that during hepatic nerve stimulation there is a significant redistribution of portal venous but not hepatic arterial flow from the periphery to the core of the liver lobe. The persistence of hepatic arterial flow during nerve stimulation may represent a protective mechanism by which the periphery of the liver, especially the bile ducts, remains perfused during a reduction in total liver blood flow.
Influence of particle size of the main cereal of the diet on egg production, gastrointestinal tract traits, and body measurements of brown laying hens1

&NA; The influence of the screen size used to grind the main cereal of the diet on egg production, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, and body measurements was studied in hens from 17 to 49 wk of age. Diets formed a 2 × 5 factorial with 2 main cereals (corn vs. barley) and 5 screen sizes of the cereal (4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 mm). Each treatment was replicated 5 times. No interactions between main cereal and screen size were observed for any of the traits studied. Cereal type and screen size did not affect feed intake, egg production, BW gain, or quality traits of the eggs. Eggs tended to be larger (P = 0.092) in hens fed the barley diet than in hens fed the corn diet. Also, feed conversion ratio tended to increase (P = 0.081) when the cereal of the diet was ground with a 4‐mm screen as compared with the average of the other diets. At 49 wk of age, the relative weight (% BW) of the GIT and gizzard was greater (P < 0.05) in hens fed barley than in hens fed corn. An increase in the screen size increased linearly the relative weight of the GIT (P = 0.089), gizzard (P < 0.01), and liver (P = 0.056). None of the other GIT traits or body measurements was affected by the main cereal or the screen size. In summary, barley can substitute up to 45% of the corn in diets for laying hens without any adverse effect on egg production. Therefore, the use of one or other cereal will depend on their relative cost. An increase in screen size improved gizzard development but had little effect on hen productivity. Within the range studied, the size of the screen used for grinding the cereal had little effect on hen productivity, although the use of a 4‐mm screen might increase feed conversion ratio and gizzard development.
Culture-Independent Analysis of Bacterial Fuel Contamination Provides Insight into the Level of Concordance with the Standard Industry Practice of Aerobic Cultivation

ABSTRACT Bacterial diversity in contaminated fuels has not been systematically investigated using cultivation-independent methods. The fuel industry relies on phenotypic cultivation-based contaminant identification, which may lack accuracy and neglect difficult-to-culture taxa. By the use of industry practice aerobic cultivation, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and strain genotyping, a collection of 152 unique contaminant isolates from 54 fuel samples was assembled, and a dominance of Pseudomonas (21%), Burkholderia (7%), and Bacillus (7%) was demonstrated. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 15 samples revealed Proteobacteria and Firmicutes to be the most abundant phyla. When 16S rRNA V6 gene pyrosequencing of four selected fuel samples (indicated by “JW”) was performed, Betaproteobacteria (42.8%) and Gammaproteobacteria (30.6%) formed the largest proportion of reads; the most abundant genera were Marinobacter (15.4%; JW57), Achromobacter (41.6%; JW63), Burkholderia (80.7%; JW76), and Halomonas (66.2%; JW78), all of which were also observed by DGGE. However, the Clostridia (38.5%) and Deltaproteobacteria (11.1%) identified by pyrosequencing in sample JW57 were not observed by DGGE or aerobic culture. Genotyping revealed three instances where identical strains were found: (i) a Pseudomonas sp. strain recovered from 2 different diesel fuel tanks at a single industrial site; (ii) a Mangroveibacter sp. strain isolated from 3 biodiesel tanks at a single refinery site; and (iii) a Burkholderia vietnamiensis strain present in two unrelated automotive diesel samples. Overall, aerobic cultivation of fuel contaminants recovered isolates broadly representative of the phyla and classes present but lacked accuracy by overrepresenting members of certain groups such as Pseudomonas.
Forbes and Billionaires: A Note on the Productive and Unproductive Entrepreneurial Activities in China

This paper establishes a causal relationship between the quality of an institutional environment and the stated types of entrepreneurial activities in China. An event study on the influence of Forbes magazine’s list of China’s billionaires (the list) on the associated share prices is conducted. Our results show that a significantly positive relationship exists between the quality of an institutional environment and the tendency towards productive entrepreneurial activities.
High performance work systems and organization attraction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the effect of human resource systems on organization attraction. Furthermore, the authors theorize and test how the vocational interests of prospective employees can serve as boundary conditions that affect the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and organization attraction. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve these ends, this study conducts a scenario-based experiment with prospective employees to examine the effects of HPWS and vocational interests on organization attraction. Findings – The authors demonstrated that HPWS is an important feature for organization attraction. Despite the generally positive linkage between HPWS and organization attraction, the most important implication of the findings is that job applicants also have an important role in responding to the features being used by a firm to attract applicants through HPWS. For example, potential job applicants with higher (rather than lower) social vocational interests are more likely to be attracted to the HPWS of firms. Research limitations/implications – This study has limitations that must be considered. In particular, the authors treated HPWS as a unidimensional construct. Given the study design, it is unclear whether the attraction effects are driven by HPWS as a whole or whether they are being driven by any single or multiple component(s) of the system. Future research needs to consider examining how specific practices are matched with specific vocational interests by using multiple scenarios where they bundle different high-performance work practices. Doing so would further the understanding of which specific practices affect attraction and for whom. Originality/value – This study contributes to the authors’ knowledge of the effects of HPWS on organization attraction. In addition, job applicants’ social vocational interest plays an important role in strengthening the relationship between HPWS and organization attraction.
Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Regulate Initial Self‐Renewing Divisions of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells by a β1‐Integrin‐Dependent Mechanism

In previous reports, we have demonstrated that only direct cell‐cell contact with stromal cells, such as the murine stromal cell line AFT024, was able to alter the cell division kinetics and self‐renewing capacity of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC). Because β1‐integrins were shown to be crucial for the interaction of HPC with the bone marrow microenvironment, we have studied the role of β1‐integrins in the regulation of self‐renewing cell divisions. For this purpose, we used primary human mesenchymal stromal (MS) cells as in vitro surrogate niche and monitored the division history and subsequent functional fate of individually plated CD34+133+ cells in the absence or presence of an anti‐β1‐integrin blocking antibody by time‐lapse microscopy and subsequent long‐term culture‐initiating cell (LTC‐IC) assays. β1‐Integrin‐mediated contact with MS cells significantly increased the proportion of asymmetrically dividing cells and led to a substantial increase of LTC‐IC. Provided that β1‐integrin‐mediated contact was available within the first 72 hours, human MS cells were able to recruit HPC into cell cycle and accelerate their division kinetics without loss of stem cell function. Activation of β1‐integrins by ligands alone (e.g., fibronectin and vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1) was not sufficient to alter the cell division symmetry and promote self‐renewal of HPC, thus indicating an indirect effect. These results have provided evidence that primary human MS cells are able to induce self‐renewing divisions of HPC by a β1‐integrin‐dependent mechanism.
Role of insulin and glucose on metabolite uptake by the hind half of beef steers.

Arterial and venous concentrations, extraction ratios and uptake of glucose, L-lactate and volatile fatty acids were measured in the hind half of four beef steers (340 to 360 kg) fitted with indwelling catheters in the posterior aorta and vena cava. The steers were fed hourly a pelleted, 85% concentrate diet. Treatments were control, iv infusion of insulin (1.4 IU/min) and iv infusion of glucose (149.4 mmol/h). Arterial blood concentration of glucose decreased from 3.23 mM (control) to 1.51 mM (insulin), then increased to 4.29 mM (glucose). Extraction ratio of glucose increased about threefold from 2.6 and of L-lactate decreased about fourfold from 9.2 during insulin infusion, then returned toward control values during glucose infusion. Extraction ratios of acetate (39), propionate (45) and butyrate (28) were similar among treatments. Uptake (two steers) of glucose from blood (mmol/h) increased from 38 (control) to 76 (insulin) and 99 (glucose). Uptake of acetate, propionate and butyrate from plasma (mmol/h) was, respectively, 105, 6.5, . 93 (control); 170, 11.9, 3.53 (insulin) and 134, 10.9, 3.12 (glucose). Rates of uptake of glucose and propionate during control were slower (P less than .05) than rates during insulin or glucose infusion; nonsignificant changes in uptake of butyrate followed a similar pattern. Uptake of L-lactate tended to be inversely related to uptake of glucose. Treatments did not affect uptake of acetate or valerate. Uptake of all metabolites except valerate was positive, indicating net use by the hind half.
Human metapneumovirus‐associated hospital admissions over five consecutive epidemic seasons: Evidence for alternating circulation of different genotypes

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a pathogen of the respiratory tract with a worldwide distribution. The purpose of this study was to identify hMPV as the cause of acute respiratory diseases in children admitted at Spedali Civili, a public hospital in Brescia, Italy. Eight hundred forty‐six nasopharyngeal aspirate samples negative for the presence of other common respiratory viruses were tested for the presence of hMPV RNA by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction. Of the 846 samples, 79 (9.3%) were positive for hMPV. Polymerase chain reaction products, obtained by amplification of the partial nucleotide sequence of gene F, were sequenced and compared with sequences deposited in GenBank. All four hMPV subtypes were identified, including the proposed subtype A2 sublineages “A” and “B”. In successive epidemic seasons, large outbreaks of hMPV alternated with small outbreaks in a biannual pattern. This local study provides further evidence that hMPV infection should be considered as a reason for hospital admission for acute respiratory disease in children. J. Med. Virol. 84:511–516, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.