Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Embryonic axis induction by the armadillo repeat domain of beta- catenin: evidence for intracellular signaling

beta-catenin was identified as a cytoplasmic cadherin-associated protein required for cadherin adhesive function (Nagafuchi, A., and M. Takeichi. 1989. Cell Regul. 1:37-44; Ozawa, M., H. Baribault, and R. Kemler. 1989. EMBO [Eur. Mol. Biol. Organ.] J. 8:1711-1717). Subsequently, it was found to be the vertebrate homologue of the Drosophila segment polarity gene product Armadillo (McCrea, P. D., C. W. Turck, and B. Gumbiner. 1991. Science [Wash. DC]. 254:1359-1361; Peifer, M., and E. Wieschaus. 1990. Cell. 63:1167-1178). Also, antibody perturbation experiments implicated beta-catenin in axial patterning of the early Xenopus embryo (McCrea, P. D., W. M. Brieher, and B. M. Gumbiner. 1993. J. Cell Biol. 123:477-484). Here we report that overexpression of beta-catenin in the ventral side of the early Xenopus embryo, by injection of synthetic beta-catenin mRNA, induces the formation of a complete secondary body axis. Furthermore, an analysis of beta-catenin deletion constructs demonstrates that the internal armadillo repeat region is both necessary and sufficient to induce axis duplication. This region interacts with C-cadherin and with the APC tumor suppressor protein, but not with alpha-catenin, that requires the amino-terminal region of beta-catenin to bind to the complex. Since alpha-catenin is required for cadherin-mediated adhesion, the armadillo repeat region alone probably cannot promote cell adhesion, making it unlikely that beta-catenin induces axis duplication by increasing cell adhesion. We propose, rather, that beta-catenin acts in this circumstance as an intracellular signaling molecule. Subcellular fractionation demonstrated that all of the beta-catenin constructs that contain the armadillo repeat domain were present in both the soluble cytosolic and the membrane fraction. Immunofluorescence staining confirmed the plasma membrane and cytoplasmic localization of the constructs containing the armadillo repeat region, but revealed that they also accumulate in the nucleus, especially the construct containing only the armadillo repeat domain. These findings and the beta-catenin protein interaction data offer several intriguing possibilities for the site of action or the protein targets of beta- catenin signaling activity.
Does Blood Glucose Monitoring Increase Prior to Clinic Visits in Children With Type 1 Diabetes?

OBJECTIVE To assess the occurrence of white coat adherence in families with children who have type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Blood glucose data were downloaded from meters of 72 children, aged 2–11 years, with type 1 diabetes at four consecutive clinic visits. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze patterns of blood glucose monitoring (BGM) during the 28 days before each clinic visit. RESULTS More frequent BGM was associated with better glycemic control. Evidence of a white coat adherence effect, with BGM frequency increasing before a clinic visit, was found only among children with low A1C levels. CONCLUSIONS Highly motivated families who frequently monitor their child’s blood glucose increased the frequency of BGM before the child’s clinic visit. The additional monitoring may benefit the child by providing the physician with a wealth of blood glucose information to guide recommendations.
Direct interaction of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor with leukemia-associated RhoGEF

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 plays crucial roles in growth control and rearrangements of the cytoskeleton. IGF-1 binds to the IGF-1 receptor and thereby induces the autophosphorylation of this receptor at its tyrosine residues. The phosphorylation of the IGF-1 receptor is thought to initiate a cascade of events. Although various signaling molecules have been identified, they appear to interact with the tyrosine-phosphorylated IGF-1 receptor. Here, we identified leukemia-associated Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) (LARG), which contains the PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1 (PDZ), regulator of G protein signaling (RGS), Dbl homology, and pleckstrin homology domains, as a nonphosphorylated IGF-1 receptor-interacting molecule. LARG formed a complex with the IGF-1 receptor in vivo, and the PDZ domain of LARG interacted directly with the COOH-terminal domain of IGF-1 receptor in vitro. LARG had an exchange activity for Rho in vitro and induced the formation of stress fibers in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. When MDCKII epithelial cells were treated with IGF-1, Rho and its effector Rho-associated kinase (Rho-kinase) were activated and actin stress fibers were enhanced. Furthermore, the IGF-1–induced Rho-kinase activation and the enhancement of stress fibers were inhibited by ectopic expression of the PDZ and RGS domains of LARG. Taken together, these results indicate that IGF-1 activates the Rho/Rho-kinase pathway via a LARG/IGF-1 receptor complex and thereby regulates cytoskeletal rearrangements.
Sparse Domain Adaptation in Projection Spaces Based on Good Similarity Functions

We address the problem of domain adaptation for binary classification which arises when the distributions generating the source learning data and target test data are somewhat different. We consider the challenging case where no target labeled data is available. From a theoretical standpoint, a classifier has better generalization guarantees when the two domain marginal distributions are close. We study a new direction based on a recent framework of Balcan et al. allowing to learn linear classifiers in an explicit projection space based on similarity functions that may be not symmetric and not positive semi-definite. We propose a general method for learning a good classifier on target data with generalization guarantees and we improve its efficiency thanks to an iterative procedure by reweighting the similarity function - compatible with Balcan et al. framework - to move closer the two distributions in a new projection space. Hyper parameters and reweighting quality are controlled by a reverse validation procedure. Our approach is based on a linear programming formulation and shows good adaptation performances with very sparse models. We evaluate it on a synthetic problem and on real image annotation task.
Implementation of a Laboratory Tool for Studying Mixed-Mode Chaotic Circuit

Although many authors have prepared useful papers to illustrate the existence of chaos and to enhance the reader's understanding of chaos by using theoretical, simulation or experimental setups, any chaos-based laboratory work-board has not been designed or implemented for studying chaotic circuits and systems. We designed and implemented a laboratory tool for studying mixed-mode chaotic circuits. In this paper, we will introduce this versatile laboratory tool.
Issues of Public Multimedia Analysis in A Socio-Cultural Researches

Analysis of public Internet data is a popular topic for socio-cultural researches. Study prospects of using personalized data led the scientists to the problem of constructing a social profile. It is structured set of information, which is able to uniquely characterize a particular person. The social profile building is carried out through the analysis of the filtered Internet open source data. Raw social profile data are subdivided on static and dynamic parts. Dynamic unstructured data includes text and multimedia information and cannot be handled by classical analytic means. The analytical task of social profile data is achieved through mathematical tools of the set theory, Big Data software and analytic tools for social media. Also, modern methods for analysis of the multimedia data are helpful. The techniques review for the analysis of multimedia content (graphics, sound) is offered. Analysis of multimedia resources is complicated by the variety of information processed types. The current work is devoted to combine existing experience by automating non-textual information processing in the task of a social profile building. Automated processing of multimedia information will improve the completeness and accuracy of the final social profile. In addition, the results of this work can be used to study the social phenomenon of viral media.
Inorganic Arsenic in Drinking Water and Bladder Cancer: A Meta-Analysis for Dose-Response Assessment

Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA *Correspondence to Dr. Crawford-Brown. E-mail: dcrawfor@email.unc. edu Received: 03 February 2006 / Accepted: 10 April 2006 / Published: 31 December 2006 Abstract: Most arsenic cancer risk assessments have been based solely on epidemiological studies to characterize the dose-response relationship for arsenic-associated cancer and to perform risk calculations. However, current epidemiological evidence is too inconsistent and fraught with uncertainty regarding arsenic exposure to provide reliable estimates. This makes it hard to draw a firm conclusion about the shape and slope of the dose-response relationship from individual studies. Meta-analysis is a statistical approach to combining results across studies and offers expanded opportunities for obtaining an improved dose-response relationship. In this study, a meta-analysis of arsenic studies was conducted by combining seven epidemiological studies from different regions to get an overall dose-response relationship between the amount of arsenic intake and the excess probability of bladder cancer. Both the fixed-effect and random-effect models were used to calculate the averaged coefficient of the linear-logistic regression model. A homogeneity test was also conducted. The final product of this research is an aggregated dose-response model in the range of empirical observation of arsenic. Considering the most recent arsenic MCL (maximum contaminant level, i.e. 10µg/L), the associated bladder cancer risk (lifetime excess probability) at this MCL is 2.2910
Mobile Robot Platform for Real-Time search Algorithms

In our investigation we focus on the A* Algorithm, for solving path-finding problems, because it is fairly flexible and can be used in a wide range of contexts. The main problem of A* Algorithm is the finite computer memory. Using this method, the robot can decide how to move from end to end point in an efficient manner without colliding with previously mapped obstacles. When in need of finding a path on considerably large map, computer has to remember a complex list of examined and open nodes, which can occupy most of free space in computer memory. Nonetheless, this solution shows the best results and it is worth analyzing as the algorithm for the intelligent robot movements.
A Transcultural Study of Dyslexia: Analysis of Language Disabilities in 277 Chinese Children Simultaneously Learning to Read and Write in English and in Chinese

This study was made under a grant from the Educational Research Institute of Vancouver, British Columbia. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, San Francisco, March 1970. A unique opportunity to study some important aspects of language disability was afforded by the large group of Chinese children in Vancouver, British Columbia, who were simultaneously learning to read and write in English and Chinese. English is largely phonetic, and Chinese is completely pictorial-a difference that enabled us to conduct parallel studies on learning to read and write two entirely different language systems.
How and why personal task management behaviors change over time

Personal task management (PTM) is a common human activity that is supported by a plethora of dedicated e-PTM tools. Yet, little is known about how and why PTM behaviors change over time, and how PTM tools can accommodate such changes. We studied changes in 178 participants' PTM behaviors in a survey to inform the design of personalizable e-PTM tools that can accommodate changes over time. In follow-up interviews with 12 of the survey respondents, we deepened our understanding of the changes reported in the survey. Based on the reasons behind the reported changes, we identified factors that contributed to changes in PTM behaviors: changing needs, dissatisfaction caused by unmet needs, and opportunities revealing unnoticed needs. Grounded in our findings, we offer implications for design of PTM tools that support changes in behaviors as well as implications for future PTM research.
Mutational Analysis of GATA4 and NKX2.5 Genes in Dilated Cardiomyopathy Patients

Purpose: To evaluate the lipid profile abnormalities and association of the GATA4 (1232 C→T) and NKX 2.5 (73C→T) gene polymorphisms with Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) among Chinese population. Methods: The blood samples were collected from the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Cardiology Unit, Zhengzhou Central Hospital, China for a period of three years from 2010 – 2013. Dilated cardiomyopathy cases (n = 270) and healthy controls (n = 290) were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism, (RFLP) denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and sequencing. Results: Evaluation of the age and sex of the patients indicated that DCM was more prevalent among males (71.1 %) than in females (28.9 %). Mean (± SD) values of the serum total cholesterol and serum LDL-cholesterol were higher in DCM patients (4.37 ± 0.16 and 3.19 ± 0.14 mmol/L, respectively) compared to the control group (4.29 ± 0.18 and 3.06 ± 0.19 mmol/L, respectively), while as there was significantly lower serum mean (± SEM) HDL-cholesterol levels in patients with DCM than in controls (p < 0.001). Exon 1 region of NKX 2.5 gene was screened for variations at 73C→T keeping in view both parameters (age and sex) among healthy controls and DCM patients. The results indicate that the homozygous mutant (TT) and heterozygous mutant (CT) nucleotides were significantly higher in DCM patients than in controls. Further analysis of GATA4 gene revealed that five DCM patients had 1232C/T variant, whereas, it was absent in the control group. Conclusion: GATA4 1232C/T and NKX 2.5 73C→T polymorphisms and high levels of serum triglycerides (TG) may be associated with the pathogenesis of DCM in the studied population Keywords: Dilated cardiomyopathy, Congestive heart failure, Polymerase chain reaction, Restriction fragment length polymorphism, Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography
Emotional after‐effects on the P3 component of the event‐related brain potential

Agrowing body of literature indicates that affective states can influence cognitive processes. The core assumption of Ellis and Ashbrook's (1988) model explaining these emotional after-effects on cognition is that the emotional state regulates the allocation of processing resources. A negative emotional state is supposed to pre-empt capacity normally allocated to the cognitive task at hand. This is assumed to occur because the negative emotional state leads to an increase in intrusive, irrelevant thoughts, which compete with relevant cognitive activities and thus result in a lack of attention given to relevant features of the task to be performed. In the present study, the hypothesis that negative emotions lead to a reduced information-processing capacity and that this is observable on a very basic level of information processing is tested. Therefore, 102 participants were assigned to three independent groups, each inducing one of a negative, a positive, or a neutral mood by means of a 3-minute video-clip. Shortly after the video-clip, two acoustical stimuli with increasing information were presented, while the P3 component of the event-related brain potential on these stimuli was measured as a psychophysiological indicator of cognitive resource allocation. In addition, the expenmental manipulation was checked by assessing subjective and external mood ratings as well as cortical alpha activity. Results show that the videos did in fact induce positive, neutral, or negative mood. Moreover, even when controlling for video-related unspecific cortical arousal, a significant emotional after-effect was found on the P3 component of the event-related brain potential, indicating reduced information-processing capacity, particularly in the negative mood condition. The reported data support Ellis and Ashbrook's model of emotional after-effects on cognitive processes. As those effects were observable after an event that did not demand a high amount of cognitive resources, this suggests that even tasks that do not heavily engage central processing resources and are not likely to be influenced by cognitive strategies, seem to be affected by a negative emotional state.
Global Crises, Social Justice, and Teacher Education

When the U.S. government released its 2007 census figures in January 2010, it reported that 12% of the U.S. population— more than 38 million people—were foreign born. First-generation people were now one out of every eight persons in the nation, with 80% coming from Latin America and Asia. This near-record transformation, one in which diasporic populations now constitute a large and growing percentage of communities throughout the nation and an ever-growing proportion of children in our schools, documents one of the most profound reasons that we must think globally about education. This transformation is actually something of which we should be proud. The United States and a number of other nations are engaged in a vast experiment that has rarely been attempted before. Can we build a nation and a culture from resources and people from all over the world? The impacts of these global population flows on education and on teacher education are visible all around us.
Being a truth-teller who serves only the citizens: A case study of Newstapa

This study explores the boundary work of the Korean independent newsroom Newstapa. Newstapa creates its own logic of journalism, which is a combination of the core of professional journalism and of participatory journalism. Newstapa journalists, who previously worked in mainstream media, open the boundaries of professional work by embracing the nascent norms and practices of participatory culture. The use of digital media helps provide greater transparency to citizens. Newstapa defines truth-telling as a conversational process through which journalists work with citizens. Although this process causes journalists to relinquish their professional autonomy to citizens, it leads to a reconstruction of the professional exclusivity of being more accountable journalists who serve only citizens through truth-telling and are free from any other external forces. Newstapa’s logic also helps create a normative border separating Newstapa from other journalists. By adapting this logic, Newstapa challenges the social authority of mainstream media.
What Criteria for the Definition of Oocyte Quality?

Abstract: Although the spermatozoon provides an essential contribution to the generation of a new individual, the developmental fate of the embryo is principally dictated by the oocyte. Oocyte competencies are acquired throughout oogenesis, via the interaction with somatic cells. The ability to reinitiate the meiotic process and undergo preimplantation development is progressively determined during the antral phase. It is known that these changes involve the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments, respectively, but the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. Analysis of various aspects of oocyte morphology (cytoplasm, zona pellucida, and polar body) via conventional phase‐contrast microscopy has generated contrasting evidence on the possibility of establishing reliable criteria for the prediction of developmental potential. The introduction of a newly developed microscopy technique based on the detection of polarized light generated by birefringent cell structures has offered the possibility of visualizing noninvasively the meiotic spindle, whose presence is critical for fertilization and later developmental stages. However, further studies are needed to standardize and interpret the information accessible through such a technique. Although unable to preserve cell viability and therefore provide a method by which to select oocytes with superior developmental competence, invasive techniques can make a fundamental contribution to defining objective criteria of oocyte quality. In particular, immunofluorescence analysis, which is able to identify critical anomalies of the meiotic spindle and cytoskeleton organization that can account for oocyte quality, is an important method for assessing the efficiency of in vitro maturation systems.
The impact of a stress management programme on staff well-being and performance at work

Abstract Stress management programmes were implemented for direct care staff in two group homes for people with learning disabilities. Staff working in three similar homes were used as controls. Assessments were made of anxiety and depression levels and demands, supports and constraints at work. Staff in the intervention houses were also observed at work to determine who they were interacting with, the nature and type of the interaction and the amount of time spent on different aspects of the job. This information was used to inform and develop an intervention aimed at the groups of staff involved. Goals were set with the aim of reducing levels of anxiety and depression in staff and these were subject to review. Reassessment in intervention houses showed reductions in anxiety and increased perceived support when compared to controls. There were also changes in some observational measures, particularly increased positive interactions and assistance given to clients, and formal education programmes. These r.
Foster caregiver insightfulness and emotional investment in foster children

Summary The study examined foster caregivers’ insightfulness (Oppenheim & Koren-Karie, 2009) and emotional investment (Bates & Dozier, 2002) in a sample of foster caregivers living in family group homes. Thirty caregivers were observed with two of the several children under their care: one identified by the social worker of the family group home as the most challenging child in the home, and one identified as the least challenging one. Study questions focused on the correlation between children’s levels of challenging behaviors and their foster caregivers’ insightfulness and emotional investment. Findings Results suggest that children’s challenging behaviors are associated with their caregivers’ emotional investment but not with their insightfulness. Caregivers tended to show similar patterns of insightfulness toward both easy and challenging children, but tended to show higher emotional investment in easy children than in more challenging ones. Applications The results demonstrate the complexity of foster parenting and the need to include both insightfulness and emotional investment in the supervision and training of foster parents.