Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Signaling Immortalized Human Pancreatic Cells by Raf and KRas Promotes Growth Transformation and Invasion of Updated

Mutational activation of the K-Ras oncogene is well established as a key genetic step in the development and growth of pancreatic adenocarcinomas. However, the mechanism by which aberrant Ras signaling promotes uncontrolled pancreatic tumor cell growth remains to be fully elucidated. The recent use of primary human cells to study Ras-mediated oncogenesis provides important model cell systems to dissect this mechanism. We have used a model of telomeraseimmortalized human pancreatic duct-derived cells (E6/E7/st) to study mechanisms of Ras growth transformation. First, we found that human papillomavirus E6 and E7 oncogenes, which block the function of the p53 and Rb tumor suppressors, respectively, and SV40 small t antigen were required to allow mutant K-Ras(12D) growth transformation. Second, K-Ras(12D) caused growth transformation in vitro , including enhanced growth rate and loss of density dependency for growth, anchorage independence, and invasion through reconstituted basement membrane proteins, and tumorigenic transformation in vivo. Third, we determined that the Raf, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and Ral guanine nucleotide exchange factor effector pathways were activated, although extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activity was not up-regulated persistently. Finally, pharmacologic inhibition of Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK and PI3K signaling impaired K-Ras–induced anchorage-independent growth and invasion. In summary, our studies established, characterized, and validated E6/E7/st cells for the study of Ras-induced oncogenesis. [Cancer Res 2007;67(5):2098–106]
Andrographolide, isolated from Andrographis paniculata , induces apoptosis in monocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma cells via augmentation of reactive oxygen species production

Background: Andrographolide (Andro) is a diterpenoid component of the plant Andrographis paniculata that is known for its anti-tumor activity against a variety of cancer cells. Methods: We studied the effects of Andro on the viability of the human leukemia monocytic cell line THP-1 and the human multiple myeloma cell line H929. Andro was compared with cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) and vincristine (VCR), which are well-established therapeutics against hematopoietic tumors. The importance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production for the toxicity of each agent was investigated by using an inhibitor of ROS production, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). Results: Andro reduced the viability of THP-1 and H929 in a concentration-dependent manner. H929 viability was highly susceptible to Andro, although only slightly susceptible to Ara-C. The agents Andro, Ara-C, and VCR each induced apoptosis, as shown by cellular shrinkage, DNA fragmentation, and increases in annexin V-binding, caspase-3/7 activity, ROS production, and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Whereas Ara-C and VCR increased the percentages of cells in the G0/G1 and G2/M phases, respectively, Andro showed little or no detectable effect on cell cycle progression. The apoptotic activities of Andro were largely suppressed by NAC, an inhibitor of ROS production, whereas NAC hardly affected the apoptotic activities of Ara-C and VCR. Conclusions: Andro induces ROS-dependent apoptosis in monocytic leukemia THP-1 and multiple myeloma H929 cells, underlining its potential as a therapeutic agent for treating hematopoietic tumors. The high toxicity for H929 cells, by a mechanism that is different from that of Ara-C and VCR, is encouraging for further studies on the use of Andro against multiple myeloma.
The Influence of Creditor Governance on Firms

This paper develops a model to explore the implications of creditor governance on debt prices and corporate policies. The model incorporates the empirical observation that creditors can influence firms outside corporate distress and not only in distress. We find that considering both distressed and non-distressed creditor interventions is key to investigating how creditors influence firms. The model explains cross-sectional patterns of credit spreads and control premiums that traditional debt renegotiation models do not capture. We also derive novel implications for the impact of firm characteristics associated with renegotiation on debt prices and corporate policies.
Tuning magnetism and band topology through antisite defects in Sb-doped 
MnBi4Te7

Chaowei Hu, ∗ Shang-Wei Lien, ∗ Erxi Feng, Scott Mackey, Hung-Ju Tien, Igor I. Mazin, Huibo Cao, Tay-Rong Chang, 5, 6, † and Ni Ni ‡ Department of Physics and Astronomy and California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA Department of Physics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Center of Quantum Science and Engineering, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA Center for Quantum Frontiers of Research and Technology (QFort), Tainan 701, Taiwan Physics Division, National Center for Theoretical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (Dated: July 30, 2021)
Coarse-to-Fine for Sim-to-Real: Sub-Millimetre Precision Across Wide Task Spaces

In this paper, we study the problem of zero-shot sim-to-real when the task requires both highly precise control with sub-millimetre error tolerance, and wide task space generalisation. Our framework involves a coarse-to-fine controller, where trajectories begin with classical motion planning using ICP-based pose estimation, and transition to a learned end-to-end controller which maps images to actions and is trained in simulation with domain randomisation. In this way, we achieve precise control whilst also generalising the controller across wide task spaces, and keeping the robustness of vision-based, end-to-end control. Real-world experiments on a range of different tasks show that, by exploiting the best of both worlds, our framework significantly outperforms purely motion planning methods, and purely learning-based methods. Furthermore, we answer a range of questions on best practices for precise sim-to-real transfer, such as how different image sensor modalities and image feature representations perform.
Influence of foliar fertilization on mineral composition, sugar and organic acid content of sweet cherry.

The influence of a three-year-long foliar fertilization programme on mineral composition of leaf, content of sugars (glucose, fructose, galactose and sucrose) (Prunus avium L.) and organic acids (citric, malic and fumaric acid) of sweet cherry fruits was studied. The experiment was conducted during 2005-2007 in West Hungary on mature 'Germersdorfi 3' grafted on Prunus mahaleb rootstock, planted in 1999 and grown in a calcareous chernozem soil. Trees were foliar-fertilized with potassium (K) as KNO 3 , calcium (Ca) as Ca(NO 3 ) 2 and boron (B) as disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (Na 2 B 8 O 13 4H 2 0). Boron spraying was conducted at blooming time and 35 days later. Potassium spraying was carried out 21 and 35 days after full bloom while calcium was applied 21, 35 and 42 days after full bloom. Besides fruit analysis, complete soil and leaf analyses were carried out to study the rate of nutrient uptake and its effects on fruit quality. The applied treatments (except K 1 ) increased leaf K significantly as compared to the control till ripening. Treatments had no consequent effect on leaf Ca till ripening. After ripening, B was present in significantly higher amounts in treated leaf samples. From all applied treatments only boron had a significant effect in increasing sugar contents as compared to the control. Furthermore, repeated Ca spraying had significant effect on the contents of organic acids while B applications led to significantly lower acid contents in the fruit.
Progressive Correspondence Pruning by Consensus Learning

Correspondence pruning aims to correctly remove false matches (outliers) from an initial set of putative correspondences. The pruning process is challenging since putative matches are typically extremely unbalanced, largely dominated by outliers, and the random distribution of such outliers further complicates the learning process for learning-based methods. To address this issue, we propose to progressively prune the correspondences via a local-to-global consensus learning procedure. We introduce a "pruning" block that lets us identify reliable candidates among the initial matches according to consensus scores estimated using local-to-global dynamic graphs. We then achieve progressive pruning by stacking multiple pruning blocks sequentially. Our method outperforms state-of-the-arts on robust line fitting, camera pose estimation and retrieval-based image localization benchmarks by significant margins and shows promising generalization ability to different datasets and detector/descriptor combinations.
Viral loads observed under competing strain dynamics

A plausible mechanism for the increased transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) results from VOC infections causing higher viral loads in infected hosts. However, investigating this hypothesis using routine RT-qPCR testing data is challenging because the population-distribution of viral loads changes depending on the epidemic growth rate; lower cycle threshold (Ct) values for a VOC lineage may simply reflect increasing incidence relative to preexisting lineages. To understand the extent to which viral loads observed under routine surveillance systems reflect viral kinetics or population dynamics, we used a mathematical model of competing strain dynamics and simulated Ct values for variants with different viral kinetics. We found that comparisons of Ct values obtained under random cross-sectional surveillance were highly biased unless samples were obtained at times when the variants had comparable growth rates. Conversely, comparing Ct values from symptom-based testing was largely unaffected by epidemic dynamics, and accounting for the time between symptom onset and sample collection date further reduced the risk of statistical errors. Finally, we show how a single cross-sectional sample of Ct values can be used to jointly estimate differences in viral kinetics and epidemic growth rates between variants. Epidemic dynamics should be accounted for when investigating strain-specific viral kinetics using virologic surveillance data, and findings should be corroborated with longitudinal viral kinetics studies.
Changes in household food security, access to health services and income in northern Lao PDR during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey

Objectives We assessed the relative difficulty in meeting food needs during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with before; determined the relationship between pandemic-associated difficulties in food access and household, maternal and child food security; and identified resiliency-promoting strategies. Design A cross-sectional survey of households undertaken in November 2020. Setting Rural districts of Luang Prabang Province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Participants Households (N=1122) with children under 5 years. Primary and secondary outcomes measured Survey respondents reported the relative ease of access of food and healthcare as well as changes in income and expenditures compared with before March 2020. We determined indicators of food security and source of foods consumed for households, women and children, as well as prevalence of malnutrition in children under 5. Results Nearly four-fifths (78.5%) found it harder to meet household food needs during the pandemic. The most common reasons were increased food prices (51.2%), loss of income (45.3%) and decreased food availability (36.6%). Adjusting for demographics, households with increased difficulty meeting food needs had lower food consumption scores and child dietary diversity. Over 85% of households lost income during the pandemic. Decreased expenditures was associated with reliance on more extreme coping strategies to meet food needs. The households who experienced no change in meeting food needs produced a greater percentage of their food from homegrown methods (4.22% more, 95% CI 1.28 to 7.15), than households who found it more difficult. Conclusions Pandemic-associated shocks may have large effects on food insecurity. Action is needed to mitigate consequences of the pandemic on nutrition. Local food production and safety net programmes that offset income losses may help.
Evidence from imaging resilience genetics for a protective mechanism against schizophrenia in the ventral visual pathway

Recently, the first genetic variants conferring resilience to schizophrenia have been identified. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying their protective effect remain unknown. Current models implicate adaptive neuroplastic changes in the visual system and their pro-cognitive effects in schizophrenia resilience. Here, we test the hypothesis that comparable changes can emerge from schizophrenia resilience genes. To this end, we used structural magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the effects of a schizophrenia polygenic resilience score (PRSResilience) on cortical morphology (discovery sample: n=101; UK Biobank replication sample: n=33,224). We observed positive correlations between PRSResilience and cortical volume in the fusiform gyrus, a central hub within the ventral visual pathway. Our findings indicate that resilience to schizophrenia arises partly from genetically mediated enhancements of visual processing capacities for social and non-social object information. This implies an important role of visual information processing for mitigating schizophrenia risk, which might also be exploitable for early intervention studies.
Evaluation of Changes in Biochemical and Haematological Parameters of Albino Rats Following Subacute Oral Administration of Cinnamomum cassia (Cinnamon) Extract

Background: Cinnamomum cassia stem bark is used traditionally for the treatment of digestive disorders, diabetes and to alleviate symptoms of cold or flu. Aim: The present study evaluated biochemical and haematological changes in male albino rats after exposure to the stem bark ethanolic extract of Cinnamomum cassia (SBECC). Study Design: An experimental study which lasted for 19 days. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences and Animal House, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, between April 2019 and August 2019. Methodology: Twenty (20) rats weighing 130-170 g were used. Graded doses (100, 200 and 400mg/kg body weight) of the SBECC were orally administered to the animals in groups B, C and D respectively, once daily for 18 days. Group A served as the normal control and received only the vehicle (5ml/kg of 0.25N sodium carbonate). On Day 19, body weights of the rats were measured and blood samples obtained via retro-orbital puncture, were placed into plain tubes and tri-potassium ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (K3EDTA) containers for biochemical and haematological studies respectively. Results: Weight gain was observed in all treatment groups and control. The highest and lowest percentage weight gain was observed in Group C (51%) and Group B (33%) respectively. All the doses of the extract significantly decreased serum cholesterol levels when compared to the control (P<0.05). Treatment with 400mg/kg SBECC (Group D) significantly increased serum Alkaline phosphatase (224.00±12.88iu/l) and creatinine levels (85.60±7.40) when compared to the control (140.00±26.47 and 63.60±7.60 respectively) (P<0.05), whereas treatment with 200mg/kg SBECC significantly increased urea and creatinine levels (P<0.05). No significant changes were observed in the haematological parameters of the treated rats compared to the control. Conclusion: Sub-acute oral administration of Cinnamomum cassia stem bark extract at doses lower than 500 mg/kg may not exert toxic effects on haematological parameters but can alter some serum biochemical parameters in rats.
Face Verification for Person Re-Identification from Surveillance Camera and Drone-based Videos

: Person re-identification in surveillance camera videos is attracting widespread interest due to its increasing number of applications. It is being applied in the field of security, healthcare, product manufacturing, product sales and more. Though there are a variety of methods to do person re-identification, face verification-based methods are very much effective. In this study, a deep learning framework to perform face verification in videos is proposed. Face verification deep learning model development includes different stages like face recognition, cropping, alignment, augmentation, image enhancement and face image selection for model training. The authors have put forward innovative methods to be adopted in various stages of this sequence to improve the performance of the models. The focus of this study is on these image preprocessing stages of the process, rather than the deep learning part, which makes the approach unique. The overall model is improvised by increasing the efficiency of each of these stages by adopting methods like face recognition and cropping based on face landmarks, effective training image selection using face landmark symmetry, various image augmentation techniques including perspective transformation and image enhancement methods like contrast stretching and histogram equalization. An average two percent increase is obtained in the accuracy of the face verification models by applying these methods.
The effect of environment and behavior synomorph based on the type of activity selected in urban space

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Urban space is like a living thing that affects the behavior of participants and is also influenced by their behavior, whether it affects the body or the meaning of the space. The importance of this issue has laid the foundation of environmental psychology, so that it has attracted the attention of designers and urban planners to the application of the basic components of this branch of psychology in the design of urban spaces and public open environments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of environment and behavior synomorph on the type of activity of users. The case study was Enghelab Street as an urban space has a historical background and a trans-regional functional scale was located in center of Tehran is suitable for examining patterns of environmental psychology, types of activities and their behaviors, as well as suggestions from field studies conducted.METHODS: This research is a descriptive-analytical research based on the basic-applied purpose. In data collection, quantitative-qualitative method was performed using exploratory studies and questionnaire analysis with SPSS software and analysis (version 22.0). FINDINGS: The growing number of participants respectively, make use of this space for compulsory, social, and optional activities. According to the required activities such as roundtrip time from work, most periods are between 7 to 11 a.m. after 6 to 9 p.m. The results obtained from the implementation of the Kruskal-Wallis test on the data show that the use of sample space for doing purpose compulsory, optional, and social activities is of equal importance in the sense that designing urban space following behavior and need is equally important among the users of space who choose with different purposes of social, optional, and compulsory activities. In more detail, the differences in the indicators were in the intimacy component (Sig: 0.024). CONCLUSION: These findings may provide that it is not important in what propose person use the place, the quality of urban place should be presented in the design of all public spaces of the city.
Arbitrary Bilateral Bargaining in Decentralized Markets for Lemons

We investigate the efficiency of dynamic random matching and bilateral bargaining markets with adverse selection. We take a detail-free approach to the bargaining game, assuming only that: (a) each agent's actions are optimal given the equilibrium market conditions and the equilibrium strategy of the opposing agents; (b) bargaining reveals information about the quality of the object to the uninformed buyer, who cannot commit to acquire the object at a price that exceeds her expected reservation price conditional on such information. We characterize the equilibrium that maximizes the realized gains from trade among all decentralized equilibria. We show this equilibrium features full information revelation during bargaining. This equilibrium also realizes strictly more gains from trade than any equilibrium of trade under a price system, which we use as a benchmark for trade in centralized markets. However, as trading frictions vanish, the optimal decentralized market allocation converges to the optimal centralized market allocation.
Immigration and the Short- and Long-Term Impact of Improved Prenatal Conditions

This paper investigates the effects of immigration from a developing country to a developed country during pregnancy on offspring outcomes. We focus on intermediate and long-term outcomes, using quasi-experimental variation created by the immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel in May 1991. Individuals conceived before immigration experienced dramatic changes in their environmental conditions at different stages of prenatal development depending on their gestational age at migration. We find that females whose mothers immigrated at an earlier gestational age have better educational outcomes. They also tend to work more as adults. In contrast, we do not find any effect among males.
Index-Linked Trading and Stock Returns

I consider a model of index-linked trading in which a fraction of investors trade an index product that holds the market portfolio (e.g., an ETF). The remaining investors build portfolios by evaluating stocks individually. Investors are equally informed and choose portfolios to maximize their expected utility. In equilibrium, price impact from trading the index product is not equal across stocks. Index-linked trade generates cross sectional differences in returns and volatilities. Furthermore, uncertainty about indexing demand generates risk premiums in expected returns and their magnitudes depend on firm fundamentals. The findings lend a theoretical foundation to existing studies and I provide empirical support for new predictions.
Growing Cumulative Activity of Major Tropical Cyclones

Here, we show that from 1980 onward, the global annual cu- mulative count of major tropical cyclones (TC), category 3 and above, exhibit an upward trend (at 98% con dence level). We attribute this trend to a global sea surface warming. Identi cation and attribution of the growing cumulative frequency of major TC provides the empir- ical foundation for modeling of this phenomenon. Our ndings lead to the stable and e cient data-driven stochastic model of the underlying utmost complex process, which enables estimates of the impact of pro- jected changes in the global radiative balance on the temporal behavior of major TC.
Investors’ Perception of Business Group Membership during An Economic Crisis: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper examines how investors perceive business group membership in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence of a time-varying and heterogeneous value of affiliation emerges from stock price performance analysis. I find that investors discount business group affiliation during a market collapse, but are willing to pay a premium for affiliation during market recovery. Overall, this pattern is more pronounced for financially weak affiliates and large business groups. Results also show that business group membership alleviates investors’ concerns regarding financial flexibility highlighting the role of internal capital markets as a substitute to external finance.