Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MeSH term-based semantic analysis of microRNA regulation on glucocorticoid resistance in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most prevalent neoplasia among children, and drug resistance is still a major cause of chemotherapy failure in pediatric ALL. Prior research has shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) can play roles in such phenomenon, but detailed regulation mechanisms are far from completely understood. We utilized a semantic analysis approach and its MeSH term filtering mechanisms to explore the important roles of miRNA::mRNA regulation on glucocorticoid (GC) resistance in pediatric ALL. Hsa-miR-142-3p and hsa-miR-17-5p were predicted in this study to closely relate to GC resistance, thus potentially serving as novel biomarkers in pediatric ALL.
A Field Investigation of the Mediating Effects of Perceived Fairness on the Relationship between Perceived Control and Consumer Satisfaction

This article reports the results of a field test of the effects of fairness and control on consumer satisfaction. Employing data collected through customer satisfaction surveys at an internationally reputed brand of hotels, strong support was found for the mediating role of fairness in the relationship between perceptions of control and satisfaction. This finding theoretically extends and reinforces previous research conducted using experimental methodology. The results of this study emphasize the need to take into account both perceived fairness and perceived control in explaining consumer satisfaction. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.
[Serologic response against hepatitis C virus as a predictive factor to the treatment with interferon].

AIM Serologic response of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) was studied as a predictor of response to IFN therapy and we evaluated the correlation between such response with gender, risk factor, serum ferritin, GGT, Knodell's index and fibrosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A study was carried out in 40 patients with CHC who were treated with interferon-alpha 3 MU 3 times weekly 48 weeks. The diagnosis of hepatitis C was made based upon Inmuno-Blot (core, NS3, NS4 y NS5) and confirmed by detection of HCV-RNA in serum. Responses were evaluated (normal ALT and undetectable HCV-RNA in serum) at three months, at the end of treatment and six months after treatment. RESULTS No significant differences were observed in responses at three months with regard to gender (47% males responded versus 55% females, n.s.), source of infection (50% intravenous drug users versus 50% non intravenous drug users; n.s.) and GGT level (50% with high levels versus 50% with normal levels, n.s.); however 25% of patients with high level of serum iron responded versus 59% with normal values (p = 0.04) and 28% of patients with fibrosis at liver histopathology responded versus 82% without fibrosis (p = 0.0006). No differences were observed at the response rates with regard to levels of core (20.1 SD:4 versus 19.5 SD:2.2, n.s.), NS3 (18.6 SD:7 versus 17.1 SD:7.3, n.s.) and NS4 (14.3 SD:7.7 versus 10.5 SD:9.2, n.s.). However NS5 levels in responders were 2.5 (0-16) versus 5.2 (0-16.5) in nonresponders (p < 0.05) and score in Knodell's index was 6.1 SD:2.6 in responders versus 9.2 SD:2.4 in nonresponders (p = 0.006). 47% of responders relapsed 6 months after the end of treatment with IFN. CONCLUSIONS Titers of anti-NS5 showed predictive value of response as opposed to anti-core, anti-NS3 and anti-NS4 and it may justify its determination in the assessment of a patient with CHC at centers without capacity for measuring genotype and viral load. Low level of serum iron and Knodell's index like absence of fibrosis at liver histopathology were also variables with predictive value of response, as opposed to gender, GGT level and source of infection.
Development of a Recurrent Fuzzy CMAC With Adjustable Input Space Quantization and Self-Tuning Learning Rate for Control of a Dual-Axis Piezoelectric Actuated Micromotion Stage

This paper proposes a recurrent fuzzy cerebellar model articulation controller (RFCMAC) for a dual-axis micromotion stage powered by piezoelectric actuators. The proposed RFCMAC employs an adjustable input space quantization method with a learning rate capable of self-tuning. The proposed RFCMAC is aimed at dealing with the adverse effects due to unknown hysteresis nonlinearity, modeling uncertainty, and external disturbance that are commonly found in the piezoelectric actuator systems. The proposed RFCMAC mainly focuses on overcoming the drawbacks of the conventional CMAC control scheme when used to control a piezoelectric actuator system. In particular, the adjustable input space quantization method uses a simple repartitioning decision function to determine an appropriate input space quantization. In addition, the self-tuning law for the learning rate of the proposed RFCMAC is derived based on the discrete-time Lyapunov function so that convergence and faster learning can be guaranteed. Finally, in order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control methodology, several contour-following experiments were conducted on a dual-axis piezoelectric actuated micromotion stage. Experimental results show that the proposed control scheme is feasible, and its performance is superior to that of the conventional CMAC control scheme.
An Investigation of Household Remittance Behavior: Evidence from the United Kingdom

Overseas remittances are a vital source of income for many developing economies. In this paper we empirically model the remittance behaviour of a diverse set of ethnic minority households in England and Wales using survey data. Our results indicate that the probability of remitting is higher for richer households and for those containing more immigrants. Measures of social distance also appear to influence the sending of remittances. Significant ethnic differences in the incidence of remitting and the timing of payments remain after controlling for these and other factors. Copyright © 2007 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and The University of Manchester.
Quality Disclosure and Certification: Theory and Practice

This essay reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on quality disclosure and certification. After comparing quality disclosure with other quality assurance mechanisms and describing a brief history of quality disclosure, we address three key theoretical issues: (i) Why don't sellers voluntarily disclose through a process of "unraveling? " (ii) When should government mandate disclosure? and (iii) Do certifiers necessarily report unbiased and accurate information? We further review empirical evidence on these issues, with a particular focus on healthcare, education, and finance. The empirical review covers quality measurement, the effect of third party disclosure on consumer choice and seller behavior, as well as the economics of certifiers.
Adapting And Implementing A Social Capital Survey For Urban Youth In An After-School Science 4-H Club

The purpose of this study was to adapt and implement a pilot study of a social capital survey in an after-school youth development program focusing on environmental science in urban youth. This study is a good first step at addressing a lack of social capital studies on youth and seeks to measure this important construct. Two multi-week series (8and 14-weeks) of lessons for urban youth were implemented, which integrated activities focusing on the students‟ local environment (e.g., a unit in which students explored fecal coliform populations in a local wastewater treatment plant) and activities drawing on the author‟s experiences as an environmental educator in South Africa (e.g., an introduction to cholera in Africa and how South African youth test for cholera using simple test kits). A mixed methods approach was used, including written surveys and focus group interviews, to determine the adaptability of a social capital survey developed for adults, and to assess the outcomes of the club activities on social capital in youth. Results suggest that most of the survey questions were readily understood by youth and thus needed little adaptation for use with this audience. Results also demonstrated that the youth involved in the study increased their levels of civic participation, social trust, diversity of friendships, and organized group interaction.
The theory of environmental policy

In this book, Professors Baumol and Oates provide a rigorous and comprehensive analysis of the economic theory of environmental policy. They present a formal, theoretical treatment of those factors influencing the quality of life. By covering both the theory of externalities and its application to environmental policy, the authors have retained the basic structure and organization of the first edition, which has become a standard reference in the field. In this edition, however, they have updated their analysis to incorporate recent research in environmental economics.
Pharmacokinetic changes of M1, M2, M3, and M4 after intravenous administration of a new anthracycline, DA-125, to alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus rats.

The pharmacokinetics of M1, M2, M3, and M4 were compared after intravenous (i.v.) administration of DA-125, 15 mg/kg to the control (n = 15) and alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus (AIDM, n = 11) rats. After i.v. administration of DA-125, almost 'constant' plasma concentrations of M1 and M2 were maintained from 1-2 h onwards to 8-10 h in both groups of rats due to the continuous formation of M2 from M1. The plasma concentrations of M3 were the lowest among M1-M4 in the control rats due to the rapid and essentially complete conversion of M3 to M4. The AUC0-8 h of M1 (189 versus 78.5 mg min/ml) was significantly greater in the AIDM rats than that in the control rats. However, the AUCts of M2 (32.7 versus 44.3 micrograms min/ml) and M4 (not measurable versus 19.7 micrograms min/ml) were significantly smaller in the AIDM rats. The renal clearances of both M1 (0.157 versus 0.334 ml/min/kg) and M2 (0.726 versus 14.6 ml/min/kg) decreased significantly in the AIDM rats, presumably due to their impaired kidney function. The liver weight decreased significantly in the AIDM rats (2.77 versus 3.77% of body weight), suggesting impaired liver function. Above data suggested that the metabolism of M1 to M2-M4 in the liver and kidney decreased significantly in the AIDM rats. M2 was the main metabolite among M1-M4 excreted in 24 h urine in both group of rats. In the AIDM rats, the amount of M2 excreted in 24 h urine decreased significantly (15.7 versus 229 micrograms) whereas the amount of M2 recovered at 24 h from the whole GI tract increased significantly (45.1 versus 14.0 micrograms).
The Natural Rate of Unemployment in Australia: Estimates From a Structural Var

The concept of the natural rate of unemployment is widely used in the analysis and discussion of macroeconomic policy. It is, however, unobservable so that estimates of the natural rate are necessarily based on a particular theory of unemployment. Hence, measures of the natural rate, whether constant or time-varying, are necessarily model-dependent. Various series based on specific models have recently become available for Australia. We set out to compute a series for the natural rate based on a minimal theoretical structure captured by a two-variable structural vector-autoregressive (SVAR) model estimated using quarterly Australian data for the period 1978-97. We assess the robustness of our estimates by varying both the theoretical restriction imposed on the model and the two variables included in the model. We find that the computed natural rate is quite sensitive to model specification, both in terms of the level and of the cyclical behaviour of the natural rate. We argue, however, that a particular variant of our model is strongly preferred to the others investigated. It produces an estimates natural rate series, the behaviour of which is broadly consistent with that of series produced by others from more restrictive models. Copyright 2000 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd/University of Adelaide and Flinders University of South Australia
Phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity of tumor tissue and circulating tumor cells in patients with metastatic castrationresistant prostate cancer: a report from the PETRUS prospective study

Molecular characterization of cancer samples is hampered by tumor tissue availability in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. We reported the results of prospective PETRUS study of biomarker assessment in paired primary prostatic tumors, metastatic biopsies and circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Among 54 mCRPC patients enrolled, 38 (70%) had biopsies containing more than 50% tumour cells. 28 (52%) patients were analyzed for both tissue samples and CTCs. FISH for AR-amplification and TMPRSS2-ERG translocation were successful in 54% and 32% in metastatic biopsies and primary tumors, respectively. By comparing CellSearch and filtration (ISET)-enrichment combined to four color immunofluorescent staining, we showed that CellSearch and ISET isolated distinct subpopulations of CTCs: CTCs undergoing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, CTC clusters and large CTCs with cytomorphological characteristics but no detectable markers were isolated using ISET. Epithelial CTCs detected by the CellSearch were mostly lost during the ISET-filtration. AR-amplification was detected in CellSearch-captured CTCs, but not in ISET-enriched CTCs which harbor exclusively AR gain of copies. Eighty-eight percent concordance for ERG-rearrangement was observed between metastatic biopsies and CTCs even if additional ERG-alteration patterns were detected in ISET-enriched CTCs indicating a higher heterogeneity in CTCs. Molecular screening of metastatic biopsies is achievable in a multicenter context. Our data indicate that CTCs detected by the CellSearch and the ISET-filtration systems are not only phenotypically but also genetically different. Close attention must be paid to CTC characterization since neither approach tested here fully reflects the tremendous phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity present in CTCs from mCRPC patients.
Assessing Cognition in Mice

Genetically modified mouse models have proven useful to study learning and memory processes and the neurocircuitry and molecular mechanisms involved, as well as to develop therapies for diseases involving cognitive impairment. A variety of tests have been developed to measure cognition in mice, and here we present those established and regularly used in the German Mouse Clinic. The test paradigms have been carefully chosen according to reliability of results and disease relevance of the cognitive functions assessed. Further criteria were time efficiency and ease of application. All tests assess slightly different but also overlapping or interacting aspects of learning and memory so that they can be used to complement each other in a comprehensive assessment of cognitive function. The five protocols described are for spontaneous alternation in the Y‐maze, social discrimination, object recognition, automated assessment of learning and memory using the IntelliCage, and olfactory discrimination learning. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Endoscopic transpapillary bile duct biopsy with the combination of intraductal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of biliary strictures

Background: When endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) guided bile duct biopsy fails to demonstrate malignancy, it remains unclear how to manage patients with presumably malignant strictures. Aims: To evaluate the value of intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) when bile duct biopsy is negative. Methods: Sixty two patients with strictures of the bile duct were studied prospectively. During ERCP, IDUS was performed using an ultrasonic probe (diameter 2.0 mm; frequency 20 MHz). Following IDUS, a bile duct biopsy was performed using forceps (diameter 1.8 mm). The IDUS images of the tumour were classified as polypoid lesions, localised wall thickening, intraductal sessile tumours, sessile tumour outside of the bile duct, or absence of apparent lesion. The bile duct wall structures at the site of the tumour as well as the maximum diameter of the tumour were also analysed. The IDUS findings were compared with the histological findings or clinical course. Results: When the IDUS images showed a polypoid lesion (n=19), localised wall thickening (n=8), intraductal sessile tumour (n=13), and sessile tumour outside of the bile duct (n = 20), the sensitivities of the biopsy were 80%, 50%, 92%, and 53%, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that the presence of sessile tumour (intraductal or outside of the bile duct: p<0.05), tumour size greater than 10.0 mm (p<0.001), and interrupted wall structure (p<0.05) were independent variables that predicted malignancy. Conclusion: When biopsy fails to demonstrate evidence of malignancy, the presence of sessile tumour (intraductal or outside of the bile duct), tumour size greater than 10.0 mm, and interrupted wall structure on IDUS images are factors that can predict malignancy.
Infection with GB virus C in leprous patients in Japan

The detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in blood donors and patients with acute and chronic hepatitis has brought to the fore another virus or viruses which can be transmitted parenterally and induce liver disease. The RNA of a candidate virus designated GB virus C (GBV‐C) was determined by the polymerase chain reaction with primers deduced from a helicase‐like region in 229 leprous patients in Japan. GBV‐C RNA was detected in 12 (5.2%) patients, and HCV RNA in 41 (18%). Three patients were coinfected with GBV‐C and HCV. The nine patients infected with GBV‐C alone had aminotransferase levels lower than the three patients with the mixed infection or the 38 patients infected with HCV only (P < 0.001). Sequence comparison within 100 base pairs in the helicase‐like region suggested that two, three and three patients, respectively, would have been infected with three distinct strains of GBV‐C. These results indicate that patients with leprosy are at increased risk for infection not only with HCV, but also with GBV‐C, and that the infection with GBV‐C alone would not induce hepatic injuries as severe as HCV infection. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Determinants of Primary Market Spreads on U.K. Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities and the Implications for Investor Reliance on Credit Ratings

We provide empirical evidence about the credit factors that affect the pricing of newly issued residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the U.K. Our findings add an important element to the current debate by regulators throughout the world regarding whether investors rely exclusively on credit ratings in making investment decisions. Our results show that credit factors such as subordination level and collateral type that are taken into account by credit rating agencies when assigning a rating still have a significant impact on the new issuance spread even after accounting for the credit rating. The implication is that investors do not rely exclusively on ratings.
OMIP‐007: Phenotypic analysis of human natural killer cells

PURPOSE AND APPROPRIATE SAMPLE TYPES This panel was developed to characterize the phenotype of human natural killer (NK) cells from cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from ACD or EDTA anticoagulated whole blood or apheresis units (Table 1). The application of this panel was to identify changes in NK cell subsets with regard to receptor expression, maturation, homing potential, and activation in the setting of primary HIV-1 natural infection. However, this panel may be applied to a wide variety of disease and normal conditions to characterize NK cells in humans. The performance of this panel was tested on fresh and frozen PBMC as well as using a whole blood lyse no wash procedure.
360‐degree feedback as a competitive advantage

This article examines the status of 360-degree feedback in organizations. How to optimally use feedback from multiple constituencies as a competitive advantage is discussed. Differences between traditional performance appraisal and 360-degree feedback are elucidated. Elements of designing and implementing an effective 360-degree feedback program are explored: content, employee involvement, item type, format, relevance, implementation, using results for evaluation and/or development, including managers' self-assessment, and the form and content of the feedback. A research agenda on 360-degree programs is charted. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Typical acquisition by atypical children: Initial consonant cluster acquisition by Israeli Hebrew-acquiring children with cochlear implants

This paper studies the developmental stages of word initial consonant clusters (CCs) in the speech of six monolingual Israeli Hebrew (IH) acquiring hearing impaired children using cochlear implant (CI). Focusing on the patterns of cluster reduction, this study compares the CI children with typically-developing hearing children. All the CI children, three boys and three girls with age ranged from 1;5–2;8 years at their first recording session, were with pre-lingual hearing impairment with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Productions of word initial CCs were elicited in an isolated-word picture-naming task combined with spontaneously produced words. Data collection started 2–4 months after implantation and continued until the correct production of word initial biconsonantal clusters. Results reveal that both the developmental stages and reduction patterns of word initial CCs of the CI children are very similar to typically-developing IH acquiring children, thus supporting earlier studies which show that children with CIs follow the same stages of acquisition as hearing children.
Simulated Double Auction-markets with production and storage

Earlier agent-based models simulate Double Auction (DA)-markets by using trading periods, each lasting until all agents have traded a certain amount of commodity. In real-world markets, agents are entering and exiting at random thus changing the amount of tradable commodity. In this paper we therefore study the eects of removing trading periods from earlier proposed agent-based models. We present a method of removing trading periods from DA-markets by introducing storage and production. The resulting transaction price series is shown to have closer resemblance to price series found in real-world markets, than previous models with trading periods. The eects of storage on markets populated by machine agents are also studied. We present results showing that the Zero-Intelligence Plus agents (ZI-P) performs poorly even with very small storage fees. Finally we show how a simple modication of the ZI-P agents results in a signicant better performance on markets with storage costs.