Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Matrix Metalloproteinases 21 and 26 Are Differentially Expressed in Esophageal Squamous Cell Cancer

Matrix metalloproteinase 21 (MMP-21) and MMP-26 (matrilysin-2) are the two newest members of the human MMP gene family that have both been suggested to play an important role in epithelial tumor progression and to be regulated via the Wnt signaling pathway. We studied their expression in 34 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas and non-neoplastic epithelium. MMP-21 protein was detected in cancer cells and inflammatory cells at the invasive front. Its expression was associated with invasion, inflammation, apoptotic and well-differentiated areas of the tumors, but not with cell proliferation. Unlike MMP-21, MMP-26 protein was already upregulated in incipient invasion and its expression associated with regions of low differentiation being more sporadic at the invasive front. MMP-21 was detected basally in KYSE-30 and OE21 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells, while MMP-26 was absent. None of the several cytokines and matrices tested were capable of consistently upregulating MMP-21 or MMP-26 mRNA expression in these two cell lines. Our results suggest that during esophageal tumorigenesis, MMP-21 and MMP-26 have different, unique expression patterns both being tightly regulated and induced in the vicinity of inflammation. MMP-21 may provide a marker for differentiating tumor areas. The putative role of MMP-26 as a marker of dysplasia and incipient invasion warrants further studies.
Synthetic oligonucleotide probes differentiate respiratory syncytial virus subgroups in a nucleic acid hybridization assay

A new approach to respiratory syncytial virus subgroup differentiation has been developed on the basis of the hybridization of subgroup-specific synthetic oligonucleotides with viral mRNA. Two oligonucleotide probes were designed from the nucleotide sequences of an A and a B subgroup respiratory syncytial virus glycoprotein G gene. All 28 virus isolates tested were correctly classified by subgroup with these probes.
Self-Regulation of Driving and Older Drivers' Functional Abilities

Abstract This study was designed to identify risk factors for inadequate self-regulation of driving behavior by older drivers. To this end, a sample of 90 adults aged between 60 and 91 completed a questionnaire about their driving behavior, a battery of functional tests, and a structured on-road test. Comparisons were made between the functional tests most strongly related to on-road driving performance and the functional tests most strongly related to self-regulation. Self-reported avoidance of difficult driving situations was used as an index of self-regulation of driving behavior. It was concluded that self-regulation of driving behavior is inadequate among older drivers with poor contrast sensitivity, poor speed of information processing and poor visuospatial ability.
Rapamycin Induces Mitogen-activated Protein (MAP) Kinase Phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) Expression through Activation of Protein Kinase B and Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Kinase Pathways*

Background: MAP kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) plays a critical role in regulating inflammation in innate and adaptive immunity. Results: mTOR inhibition leads to induction of MKP-1 through the activation of AKT1 and MEK1/MEK2 pathways. Rapamycin pretreatment of macrophages inhibits LPS-mediated p38 activation and IL-6 and nitric oxide production. Conclusion: Both AKT1 and MEK1/2 regulate rapamycin-mediated MKP-1 induction. Significance: mTORC1 inhibition regulates immunity through MKP-1 induction. Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1), also known as dual specificity phosphatase-1 (DUSP-1), plays a crucial role in the deactivation of MAPKs. Several drugs with immune-suppressive properties modulate MKP-1 expression as part of their mechanism of action. We investigated the effect of mTOR inhibition through rapamycin and a dual mTOR inhibitor (AZD2014) on MKP-1 expression. Low dose rapamycin led to a rapid activation of both AKT and ERK pathways with a subsequent increase in MKP-1 expression. Rapamycin treatment led to phosphorylation of CREB, transcription factor 1 (ATF1), and ATF2, three transcription factors that bind to the cyclic AMP-responsive elements on the Mkp-1 promoter. Inhibition of either the MEK/ERK or the AKT pathway attenuated rapamycin-mediated MKP-1 induction. AZD2014 did not activate AKT but activated the ERK pathway, leading to a moderate MKP-1 induction. Using bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) derived from wild-type (WT) mice or mice deficient in AKT1 and AKT2 isoforms or BMDM from targeted deficiency in MEK1 and MEK2, we show that rapamycin treatment led to an increased MKP1 expression in BMDM from WT but failed to do so in BMDMs lacking the AKT1 isoform or MEK1 and MEK2. Importantly, rapamycin pretreatment inhibited LPS-mediated p38 activation and decreased nitric oxide and IL-6 production. Our work provides a conceptual framework for the observed immune modulatory effect of mTOR inhibition.
Relevancy assessment of tweets using supervised learning techniques: Mining emergency related tweets for automated relevancy classification

Social media provides an abundance of information that can be vital to emergency services. Especially during large-scale emergencies and disasters this amount of information rises even more and emergency services struggle to find relevant information that can support their current operations. The approach described in this paper uses Twitter generated data from an incident in Ludwigshafen, Germany in October 2016 to evaluate machine learning approaches for the relevancy assessment of social media content during emergencies. Not only different classifiers, but also several vectorizers and the use of n-grams are regarded. It is found that machine learning approaches can achieve very good results in the automatic relevancy classification and offer techniques that provide realtime quality assessments to emergency-services.
Comparative analysis of effect of stopwords removal on sentiment classification

Classification refers to the computational techniques for classifying whether the sentiments of text are positive or negative. Sentiment Classification being a specialized domain of text mining is expected to benefit after preprocessing such as removing stopwords. Stopwords are frequently occurring words that hardly carry any information and orientation. In this paper the effect of stopwords removal on various sentiment classification models was analyzed. Sentiment Classification models were evaluated using the movie document dataset. Accuracy increased from unprocessed dataset to stopwords removed dataset for Traditional Sentiment Classifiers. Our classifiers had hardly any impact of stopwords removal which indicates that they handled stopwords at the time of classification itself. Our classifiers also displayed accuracy better than traditional classifier and another surveyed classifier based on term weighting technique.
Manage perceived e-learning quality in Egyptian context

With the rapid growth of e-learning around the globe, it is becoming increasingly important to assess the perceived e-learning quality and its impact on learners’ satisfaction. Although e-learning is still a considerably young phenomenon in the Arab world, it is currently viewed by Arab government officials as a viable solution to their educational problems. This paper aims to suggest e-learning quality dimensions in Egyptian universities and investigate its impact on perceived e-learning quality and students’ level of satisfaction. The study sheds light on the importance of transferring traditional higher education into online education in order to enhance the effectiveness of higher education institutions as well as contributing to a better understanding of the role of quality in e-learning from the perspective of instructors and investigating its impact on perceived e-learning quality. Throughout the paper, the author focuses on the body of literature concerned with higher education, e-learning service quality and students’ satisfaction importance in universities; consequently, a set of hypothesised quality dimensions were introduced for Egyptian universities to measure and understand perceived e-learning quality and its influence on students’ satisfaction.
Modelling technique utilizing modified sigmoid functions for describing power transistor device capacitances applied on GaN HEMT and silicon MOSFET

In power transistor models, it is very important that device capacitances are modelled accurately so that switching losses, EMI filter requirements and gate timing requirements of the converter can be accurately determined. In this paper, a modelling technique utilizing modified sigmoid functions to describe the device capacitances is applied on a GaN HEMT and a silicon MOSFET to develop their corresponding SPICE models. Comparison of switching energies of the transistors under slow-switching conditions suggest that the technique is suitable for modelling both types of transistors. The developed model for the GaN HEMT is also shown to simulate faster than the manufacturer's model under fast switching conditions.
Queue Imbalance as a One-Tick-Ahead Price Predictor in a Limit Order Book

We investigate whether the bid/ask queue imbalance in a limit order book (LOB) provides significant predictive power for the direction of the next mid-price movement. We consider this question both in the context of a simple binary classifier, which seeks to predict the direction of the next mid-price movement, and a probabilistic classifier, which seeks to predict the probability that the next mid-price movement will be upwards. To implement these classifiers, we fit logistic regressions between the queue imbalance and the direction of the subsequent mid-price movement for each of 10 liquid stocks on Nasdaq. In each case, we find a strongly statistically significant relationship between these variables. Compared to a simple null model, which assumes that the direction of mid-price changes is uncorrelated with the queue imbalance, we find that our logistic regression fits provide a considerable improvement in binary and probabilistic classification for large-tick stocks, and provide a moderate improvement in binary and probabilistic classification for small-tick stocks. We also perform local logistic regression fits on the same data, and find that this semi-parametric approach slightly outperform our logistic regression fits, at the expense of being more computationally intensive to implement.
Giving and Receiving. The link between corporate giving and executive pay

The paper examines political and charitable donations among FTSE350 companies over a period spanning 1996 through 2010. A wide range of measures is drawn on to explain the observed variation in behaviour. In addition to measures of company size, industry, FTSE sector and performance, detail of each company’s governance and of the age and gender of the boardroom executives is included. The unique contribution of the paper is to make use of the observed level of executive remuneration. If this is taken as an indicator of managerial power, it is demonstrated that there is statistical support for the argument that political and charitable donations are utilised, to some extent, as camouflage for high executive pay. The results underline the importance of institutional considerations in the standard agency theory and managerial power perspectives, and point to a social theory of agency. The originality of the paper lies in bringing together the two literatures of corporate giving and executive pay to deliver an enhanced insight into the internal working of large, widely held corporations.
Molecular Epidemiology of KPC-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates in the United States: Clonal Expansion of Multilocus Sequence Type 258

ABSTRACT Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacteriaceae have become more common in the United States and throughout the world. We used pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to examine the molecular epidemiology of KPC-producing K. pneumoniae isolates sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for reference testing from 1996 to 2008. A dominant strain, sequence type 258 (ST 258), was found and likely accounts for 70% of the CDC's K. pneumoniae PFGE database. Isolates with PFGE patterns related to ST 258 were identified in 10 of the 19 U.S. states currently reporting KPC-producing K. pneumoniae, in addition to one isolate from Israel. KPC subtyping and analysis of the surrounding genetic environment were subsequently performed on 23 representative isolates. Thirteen isolates identified as ST 258 possessed either blaKPC-2 or blaKPC-3 and some variability in the Tn4401 element upstream of the blaKPC gene. Escherichia coli DH10B was successfully transformed by electroporation with KPC-encoding plasmid DNA from 20 of the 23 isolates. Restriction analysis of plasmid DNA prepared from transformants revealed a diversity of band patterns, suggesting the presence of different plasmids harboring the blaKPC gene, even among isolates of the same ST.
Biology in the Dry Seed: Transcriptome Changes Associated with Dry Seed Dormancy and Dormancy Loss in the Arabidopsis GA-Insensitive sleepy1-2 Mutant

Plant embryos can survive years in a desiccated, quiescent state within seeds. In many species, seeds are dormant and unable to germinate at maturity. They acquire the capacity to germinate through a period of dry storage called after-ripening (AR), a biological process that occurs at 5–15% moisture when most metabolic processes cease. Because stored transcripts are among the first proteins translated upon water uptake, they likely impact germination potential. Transcriptome changes associated with the increased seed dormancy of the GA-insensitive sly1-2 mutant, and with dormancy loss through long sly1-2 after-ripening (19 months) were characterized in dry seeds. The SLY1 gene was needed for proper down-regulation of translation-associated genes in mature dry seeds, and for AR up-regulation of these genes in germinating seeds. Thus, sly1-2 seed dormancy may result partly from failure to properly regulate protein translation, and partly from observed differences in transcription factor mRNA levels. Two positive regulators of seed dormancy, DELLA GAI (GA-INSENSITIVE) and the histone deacetylase HDA6/SIL1 (MODIFIERS OF SILENCING1) were strongly AR-down-regulated. These transcriptional changes appeared to be functionally relevant since loss of GAI function and application of a histone deacetylase inhibitor led to decreased sly1-2 seed dormancy. Thus, after-ripening may increase germination potential over time by reducing dormancy-promoting stored transcript levels. Differences in transcript accumulation with after-ripening correlated to differences in transcript stability, such that stable mRNAs appeared AR-up-regulated, and unstable transcripts AR-down-regulated. Thus, relative transcript levels may change with dry after-ripening partly as a consequence of differences in mRNA turnover.
Locomotor Sub-functions for Control of Assistive Wearable Robots

A primary goal of comparative biomechanics is to understand the fundamental physics of locomotion within an evolutionary context. Such an understanding of legged locomotion results in a transition from copying nature to borrowing strategies for interacting with the physical world regarding design and control of bio-inspired legged robots or robotic assistive devices. Inspired from nature, legged locomotion can be composed of three locomotor sub-functions, which are intrinsically interrelated: Stance: redirecting the center of mass by exerting forces on the ground. Swing: cycling the legs between ground contacts. Balance: maintaining body posture. With these three sub-functions, one can understand, design and control legged locomotory systems with formulating them in simpler separated tasks. Coordination between locomotor sub-functions in a harmonized manner appears then as an additional problem when considering legged locomotion. However, biological locomotion shows that appropriate design and control of each sub-function simplifies coordination. It means that only limited exchange of sensory information between the different locomotor sub-function controllers is required enabling the envisioned modular architecture of the locomotion control system. In this paper, we present different studies on implementing different locomotor sub-function controllers on models, robots, and an exoskeleton in addition to demonstrating their abilities in explaining humans' control strategies.
Control delegation, information and beliefs in evolutionary oligopolies

In an evolutionary delegation game, we investigate the effects on market outputs of different levels of information about the way managers are compensated. When managers are informed about their opponents, the long–run configuration of the industry depends on market conditions. When managers are informed only of the current composition of the population, only profit maximizing firms survive, no matter what market condition prevails. However, if we further lower the level of information –by hiding the current composition of the industry– then we show how managers’ beliefs affect the long run equilibrium.
Recovery of multiband signals using group binary compressive sensing

The modulated wideband converter (MWC) is a recently proposed compressive sampling system to acquire the blind multiband signals, which we can only know the number of bands and their widths. The process of quantization is inevitable in engineer realization. In this paper, we consider the limiting case of 1-bit quantization, which preserves only the sign information of measurements, and a group binary iterative hard thresholding lp method solving multiple measurement vector problems (M-GBIHTlp) was proposed to recover the wideband signals under MWC system. The proposed algorithm utilizes the group sparsity of recovered signal, of which the nonzero locations are piecewise together. Experiments show that the proposed algorithm achieve higher reconstruction probability than the existed simultaneous binary iterative hard thresholding I2 norm (SBIHTI2) algorithm, particularly in low signal to noise ratio (SNR).
Predicting Welfare Effects of Food Price Shocks. A Comparative Analysis

Following the 2007/09 and subsequent world food price shocks, a growing number of simulation studies predicted their implications on food security. Studies that only require pre-price-hike data and the specification of relevant price or income changes have been advocated as a potential tool to guide the planning and targeting of mitigation programs. A critical research gap remains with comparing simulation outcomes across studies that use different, established methods on the same subject. In this paper we examine the extent to which different simulation methods drive differences in similar outcome variables and in potential targeting efforts. For this we build on three simulation studies set in Malawi, using 2004/05 LSMS data. We harmonize simulation scenarios and systematically adjust relevant parameters for the methodological comparison. We find overlaps in simulation outcomes to depend on scenarios and time horizons under consideration and to be driven by the study context. In case of Malawi, for a reasonable set of price changes, mean outcomes on district levels are fairly robust to underlying methodologies.
Effect of Exemestane on Tamoxifen Pharmacokinetics in Postmenopausal Women Treated for Breast Cancer

Purpose: Rodent models of human breast cancer suggest that the combination of the steroidal aromatase inhibitor exemestane with tamoxifen may have additive activity. Clinical trials combining tamoxifen with letrozole or anastrazole have shown minor pharmacokinetic drug interactions. We did an open-label crossover clinical trial of the effect of exemestane on tamoxifen pharmacokinetics. Design: Thirty-two postmenopausal women who were clinically disease-free following primary treatments for breast cancer receiving tamoxifen for at least 3 months were studied. Blood was collected for pharmacokinetic analysis after at least 4 months of receiving 20 mg tamoxifen daily. Subjects then began 8 weeks of oral exemestane (25 mg daily), followed by another set of blood samples. Results: There were no serious toxicities noted when the two drugs were combined. There was no significant effect of exemestane on the area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC) of tamoxifen at steady state before [3.04 mg h/L; 90% confidence interval (90% CI), 2.71-3.44] and during exemestane treatment (3.05 mg h/L; 90% CI, 2.72-3.41). There were no significant changes in the formation of primary tamoxifen metabolites. Oral clearance of exemestane averaged 602 L/h based on an average plasma exemestane AUC of 41.5 μg h/L (90% CI, 36.7-62.6). Plasma concentrations of estradiol, estrone, and estrone sulfate decreased when exemestane was begun; estradiol concentrations consistently decreased below the limit of quantitation. Conclusions: There is no pharmacokinetic interaction between tamoxifen and exemestane. No modification in the standard regimen of either drug seems to be indicated if they are used in combination. The combination of the two drugs was well tolerated during the 8-week evaluation period.
Fludarabine and cytarabine as continuous sequential infusion for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES A phase II study was conducted to investigate the effects of a therapeutic program based on the combination of fludarabine and cytarabine (ARA-C) administered as a sequential continuous infusion in untreated elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). DESIGN AND METHODS Sixty-three patients with non-M3 AML, median age 69 years (range 61-81), were accrued. Twenty-four patients (38%) had AML secondary to myelodysplastic syndrome. Fludarabine and ARA-C were administered as a continuous sequential infusion for 72 and 96 hours, respectively, after a loading dose. Patients achieving complete remission (CR) were intended to receive an additional course, followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). RESULTS Overall, 42 patients (67%) achieved CR. There were 10 induction deaths (16%), while 11 patients were refractory (17%). Among those achieving a remission, 35 patients (83%) received the planned consolidation course and 29 underwent mobilization of CD34+ cells into the peripheral blood for collection, which was successful in 23 (79%). Overall, 17 patients (27% of the whole population) received ASCT. The median overall and disease-free survival were both 10 months. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Patients with an intermediate karyotype and those receiving ASCT had a significantly better clinical outcome. Results in terms of CR achievement, CD34+ cell collection and ASCT feasibility. A longer follow up is needed in order to evaluate the actual benefit on long-term survival.