Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SKI-606 (bosutinib), a novel Src kinase inhibitor, suppresses migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells

Src family kinase activity is elevated in many human tumors, including breast cancer, and is often associated with aggressive disease. We examined the effects of SKI-606 (bosutinib), a selective Src family kinase inhibitor, on human cancer cells derived from breast cancer patients to assess its potential for breast cancer treatment. Our results show that SKI-606 caused a decrease in cell motility and invasion of breast cancer cell lines with an IC50 of ∼250 nmol/L, which was also the IC50 for inhibition of cellular Src kinase activity in intact tumor cells. These changes were accompanied by an increase in cell-to-cell adhesion and membrane localization of β-catenin. By contrast, cell proliferation and survival were unaffected by SKI-606 at concentrations sufficient to block cell migration and invasion. Analysis of downstream effectors of Src revealed that SKI-606 inhibits the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2), and Crk-associated substrate (p130Cas), with an IC50 similar to inhibition of cellular Src kinase. Our findings indicate that SKI-606 inhibits signaling pathways involved in controlling tumor cell motility and invasion, suggesting that SKI-606 is a promising therapeutic for breast cancer. [Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(5):1185–94]
Ultrastructure of mesoderm in embryos of Opisthopatus roseus (Onychophora, Peripatopsidae): Revision of the “long germ band” hypothesis for Opisthopatus

In previous studies, an unusual pattern of development which resembles the “long germ band” development of some insects has been described in the onychophoran Opisthopatus cinctipes. This pattern has been proposed to be a characteristic of the genus Opisthopatus. To test this assumption, the ultrastructure of embryos of O. roseus, the sister species of O. cinctipes, was examined. Two kinds of paired, segmentally arranged coelomic cavities were found in the embryos studied: 1) dorsolateral coelomic cavities lined by extremely thin epithelia, and 2) ventral coelomic cavities situated within the anlagen of ventrolateral body appendages. Only the dorsolateral coelomic cavities can be considered “somites,” since they occur earlier during embryogenesis. This is in contrast with the previous view that suggested a ventral position of “somites” in O. cinctipes. In addition, an anterior‐to‐posterior gradient occurs in the development of O. roseus. Based on our findings, we reevaluated the previous data on O. cinctipes. From this survey, no evidence in support of a “long germ band” hypothesis in Opisthopatus was found. Instead, the embryogenesis in representatives of Opisthopatus is more similar to that in other onychophorans than expected. J. Morphol. 263:60–70, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Molecular Cloning of the CA125 Ovarian Cancer Antigen

CA125 is an ovarian cancer antigen that is the basis for a widely used serum assay for the monitoring of patients with ovarian cancer; however, detailed information on its biochemical and molecular nature is lacking. We now report the isolation of a long, but partial, cDNA that corresponds to the CA125 antigen. A rabbit polyclonal antibody produced to purified CA125 antigen was used to screen a λZAP cDNA library from OVCAR-3 cells inEscherichia coli. The longest insert from the 54 positive isolated clones had a 5797-base pair sequence containing a stop codon and a poly(A) sequence but no clear 5′ initiation sequence. The deduced amino acid sequence has many of the attributes of a mucin molecule and was designated CA125/MUC16 (gene MUC16). These features include a high serine, threonine, and proline content in an N-terminal region of nine partially conserved tandem repeats (156 amino acids each) and a C-terminal region non-tandem repeat sequence containing a possible transmembrane region and a potential tyrosine phosphorylation site. Northern blotting showed that the level of MUC16 mRNA correlated with the expression of CA125 in a panel of cell lines. The molecular cloning of the CA125 antigen will lead to a better understanding of its role in ovarian cancer.
A prospective open-label study of sirolimus for the treatment of anti-Hu associated paraneoplastic neurological syndromes.

BACKGROUND Several lines of evidence suggest a T cell-mediated immune response in paraneoplastic neurological syndromes with anti-Hu antibodies (Hu-PNS). In order to investigate whether suppression of T cell-mediated immune responses in Hu-PNS patients improved their neurological outcome, we performed a prospective open-label, single-arm study on sirolimus. METHODS Seventeen progressive Hu-PNS patients were treated with sirolimus with an intended treatment duration of 8 weeks. Primary outcome measures were (i) functional improvement, defined as a decrease of one or more points on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and (ii) improvement of neurological impairment, defined as an increase of one or more points on the Edinburgh Functional Impairment Tests (EFIT). RESULTS One patient showed improvement on both clinical scales (mRS and EFIT). This patient presented with limbic encephalitis and improved dramatically from an mRS score of 3 to mRS 1. Another patient, with subacute sensory neuronopathy, remained stable at mRS 2 and improved one point on the EFIT scale. The other patients showed no improvement on the primary outcome measures. Median survival was 21 months. CONCLUSION We conclude that treatment of Hu-PNS patients with sirolimus may improve or stabilize their functional disabilities and neurological impairments. However, the effects of this T cell-targeted therapy were not better than reported in trials on other immunotherapies for Hu-PNS. Trial Registration https://www.clinicaltrialsregister. eu/ctr-search/trial/2008-000793-20/NL.
Inflation Targeting and Output Growth: Evidence from Aggregate European Data

This paper evaluates inflation targeting and assesses its merits by comparing alternative targets in a macroeconomic model. We use European aggregate data to evaluate the performance of alternative policy rules under alternative inflation targets in terms of output losses. We employ two major alternative policy rules, forward-looking and spontaneous adjustment, and three alternative inflation targets, zero percent, two percent, and four percent inflation rates. The simulation findings suggest that forward-looking rules contributed to macroeconomic stability and increase monetary policy credibility. The superiority of a positive inflation target, in terms of output losses, emerges for the aggregate data. The same methodology, when applied to individual countries, however, suggests that country-specific flexible inflation targeting can improve employment prospects in Europe.
The Effects of Culture on CEO Power: International Evidence from Executive Turnover

Based on a hand-collected dataset with more than 5,000 forced and voluntary CEO transitions across 37 countries, I find that the importance and power of CEOs differ from country to country. First, CEOs are less likely to be dismissed for bad performance in more hierarchical countries. They are also more likely to move to director or chairman positions in the same firm so that they can save their face. This procedure, however, deteriorates post-turnover performance. Finally, stronger hierarchies allow for idiosyncratic managerial styles around exogenous turnovers of CEOs. This is in contrast to existing literature on CEOs in the U.S., where hierarchies are relatively flat. Overall, the findings suggest that national culture affects managerial power.
Optical Properties of Silver Nanoparticles for Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)-Based Biosensor Applications

It has been successfully carried out the synthesis of silver nanoparticles by chemical reduction method. Silver nitrate (AgNO3) is used as the metal precursor and trisodium citrate as the reducing agent as well as the use of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a stabilizer. The formation of silver nanoparticles was observed visually with discoloration (yellow). To excite surface plasmons, attenuated total reflection (ATR) method is used with Krestchmann configuration of the prism coupling. The maximum absorption band in the UV-Vis spectrometer shows a red shift of 429.43 nm wavelength for a colloidal solution of silver nanoparticles without PVA and 429.01 nm with PVA. The addition of PVA sharpened absorption spectrum curve and produce a broad absorption band which is indicative of a smaller particle size. TEM images showed that the morphology (crystallites) silver nanoparticles have nearly spherical geometry with dispersive particle distribution. Dispersibility of nanoparticles such as this could potentially be used as an active ingredient of SPR biosensor. The observation of the SPR phenomenon shows the SPR angle shift of 0.1° when a thin layer of silver as an active ingredient a biosensor coated with silver nanoparticles and 0.2° when silver nanoparticles with PVA. SPR angle shift and increase the reflectance values caused by changes in surface Plasmon, which can be a reference that the SPR phenomenon with the sensing surface modification using an additional layer of silver nanoparticles can increase sensitivity.
Update on coagulopathies.

Whether one considers endogenous or drug-induced etiologic factors, numerous patients with coagulopathies will seek dental treatment. Obviously, surgeons and dentists treating these patients must have current knowledge regarding the treatment and management of these disorders. The topic of coagulopathies is so broad that textbooks are filled with information dealing with only small areas of focus. This article reviews some of the newer developments in the area of coagulopathies. An all-inclusive review of the pathophysiology of the disease processes and their management is not possible in this limited space. Application of new drugs, changes in treatment of the common coagulopathies, changes in management of certain disease processes with anticoagulants, changes in monitoring patients who are anticoagulated, and managing the dental patient with a coagulopathy are discussed. MONITORING Two major topics warrant discussion about the monitoring of anticoagulation: international normalized ratio (INR) and patient self-management. Although the INR is not a new concept, much confusion still surrounds it. An article by Troulis et al1 surveyed oral and maxillofacial surgeons in North America and found that 73% use the INR, but only 21% rely on this method alone. INR is a value calculated from the ratio of the patient’s prothrombin time (PT) to the mean of the normal range. This value is then corrected by multiplication by the international sensitivity index (ISI). The ISI is based on a quantitative assessment of responsiveness of a thromboplastin by comparison with a reference thromboplastin. The INR system was established to standardize
Changes in Analysts’ Information Environment Following Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Global Settlement

This paper examines how governance and regulatory reforms surrounding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 and the Global Settlement (GS) affect the analysts’ information environment, specifically the quality of financial analysts’ common and private information. Our information quality measures are based on characteristics of financial analyst forecasts as developed in Barron, Kim, Lim and Stevens (1998). We find that the passage of SOX and the concurrent analyst regulations are associated with a temporary increase in the quality of common information upon their adoption, but the increase is not maintained. By one year after the introduction of the reforms both common and private information quality decline and continue to stay below their pre-SOX/GS levels. This decline is clearly seen in firms with high information quality prior to the reforms, but firms with moderate or low prior information quality experience little if any improvement. These results suggest that overall, financial analysts have not experienced an increase in their information quality as measured by the characteristics of their forecasts.
Services Used and Factors Considered Important in Selecting a Bank: An Investigation across Diverse Demographic Segments

Consumers perceive the following criteria as important in their selection and patronage of commercial banking facilities. Services relating to chequing accounts are of greater importance than those relating to savings accounts. Speed of service, locational convenience, competence and friendliness of bank personnel are also important. Significant differences in attitudes and opinions between the sexes, language, age, income and educational level groups are revealed. These results come from a study carried out in Montreal, which was chosen for its highly competitive banking environment. By tailoring their marketing strategies to stress the satisfaction of the above features, bank marketers may be better able to influence the target market segments dealt with.
Cytotoxic Activity of β -Caryophyllene Oxide Isolated from Jeju Guava (Psidium cattleianum Sabine) Leaf

β-caryophyllene oxide was isolated from the leaf of the Jeju guava (Psidium cattleianum Sabine) for the first time in this study. The chemical structure was confirmed with the help of various spectroscopic analyses, including NMR data, by comparison to that of the published data. An MTT assay was conducted against several cancer cell lines to resolve an ongoing controversy regarding the cytotoxic effects of βcaryophyllene oxide. β-caryophyllene oxide evidenced potent cytotoxic activity against HepG2, AGS, HeLa, SNU-1, and SNU-16 cells, with IC50 values of 3.95, 12.6, 13.55, 16.79, and 27.39 μM, respectively. The results also showed that β-caryophyllene oxide evidenced cytotoxicity in both a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner.
Recommendations for Nurse Practitioner Residency Programs

The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize critical aspects needed in the design and execution of new nurse practitioner (NP) residency programs. Subjects answered a series of questions on formulating residency programs and on key outcomes and cost measures related to their sustainability. These results serve as potential guideposts for future work in NP residency standardization and sustainability development.
Relationship Marketing and Customer Loyalty: Evidence From the Ghanaian Luxury Hotel Industry

The study reports the impact of relationship marketing on customer loyalty in the luxury and first-class hotel industry. A questionnaire derived from the literature review was completed by 300 customers of luxury and first-class hotels in Ghana. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple regression were used to test the impact of six key relationship marketing practices, namely competence, commitment, conflict handling, trust, communication, and relational bonds on customer loyalty. The findings suggest that all six relationship-marketing practices have a significant and positive effect on customer loyalty in the hotel industry in Ghana. Apart from extending knowledge on relationship marketing practices into a domain without much empirical work, the study also provides hotel managers with practical ways of implementing relationship-marketing strategies for achieving customer loyalty in Ghana.
Positioning of Financial Services for Competitive Advantage

The financial services sector is becoming increasingly competitive. Deregulation allows formerly nonoverlapping financial institutions to compete. To survive and succeed, financial institutions must develop strong positions. A position summarizes the distinctive competence that a company seeks to convey to the marketplace to establish its competitive advantage. In this article, Christopher Easingwood and Vijay Mahajan describe a number of positioning attempts in the financial services sector. They are guided by two central objectives. The first is to show how the special characteristics of services give rise to eight different positioning possibilities for financial services organizations. These positions present a range of potential options from which the manager may choose. For instance, an “extra service” position is one option, a “performance” position is another. The second objective is to demonstrate the use of the positioning framework, with examples taken from the insurance sector to provide illustrations rather than a complete picture of insurance positioning. The article concludes with a number of recommendations. For instance, financial institutions should avoid overcrowded positions and occupy underexploited positions. If accepted, these recommendations should help the financial services executive develop a competitive positioning strategy.
Perinatal and infant health among rural and urban American Indians/Alaska Natives.

OBJECTIVES We sought to provide a national profile of rural and urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) maternal and infant health. METHODS In this cross-sectional study of all 1989-1991 singleton AI/AN births to US residents, we compared receipt of an inadequate pattern of prenatal care, low birthweight (< 2500 g), infant mortality, and cause of death for US rural and urban AI/AN and non-AI/AN populations. RESULTS Receipt of an inadequate pattern of prenatal care was significantly higher for rural than for urban mothers of AI/AN infants (18.1% vs 14.4%, P </=.001); rates for both groups were over twice that for Whites (6.8%). AI/AN postneonatal death rates (rural = 6.7 per 1000; urban = 5.4 per 1000) were more than twice that of Whites (2.6 per 1000). CONCLUSIONS Preventable disparities between AI/ANs and Whites in maternal and infant health status persist.
Early evolution of animal cell signaling and adhesion genes

In stark contrast to the rapid morphological radiation of eumetazoans during the Cambrian explosion, the simple body plan of sponges (Phylum Porifera) emerged from the Cambrian relatively unchanged. Although the genetic and developmental underpinnings of these disparate evolutionary outcomes are unknown, comparisons between modern sponges and eumetazoans promise to reveal the extent to which critical genetic factors were present in their common ancestors. Two particularly interesting classes of genes in this respect are those involved in cell signaling and adhesion. These genes help guide development and morphogenesis in modern eumetazoans, but the timing and sequence of their origins is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the sponge Oscarella carmela, one of the earliest branching animals, expresses core components of the Wnt, transforming growth factor β, receptor tyrosine kinase, Notch, Hedgehog, and Jak/Stat signaling pathways. Furthermore, we identify sponge homologs of nearly every major eumetazoan cell-adhesion gene family, including those that encode cell-surface receptors, cytoplasmic linkers, and extracellular-matrix proteins. From these data, we infer that key signaling and adhesion genes were in place early in animal evolution, before the divergence of sponge and eumetazoan lineages.
From the retail brand to the retail‐er as a brand: themes and issues in retail branding research

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to present a review of the existing research themes in the area of retail branding, and note how these have developed as the conceptualisation of “branding” in retailing has itself evolved.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews existing research themes within retail branding. There is a vast body of academic literature on branding, or aspects of branding in retailing. The initial focus of academic work was upon the product perspective via studies of the store brand. This body of work is summarised under five broad themes – the characteristics of store brand prone consumers and the product attributes which attract consumers; the growth of and motivations for retail brand development; the role of changing channel relationships and behaviours on store brand development; intra‐category brand relationships; and the concept of copycat brands. From this initial, rather narrow, perspective research has evolved, taking on a wider view the brand in retailing which in .
The Influence of Transformational Leadership on Organisational Commitment in the Banking Sector of Pakistan

The purpose of this dissertation is to learn about degree of diffusion of transformational and transactional leaderships across the banking sector in Pakistan and its subsequent impact on innovation and organisational citizenship behavior that entails ramifications on employee perception of organisational commitment. As organizations try to keep pace with the everincreasing world of competition and changing industry dynamics, a considerable pressure is being put on the leaders to ensure productivity and sustained profitability. This dissertation tries to explicate the prevailing leadership style in the banking sector that ensures this profitability. The research general framework was exploratory in nature since a small sample of bankers from Pakistan's banking sector was chosen to be interviewed. The researcher tried to explicate subjective perspective of the interviewees to probe into the leadership style prevailing in banking sector. Questions were semi structured and few were theory-driven making the study design iterative. Twenty managers were chosen through theoretical sampling from public and government, private sector and foreign banks. A content analysis was carried out to interpret the data collected from the participants and all transcripts were diligently reviewed to identify recurrent themes. After reviewing and discussing the leadership styles and their transformation in Pakistan’s banking sector, one can understand that the prevailing style is transactional one with transformational aspects. A degree of diffusion between transformational and transactional leadership traits was found in the banking sector of Pakistan where leadership styles are greatly influenced by culture, religion and exposure to western education. From interviews with the bankers it is evident that the prevailing leadership style is transactional with a mix of transformational aspects. This inclination that is being shown towards transformational
Novel therapies in transplantation

Immunosuppressant drugs are crucial in order to protect transplanted kidney, heart or liver against the body’s natural defence mechanisms. These drugs are used to prevent both acute rejection of the organ as well as chronic deterioration of the graft over longer periods of time. Currently used immunosuppressant drugs are calcineurin inhibitors (cyclosporin and tacrolimus), steroids (prednisolone and methylprednisolone), antimetabolites (azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil), antiproliferatives (sirolimus) and monoclonal antibodies that are used as an induction therapy (basilximab, daclizumab and muromonab). Over time, we have learnt more about existing immunosuppressive choices and the ways to monitor these drugs, and the current trend in immunosuppression therapy is towards tailoring the therapy according to an individual patient. The major issue that is now emerging is not how to prevent acute rejection, as current drugs are all efficacious, but rather how to avoid the long-term side effects that can harm both the graft and host, and negatively influence compliance. The market in transplantation is considerable and still growing; the whole market including the immuno-suppressants used in autoimmune diseases had sales of ∼ £1.5 billion in 2001. There are currently 23new drugs in advanced clinical development intended to be used in either organ transplantation or as treatment of autoimmune diseases. The new drugs that are intended to be used in transplantation are mostly analogues of currently used drugs with improved safety and pharmaceutical profiles.