Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic value of melanoma-associated antigen A9 in renal cell carcinoma

Abstract Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic relevance of melanoma-associated antigen (MAGE) A9 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Material and methods. Immunohistochemical staining for MAGE A9 was evaluated in a tissue microarray containing 587 RCC tumour tissue samples. Nuclear MAGE A9 expression was reviewed using a semiquantitative score. Follow-up has been surveyed since 1990 in a prospectively conducted tumour database. The effect of MAGE A9 expression on cancer-specific survival (CSS) was assessed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Subgroup analyses were performed for non-metastatic and metastatic disease. Results.Median age in all patients was 63.2 years, 354 patients were male and 233 female, and 108 patients had metastatic disease. Median follow-up was 5.6 years for all patients and 9.0 years for patients still alive (range 0–19.9 years). High nuclear MAGE A9 expression was present in 326 tumour specimens (55.5%). In multivariate analyses high nuclear MAGE A9 expression was associated with poor CSS (p = 0.0027). Furthermore, tumour stage, lymph-node and distant metastasis, Fuhrman grade G3/4, Karnofsky index < 80% and male gender were associated with poor CSS. In subgroup analyses, results were concordant for patients with non-metastatic disease. In patients with metastatic disease, only Karnofsky index > 80% was a significant predictor for CSS; MAGE A9 expression could not be shown to be associated with CSS (p = 0.161). Conclusions.High nuclear MAGE A9 expression is independently associated with poor CSS in patients with non-metastatic RCC. The assessment of MAGE A9 expression can provide additional prognostic information and should be used in decision-making regarding adjuvant therapy in patients with non-metastatic disease.
The Histone Database: a comprehensive WWW resource for histones and histone fold-containing proteins

The Histone Database (HDB) is an annotated and searchable collection of all full-length sequences and structures of histone and non-histone proteins containing the histone fold motif. These sequences are both eukaryotic and archaeal in origin. Several new histone fold-containing proteins have been identified, including Spt7p, and a few false positives have been removed from the earlier version of HDB. Database contents include compilations of post-translational modifications for each of the core and linker histones, as well as genomic information in the form of map loci for the human histone gene complement, with the genetic loci linked to Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM). Conflicts between similar sequence entries from a number of source databases are also documented. Newly added to the HDB are multiple sequence alignments in which predicted functions of histone fold amino acid residues are annotated. The database is freely accessible through the WWW at http://genome.nhgri. nih.gov/histones/
Adenovirus Type 5 E1A and E6 Proteins of Low-Risk Cutaneous Beta-Human Papillomaviruses Suppress Cell Transformation through Interaction with FOXK1/K2 Transcription Factors

ABSTRACT The adenovirus (Adv) oncoprotein E1A stimulates cell proliferation and inhibits differentiation. These activities are primarily linked to the N-terminal region (exon 1) of E1A, which interacts with multiple cellular protein complexes. The C terminus (exon 2) of E1A antagonizes these processes, mediated in part through interaction with C-terminal binding proteins 1 and 2 (CtBP1/2). To identify additional cellular E1A targets that are involved in the modulation of E1A C-terminus-mediated activities, we undertook tandem affinity purification of E1A-associated proteins. Through mass spectrometric analysis, we identified several known E1A-interacting proteins as well as novel E1A targets, such as the forkhead transcription factors, FOXK1/K2. We identified a Ser/Thr-containing sequence motif in E1A that mediated interaction with FOXK1/K2. We demonstrated that the E6 proteins of two beta-human papillomaviruses (HPV14 and HPV21) associated with epidermodysplasia verruciformis also interacted with FOXK1/K2 through a motif similar to that of E1A. The E1A mutants deficient in interaction with FOXK1/K2 induced enhanced cell proliferation and oncogenic transformation. The hypertransforming activity of the mutant E1A was suppressed by HPV21 E6. An E1A-E6 chimeric protein containing the Ser/Thr domain of the E6 protein in E1A interacted efficiently with FOXK1/K2 and inhibited cell transformation. Our results suggest that targeting FOXK1/K2 may be a common mechanism for certain beta-HPVs and Adv5. E1A exon 2 mutants deficient in interaction with the dual-specificity kinases DYRK1A/1B and their cofactor HAN11 also induced increased cell proliferation and transformation. Our results suggest that the E1A C-terminal region may suppress cell proliferation and oncogenic transformation through interaction with three different cellular protein complexes: FOXK1/K2, DYRK(1A/1B)/HAN11, and CtBP1/2.
Relational Transaction Lending? A Study of Commercial Banks in Kenya

The importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in economies has been widely researched, with access to finance emerging as one of the important constraining factors that has to be and is being addressed to enable these firms attain their maximum potential. When financing SMEs, commercial banks can either engage in transaction and/or relationship lending. Traditional literature emphasizes the use of the relationship lending methodology when dealing with SMEs because these firms are considered informational opaque and lack collateral. However, recent evidence shows that transaction-based or arms-length lending can be more cost-effective and also allows larger and non-local banks to lend to SMEs. The objective of this study is to determine how banks make the decision on the lending method to employ when contracting with SMEs. Qualitative research methodology is employed to gain an in-depth understanding of how SME lending transpires in commercial banks in Kenya that lend to SMEs. The data is collected through semi structured interviews and analysed using content analysis. The results indicate that commercial banks employ a mix of relationship and transactional lending technologies when contracting with SMEs and not one method exclusively. The study concludes that we cannot say that any bank employs relationship lending but perhaps, “relational transaction lending”.
Gender differentials in profit among oil palm processors in Abia state, Nigeria

The study analyzed gender differentials in profits among oil palm processors in Abia state, Nigeria with a random selection of sixty (60) males and sixty (60) females palm oil processors. The result of the cost and return analysis showed that palm oil processing was highly profitable in the study area and male processors had higher revenue (₦92,842,000) than the female processors (₦47,590,570). The result showed that there was a significant difference in the profit between male and female processors at one percent probability level. The study also observed factors such as processing techniques for male and income, fixed and variable costs for female processors exerts influences on processors profitability. The study recommended that women should be given the necessary assistance and barriers that create unequal opportunities for both men and women should be removed to enhance efficiency in processing and other related activities by the relevant government agencies.
Operation Scheduling of Battery Storage Systems in Joint Energy and Ancillary Services Markets

This paper presents a risk-based approach for evaluating the participation strategy of a battery storage system in multiple markets. Simultaneous offering in day-ahead energy, spinning reserve, and regulation markets is considered in this paper. The uncertainties considered include predicted market prices as well as energy deployment in spinning reserve and regulation markets. A new nonprobabilistic model is introduced in this paper to handle the uncertain nature of spinning reserve and regulation markets. Robust optimization is implemented to model these uncertain parameters and manage their related risk. The proposed risk-based model is a max–min problem, which is converted to its equivalent ordinary maximization problem using duality theory. The presented model is linearized by implementing strong duality theory. Finally, the proposed method is tested and verified using an illustrative case study.
Evaluation of coordination strategies for heterogeneous sensor networks aiming at surveillance applications

A new challenge in the sensor network area is the coordination of heterogeneous sensors (with different sensing, mobility and computing capabilities) in an integrated network. This kind of sensor networks have clearly high relevance in surveillance systems, in which both low-end static ground sensor nodes and more sophisticated sensors carried by mobile platforms, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cooperate. This paper provides an analysis of two different strategies to guide the collaboration among the sensor nodes mentioned above, applied to area surveillance systems. The first analyzed problem is related to the choice of the UAV instance that will respond to a given alarm issued by a ground sensor node. The second issue is the estimation of the response time until any UAV can be engaged in handling an alarm and effectively handles it. Two strategies are introduced and compared: one based on a pheromone inspired approach and another based on utility functions inspired on risk profiles that models decisions of investors in the stock market.
A mutual information based channel selection scheme for P300-based brain computer interface

This paper presents a mutual information based channel selection (MICS) for P300-based Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). The proposed method iteratively selects a new channel with maximal dependency to the target class and minimal dependency with previously selected channels. Evaluation of the proposed method on the data set II from the third BCI competition shows that the MICS can enhance the P300 detection rate compared to other state of art channel selection methods developed for P300 speller BCI.
Seed bank-vegetation relationships in herbaceous Carolina bays: Responses to climatic variability

Vegetation in intermittently flooded wetlands is strongly affected by the influence of hydrologic condition on species establishment and survival. The vegetation of four herbaceous depression meadow Carolina bay wetlands on the Upper Coastal Plain in the southeastern USA was sampled while systems were flooded in 1999 and again in 2002, near the end of a multi-year drought during which all bays were dry. The seed banks of these bays were sampled in the spring of 2000 and their relationship to the extant vegetation at both ends of the hydrologic spectrum examined. All bays lost previously abundant perennial aquatic species during the drought, and grasses, especially a rhizomatous perennial, Panicum hemitomon, expanded. While approximately half the species in the vegetation were also found in the seed bank, more than 60% of species in the seed bank were never detected in the vegetation. Also, widespread species in the vegetation, especially grasses and aquatic herbs, were rare or absent in the seed bank. The results of the study were consistent with a cyclic model of herbaceous Carolina bay vegetation dynamics in which aquatic and grass species dominate in turn as climate oscillates between wet and dry periods. Further, it appears that, in herbaceous Carolina bays, a handful of dominant aquatic and grass species in the vegetation may influence composition more strongly than widespread recruitment from the seed bank as hydrologic condition fluctuates.
KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF BREAST SELF EXAMINATION AMONG ANTENATAL ATTENDEES PRESENTING TO A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN.

Background: Mean age of participants was 28.3 years with range of 15-50 years. Majority were educated (78.7%) with average of matric education. The mean duration of marriage was less than five years; Most were Muslims (92%), and Urdu speaking (66.7%) with average of 2 children and livings in a joint family. Most of the respondents (80.0%), had heard of breast cancer and breast self-examination. Twenty three percent knew the early symptoms of breast cancer and 83.3%% knew that early detection increases chances of survival. Nine percent of the respondents gave the view that breast self-examination should start at less than 19 years while 15.3% said that it should start after 19 years of age and 76% don't know about it at all. The respondents also gave opinion that breast self-examination should be performed (weekly (13.9 %), some monthly (76.3%) and some yearly (9.8%). Most of the respondents (66.7%) are of the opinion that BSE can be performed at any time in the month while 16.7% have view that it should be done on every fifth day of menses with another 16.7% attendees who don't know its timing. One hundred and thirty two (88.0%) of the antenatal attendees don't know about the breast self-examination while 18 (12.0%), knew about it. The level of awareness of breast self examination was highest (29.0%) among those aged 15-29 years and was lowest among those more than 30 years (p = 0.064). (Table2). The women who had secondary education had more knowledge about breast self-examination while those who had primary education had low level of knowledge. (p = 0.069). ) Among the participants who had knowledge about BSE, (15.3%) knew the exact age to start for BSE,(66.7.0%) responded that it can be carried out at any time during a month, only 16.7. 0% said that it should be done during menses. Ninety four percent knew that BSE can be done with their own hands with out any help. Fifty four percent do it during bath and 33.3% while lying on a bed. Similarly, 66.7% had knowledge that a lump can be found during exam along with 5.6% looking for color change in skin of breast and 27.8% can expect both the signs.
VAR and Stress Tests: The Impact of Fat-Tail Risk and Systemic Risk on Commercial Banks in Hong Kong and China

This study shows that the statistical property of the commercial banks’ rate of returns can be used to explain the resistance to using Value-at-risk (VaR) and stress tests to determine banks’ capital adequacy. We showed that “fat-tail” risk requires more capital than the “normal tail” risk estimated by VaR, which assumes normal distribution. The puzzle that most banks in Europe and Asia maintained higher capital levels than required by regulators before the 2008 financial crisis can be reinterpreted as rational action to protect financial companies against abnormal fat-tail risk, which may reflect inside information, such as off-balance sheet activities, rather than regulations. Micro- and macro-prudential policies are needed not only to discourage fat-tail risk seeking, but also to cover the higher social costs caused by higher systemic risk and bank diversification, which are affected by the heaviness of the tail and limited liability of bank charter.
Management and Complications of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Skeletally Immature Patients: Survey of The Herodicus Society and The ACL Study Group

Expert opinion regarding experience with the management and complications of pediatric anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries was studied by surveying members of The Herodicus Society and The ACL Study Group. There was large practice variation in initial management and ACL reconstruction technique. There were 15 reported cases of growth disturbance: 8 cases of distal femoral valgus deformity with arrest of the lateral distal femoral physis, 3 cases of tibial recurvatum with arrest of the tibial tubercle apophysis, 2 cases of genu valgum without arrest, and 2 cases of leg length discrepancy. Associated factors included fixation hardware across the lateral distal femoral physis in 3 cases, bone plugs of a patellar tendon graft across the distal femoral physis in 3 cases, large (12 mm) tunnels in 2 cases, fixation hardware across the tibial tubercle apophysis in 3 cases, lateral extra-articular tenodesis in 2 cases, and over-the-top femoral position in 1 case. Based on this experience, we recommend a guarded approach to ACL reconstruction in the skeletally immature patient with careful attention to technique and follow-up.
Supply chain management and activity-based costing: Current status and directions for the future

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze what is known regarding activity-based costing (ABC) applications in the context of supply chain management (SCM). The authors present a reference framework for practical implications and areas for future research in intra-firm and inter-organizational environments. Design/methodology/approach The findings underlie a systematic review methodology. Research gaps and guidance for further publications are derived from the reference framework based on ABC and SCM literature. Findings The review illustrates four main areas for further research: determination of the role of management accounting in SCM (including supply chain finance), integration of time-driven ABC with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and automatic data collection, analysis of inter-organizational management tools in supply chains in multiple negotiation rounds, and standardization of cost accounting data in supply chains. Practical implications The review provides practitioners with three main recommendations: ABC applications require a solid data basis, organizational readiness, commitment from senior management, and an ABC management philosophy; open book accounting for inter-organizational cost information-sharing purposes needs institutional arrangements and economic incentive systems; and sharing costs and benefits among supply chain members requires a change of managers’ mind-set. Originality/value This paper reveals practical implications and provides new directions for research based on the reference framework. The paper contributes to the interdisciplinary topic between SCM and management accounting by providing a structured overview of 87 peer-reviewed articles from 1992 to 2016.
Regulation of the penicillinase genes of Bacillus licheniformis: interaction of the pen repressor with its operators

The synthesis of the inducible enzyme penicillinase of Bacillus licheniformis is negatively controlled by a repressor (D.A. Dubnau and M.R. Pollock, J. Gen. Microbiol. 41:7-21, 1965; D. J. Sherratt and J. F. Collins, J. Gen. Microbiol. 76:217-230,1973). The molecular organization of the genes coding for penicillinase (penP) and its repressor (penI) has recently been determined (T. Himeno, T. Imanaka, and S. Aiba, J. Bacteriol. 168:1128-1132, 1986). These two genes are transcribed divergently from within a 364-nucleotide region separating the coding sequences. We cloned and sequenced the repressor gene (penIc) from strain 749/C that constitutively produces penicillinase. The penIc and penI+ (wild-type) genes were expressed in Escherichia coli. Complementation analysis indicated that the repressor is the only trans-acting protein required to regulate the expression of the penI and penP genes. We purified the wild-type repressor protein, used it in gel retardation and DNase I protection experiments, and identified three operators positioned in the region between the penP and penI coding sequences. The spatial arrangement of the operators and the hierarchy in repressor binding seen in the protection experiments indicate that (i) the penI gene product represses the expression of the penP gene by physically blocking the RNA polymerase-binding site and (ii) the penI gene is autoregulated.
3D Face Reconstruction with Silhouette Constraints

In this paper we introduce silhouette constraints to improve the quality of unconstrained 3D face reconstruction. Previously, state of the art unconstrained 3D face reconstruction techniques relied solely on photometric consistency and matching sparse facial landmarks. We show that constraining the silhouettes of the 3D reconstruction to match silhouettes in the input images can further improve reconstruction quality. Our technique automatically detects silhouettes and iteratively matches silhouette points computed from the current 3D reconstruction with silhouettes in the input images. We demonstrate that our results improve on the previous state of the art in unconstrained 3D face reconstruction and that our additional constraints can easily be included in the iterative reconstruction at little additional cost.
Silence' as an analytical category for PD

Reporting from two field studies relating to design of IT, the authors show the importance of bringing in silence as an analytical category when conducting ethnography. With such take we aim at shedding light on the importance of understanding how diverse encounters - explicitly and implicitly articulated - make a difference when interpreting ethnographic material gathered around design processes.
Plagiarism and misconduct in research: where we are and what we can do.

A comunidade cientifica tem demonstrado ha alguns anos grande preocupacao com os relatos de condutas inadequadas. Esse assunto e abordado diariamente nos mais diversos meios de comunicacao, cientificas ou nao. Uma rapida busca na literatura pelos termos “plagiarism” ou “misconduct” (plagio ou conduta inadequada) gera mais de 8.000 artigos na lingua inglesa no PubMed. A figura 1 demonstra que a grande maioria destas publicacoes ocorreu nos ultimos 20 anos. O desperdicio com a conduta cientifica inadequada e dificil de ser estimado. Em resumo, devemos assumir que os resultados cientificos advindos destas pesquisas sao inuteis e, portanto, os gastos diretos e indiretos da pesquisa sao custos e nao investimentos. Os custos diretos sao mais tangiveis por serem relacionados ao financiamento da pesquisa (servicos, equipamentos, insumos, viagens, etc.). Os custos indiretos podem assumir magnitudes enormes, pois se relacionam aos danos causados aos pacientes e as futuras pesquisas por causa dos dados e conclusoes inadequadas apresentados. O dano humano e ainda mais importante quando consideramos a repeticao de resultados fraudulentos. Em 2009, um mesmo investigador foi considerado culpado na publicacao de mais de 20 artigos, a maioria sobre o uso de drogas anti-inflamatorias nao hormonais no perioperatorio, estima-se que milhoes de pacientes tenham sido tratados inadequadamente com base nesses resultados. O desperdicio com pesquisa inadequada foi estimado em mais de meio milhao de dolares em um caso especifico e em mais de cem milhoes de dolares em um ano apenas, nos Estados Unidos. Se assumirmos que o numero de artigos publicados anualmente praticamente dobrou nos ultimos 10 anos, atingindo a marca de quase 2 milhoes em 2010 e que a porcentagem de artigos com conduta inadequada pode chegar a mais de 20%, podemos perceber que a etica em pesquisa deve ser uma preocupacao da populacao, das fontes pagadoras e dos pesquisadores serios.