Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Therapeutics , Targets , and Chemical Biology Activation of Ras / PI 3 K / ERK Pathway Induces c-Myc Stabilization to Upregulate Argininosuccinate Synthetase , Leading toArginineDeiminaseResistance inMelanomaCells

Melanomas and other cancers that do not express argininosuccinate synthetase (AS), the rate-limiting enzyme for arginine biosynthesis, are sensitive to arginine depletion with pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG20). However, ADI resistance eventually develops in tumors because of AS upregulation. Although it has been shown that AS upregulation involves c-Myc, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here we show that ADIPEG20 activates Ras signaling and the effector extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/GSK-3b kinase cascades, resulting in phosphorylation and stabilization of c-Myc by attenuation of its ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation mechanism. Inhibition of the induced cell signaling pathways using PI3K/AKT inhibitors suppressed c-Myc induction and enhanced ADI-mediated cell killing. Notably, in an animal model of AS-negative melanoma, combination therapy using a PI3K inhibitor plus ADIPEG20 yielded additive antitumor effects as compared with either agent alone. Taken together, our findings offer mechanistic insight into arginine deprivation metabolism and ADI resistance, and they illustrate how combining inhibitors of the Ras/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways may improve ADI-PEG20 anticancer responses. Cancer Res; 72(10); 2622–33. 2012 AACR.
Socially acceptable design of a ubiquitous system for monitoring elderly family members

Some functions in ambient assistance systems are enabled by sensors gathering data from the surroundings. While many prototypes are developed to prove technical concepts, for creating an acceptable, usable product additional facets need to be considered. Therefore, we present an approach to develop a functional ubiquitous system to support the monitoring and assistance of elderly family members. Besides the necessary technical concepts, insights from trust, law and user interface design are incorporated in this approach. The main idea of the approach is to deduce functional requirements from normative guidelines, theories or laws, and to combine the contributions from the involved disciplines developing the Senior Monitor demonstrator.
Microwave imaging of biological bone tissue

We propose a novel microwave imaging technique for biological tissue, both with and without bone support. The imaging technique is based on the Field Mapping Algorithm (FMA), which is a direct inversion method requiring neither optimization nor iterative procedures. Conventional microwave tomography is based on optimization strategies which require large modeling libraries for the generation of effective start-up configuration seeds leading to successful forward solutions for internal electric parameters, such as conductivity and dielectric permittivity. Knowledge regarding the spatial distribution of these latter two parameters should be regarded as synonymous with internal image formation. The associated computations are then of necessity intensive as to both execution time and CPU demands.
Usefulness of Conventional Transbronchial Needle Aspiration for Sampling of Mediastinal Lymph Nodes in Lung Cancer

Background:Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) is recognized as a valuable tool for the sampling of mediastinal lymph nodes. In this study, we report data about the diagnostic yield of conventional TBNA in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Methods:All patients with suspected lung cancer who underwent bronchoscopy with conventional TBNA in the years 2008 to 2012 were evaluated. TBNA was performed on mediastinal lymph nodes enlarged at chest computed tomography scan and/or with increased fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan. Cytologic results derived from TBNA have been compared, with the final diagnosis obtained with other more invasive procedures and/or with a clinical-radiologic follow-up of at least 12 months. Results:TBNA was performed on 375 patients. However, 19 patients were lost to follow-up, and data from 356 patients with a total 459 TBNA specimens were analyzed. TBNA was positive for metastatic involvement of lymph nodes in 172 of 282 patients with cancer, with a sensitivity of 61%. Sensitivity achieved 65% when we considered the total of 459 TBNA specimens. The overall diagnostic accuracy of TBNA was 69%. The nodal stations more frequently examined were 7 (subcarinal: 190 TBNAs), 4R (right lower paratracheal: 147 TBNAs), and 10R (right hilar: 76 TBNAs), with a sensitivity of 66%, 66%, and 67%, respectively. Conclusion:Conventional TBNA remains a useful method for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer, with a good diagnostic yield in several nodal stations.
Reconstructing Handwriting Character Font Models with Incorrect Stroke Order

This paper considers the problem for reconstructing handwriting character fonts based on the so-called dynamic font method. In particular, supposing that the authors are given such character fonts with incorrect stroke order, the authors develop a scheme for correctly modifying the stroke order of characters. Such a scheme is developed by utilizing the so-called starting point fixation method and the dynamic font method. Then it is shown using a theory of smoothing splines that the authors can reconstruct the character fonts to natural cursive characters even when the stroke order of characters is incorrect. The usefulness and effectiveness are examined by experimental studies.
Event-triggered observer-based tracking control for leader-follower multi-agent systems

This paper considers the consensus tracking problem for a class of leader-follower multi-agent systems via event-triggered observer-based control. In our set-up, only a subset of the followers can obtain some relative information on the leader. Assume that the leader's control input is unknown for the followers. In order to track such a leader, we design two novel event-triggered observer-based control strategies, one centralized and the other distributed. One can prove that under the proposed control strategies, the tracking problem can be solved if the communication graph of the agents is connected. Furthermore, the Zeno-behavior of triggering time sequences can be avoided. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results.
Electrostatic contributions drive the interaction between Staphylococcus aureus protein Efb‐C and its complement target C3d

The C3–inhibitory domain of Staphylococcus aureus extracellular fibrinogen‐binding protein (Efb‐C) defines a novel three‐helix bundle motif that regulates complement activation. Previous crystallographic studies of Efb‐C bound to its cognate subdomain of human C3 (C3d) identified Arg‐131 and Asn‐138 of Efb‐C as key residues for its activity. In order to characterize more completely the physical and chemical driving forces behind this important interaction, we employed in this study a combination of structural, biophysical, and computational methods to analyze the interaction of C3d with Efb‐C and the single‐point mutants R131A and N138A. Our results show that while these mutations do not drastically affect the structure of the Efb‐C/C3d recognition complex, they have significant adverse effects on both the thermodynamic and kinetic profiles of the resulting complexes. We also characterized other key interactions along the Efb‐C/C3d binding interface and found an intricate network of salt bridges and hydrogen bonds that anchor Efb‐C to C3d, resulting in its potent complement inhibitory properties.
Insight workflow: Systematically combining human and computational methods to explore textual data

Analyzing large quantities of real‐world textual data has the potential to provide new insights for researchers. However, such data present challenges for both human and computational methods, requiring a diverse range of specialist skills, often shared across a number of individuals. In this paper we use the analysis of a real‐world data set as our case study, and use this exploration as a demonstration of our “insight workflow,” which we present for use and adaptation by other researchers. The data we use are impact case study documents collected as part of the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF), consisting of 6,679 documents and 6.25 million words; the analysis was commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (published as report HEFCE 2015). In our exploration and analysis we used a variety of techniques, ranging from keyword in context and frequency information to more sophisticated methods (topic modeling), with these automated techniques providing an empirical point of entry for in‐depth and intensive human analysis. We present the 60 topics to demonstrate the output of our methods, and illustrate how the variety of analysis techniques can be combined to provide insights. We note potential limitations and propose future work.
An international comparison of 50/60 Hz reactive power meter calibrations between NRC, NIST, CENAM, NIM, and KRISS

A number of international comparisons of active power meter calibrations were conducted in the past. This paper addresses the international comparison of reactive power meter calibrations at 120 V, 5 A, 50/60 Hz, and power factors 0.5 lead/lag, and zero lead/lag, between 5 NMIs; 3 from the SIM metrology region (NRC, NIST, CENAM) and 2 from the APMP metrology region (NIM and KRISS).
Evaluation of iris color stability in ocular prosthesis.

UNLABELLED Accurate iris reproduction in the fabrication of ocular prosthesis in order to match the remaining eye is a key factor to mask the loss and achieve an esthetic outcome for anophthalmic patients. This study evaluated the stability of acrylic paints used for replicating iris color in ocular prostheses by the analysis of two factors: the temperature of the acrylic resin polymerization cycle during prosthesis fabrication and the incidence of sun light, which is the main photodegrading agent undermining the longevity of ocular prostheses. An accelerated aging assay was used for both analyses. Specimens simulating the prosthetic iris in the colors blue, yellow, black, brown and green were fabricated, and were submitted to a colorimetric reading before and after undergoing the thermal conditions of acrylic resin polymerization. Next, the specimens were submitted to an artificial accelerated aging assay with ultraviolet radiation A and weekly colorimetric readings during a 3-week period. The color change (Delta E*) values for the four specimens painted with the same color paint were averaged and the resulting values were considered for statistical analysis. Levine's test and Student's t-test were used to analyze the influence of the temperature of the polymerization cycle during prosthesis fabrication on the color stability of each acrylic resin paint. Friedman's test for three dependent samples was used for analysis of color photodegradation as function of time. Significance level was set at 0.05 for all analyses. It was observed that, after the action of the temperature of the polymerization cycle, alteration above clinically acceptable level of Delta E*> 3.3 was observed only for the yellow color. After the accelerated aging assay, there were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) as a function of time in the green, brown, black and blue colors. Changes were clinically acceptable for the brown and black colors; slightly above the clinically acceptable limit for the green color; and significantly high and impracticable from a clinical standpoint for the blue color. There was no statistically significant differences (p>0.05) for the yellow color, which presented color change only a little above the clinically acceptable limit. IN CONCLUSION 1. Only the yellow color presented alterations above the clinically acceptable levels after the polymerization cycle; 2. After accelerated aging, there was no changes in the yellow color above the clinically acceptable levels; 3. For the green color, degradation was significant and slightly above the clinically acceptable levels; 4. The black, brown and blue colors presented significant alterations as function of time; the alterations of the brown and black colors were within acceptable clinical levels, while the blue color presented a more accentuated degradation over time.
Striatal direct pathway modulates response time in execution of visual discrimination

The dorsal striatum in the basal ganglia circuitry is a principal structure that mediates the acquisition and performance of instrumental learning. The projections from the dorsal striatum are composed of two subpopulations of medium spiny neurons that constitute the direct and indirect pathways. The mechanism by which these striatal projections control the learning processes of instrumental actions remains unknown. We addressed the behavioral role of the striatal direct (striatonigral) pathway in the performance of visual discrimination. Immunotoxin targeting of the striatal neuronal type containing dopamine D1 receptor in mice resulted in a moderate level of elimination of the striatonigral pathway. Targeting of the neural pathway from the whole region of the dorsal striatum lengthened the response time but did not affect the accuracy of response selection in a two‐choice reaction time task dependent on light stimulus. This lengthened motor response was induced early in the test sessions and was gradually restored to normal levels during repetitive sessions. In addition, subregion‐specific pathway targeting revealed that the delay in learned motor response was generated by the elimination of the striatonigral pathway arising from the dorsomedial striatum but not from the dorsolateral striatum. Our findings indicate that the striatonigral pathway, in particular from the dorsomedial striatum, contributes to the regulation of response time in the execution of visual discrimination. The restoration of motor response deficits during repetitive sessions suggests the presence of a mechanism by which the response facilitation is acquired through continuation of learning despite the removal of the striatonigral pathway.
Updated meta-analysis on HER2 polymorphisms and risk of breast cancer: evidence from 32 studies.

BACKGROUND Several studies have been performed to investigate the association of the HER2 Ile655Val polymorphism and breast cancer risk. However, the results were inconsistent. To understand the precise relationship, a meta-analysis was here conducted. MATERIALS AND METHODS A search of PubMed conducted to investigate links between the HER2 Ile655Val polymorphism and breast cancer, identified a total of 32 studies, of which 29, including 14,926 cases and 15,768 controls, with odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals were used to assess any association. RESULTS In the overall analysis, the HER2 Ile655Val polymorphism was associated with breast cancer in an additive genetic model (OR=1.136, 95% CI 1.043-1.239, p=0.004) and in a dominant genetic (OR=1.118, 95% CI 1.020-1.227, p=0.018), while no association was found in a recessive genetic model. On subgroup analysis, an association with breast cancer was noted in the additive genetic model (OR=1.111, 95% CI: 1.004-1.230, p=0.042) for the Caucasian subgroup. No significant associations were observed in Asians and Africans in any of the genetic models. CONCLUSIONS In summary, our meta-analysis findings suggest that the HER2 Ile655Val polymorphism is marginally associated with breast cancer susceptibility in worldwide populations with additive and dominant models, but not a recessive model.
Addressing concentrations of disadvantage: policy, practice and literature review

Through a review of the relevant academic and policy literature, this report aims to critically revisit both the conceptual thinking and the research evidence that have shaped academic and policy interest in the drivers, outcomes and potential means of addressing concentrations of social disadvantage. Specifically, the paper discusses the evolution of academic and policy perspectives on: 1. The processes that lead to concentrations of disadvantage, particularly the roles played by housing market processes and by government policy or programs (‘causes’). 2. The processes that contribute to spatial disadvantage—that is, the negative consequences for residents of living in an area of concentrated disadvantage (‘consequences’). 3. Urban policy responses to concentrations of disadvantage (‘responses’).
Increased Prevalence of Behavioral Risks Among Adolescent and Young Adult Women With Psychological Distress in the Emergency Department

Background: Mental health problems in adolescents have been recognized as a significant medical concern. They have been associated with risk-taking behaviors during adolescence. Objective: To determine the prevalence of elevated scores for psychological distress among adolescent girls aged 15 to 21 years who present to a pediatric emergency department (PED) for general medical care and to correlate psychological distress scores with sexual and substance use behaviors. Methods: The study was performed in the PED of an urban general hospital. We enrolled female patients aged 15 to 21 years cared for in the PED. Subjects completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale 8 (CES-D8); elevated scores were defined as 7 or greater. The survey collected data on demographics, sexual practices, alcohol and drug use, and health care access and utilization. Results: Two hundred ninety-nine subjects participated. One hundred forty-one participants (47.7%) had CES-D8 scores of 7 or greater. In multivariate logistic regression, factors associated with increased emotional distress were being white, Hispanic, or of other race; having a recent new sex partner; and recent sex without birth control. Alcohol use in the past 3 months was associated with elevated distress as was having a distant relationship with one's parents/guardians. Those who had never had sex or who had sex in the past but not within the past 3 months were also more likely to have elevated CES-D8 scores compared with those who had sex more recently with the use of birth control. Conclusions: Screening for mental health issues in the emergency department may identify a significant number of adolescent patients in need of further evaluation, especially as half of surveyed patients reported the PED as a usual source of health care.
PL10 DEAD‐Box Protein is Expressed during Germ Cell Differentiation in the Reptile Podarcis sicula (Family Lacertidae)

Among genes involved in the regulation of germ cell differentiation, those of DDX4/Vasa and the Ded1/DDX3 subfamilies encode for DEAD-box ATP-dependent RNA helicases, proteins involved in many mechanisms related to RNA processing. For the first time in reptiles, using specific antibodies at confocal microscopy, we analysed the localization pattern of a Ded1/DDX3 subfamily member in testis and ovary of Podarcis sicula (Ps-PL10) during the reproductive cycle. In testis, Ps-PL10 is expressed in the cytoplasm of spermatocytes and it is not detected in spermatogonia. Differently from Ps-VASA, in round spermatids, Ps-PL10 is not segregated in the chromatoid body but it accumulates in the cytoplasm of residual bodies, and mature spermatozoa are unstained. These observations suggest that in males, Ps-PL10 (1) is involved in spermatogenesis and (2) is then eliminated with residual bodies. In the ovary, Ps-PL10 is present with granules in the cytoplasm of early meiotic cells of the germinal bed (GB), while it is not present in oogonia and somatic cells of the GB stroma. In follicular cells of ovarian follicles, Ps-PL10 expression starts after their fusion with the oocyte. Numerous Ps-PL10 spots are visible in pyriform (nurse-like) cells concomitantly with the protein accumulation in the cytoplasm of differentiating oocyte. In pyriform cells, Ps-PL10 spots are present in the cytoplasm and nuclei, as observed for Ps-VASA, and in the nucleoli, suggesting for Ps-PL10 a role in rRNA processing and in the transport of molecules from the nucleus to cytoplasm and from nurse cells to the oocyte.
Application of Data Mining Technique for Fraud Detection in Health Insurance Scheme Using Knee-Point K-Means Algorithm

Healthcare delivery is one of the most important functions of government. This task is, however, beset with so many difficulties in a developing country like Nigeria. The application of Information Technology (IT) is one way to overcome several of the problems besetting the sector. This work, therefore, focuses on the application of some computer-based techniques that could help to properly target investment in the sector and also drastically reduce fraud in health insurance. The Nigerian Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced by the Nigerian government to make healthcare affordable to all citizens, irrespective of economic situation or occupation. This scheme is, however, known to be beset by fraudulent claims from health practitioners within the system. To reduce or possibly eliminate this fraud, we also applied Knee-point K-means Clustering method, which is capable of detecting fraudulent claims from Health providers. Cluster-based outliers were examined. Health providers claims submitted to Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) were grouped into clusters. Claims with similar characteristics were grouped together. Clusters with small populations were flagged for further investigations. For clustering using two (2) attributes, six (6) clusters are formed. 74% of claims are clustered into cluster 2, 16% are in cluster 1, 2% are in cluster 3 and 4, 6% are in cluster 5 and 0% are in cluster 0 which have a membership of less than 1%. It can be difficult to get your clustering model correctly without determining the value of k clusters first; we were able to carve out some interesting information from the results on health insurance claims. The results from the data collected from an HMO in Lagos Nigeria show that the total number of claims identified as possible anomalies from cluster-based outliers is 7 in Nigeria health insurance using probability of 0.6 as the cutoff point.
Data-Driven Fault Detection Based on Process Monitoring using Dimension Reduction Techniques

One goal of integrated vehicle health management (IVHM) for commercial airplane customers is to monitor sensor data to anticipate problems before flight deck effects (FDEs) ground the airplane for unplanned maintenance. Airplane subsystems - such as flight and environmental control systems, electrical and hydraulic power - can have a high number of associated parameters. Monitoring sensor data streams individually can be inefficient, and fail to detect problems. A research effort at The Boeing Company is investigating anomaly detection algorithms for multivariate time series of parametric data. The multivariate process monitoring techniques account for correlation between parameters, and therefore alert when relationships between parameters change, as well as when mean levels of individual parameters change. Since many traditional multivariate process monitoring techniques are not suited for the high number of parameters in airplane subsystems, this paper discusses using dimension reduction techniques. One example is principal component analysis (PCA). If the assumptions behind PCA are not met, then monitoring charts based on conventional PCA alone can show false alarms and bad detectability. Independent component analysis (ICA) is a recently developed method in which the goal is to decompose observed data into linear combinations of statistically independent components. ICA can be considered an extension of PCA since it uses PCA as an initial pre-whitening stage. Like projection pursuit density estimation, ICA searches for projections of the data that are most non-Gaussian.