Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Androgen Receptor Enhances Kidney Stone-CaOx Crystal Formation via Modulation of Oxalate Biosynthesis & Oxidative Stress

Males develop kidney stones far more frequently than females with a ratio of 2–3:1, suggesting that androgen receptor (AR) signaling might play a key role in the development of nephrolithiasis. Using the cre-loxP system to selectively knock out AR in glyoxylate-induced calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystal mouse models, we found that the mice lacking hepatic AR had less oxalate biosynthesis, which might lead to lower CaOx crystal formation, and that the mice lacking kidney proximal or distal epithelial AR also had lower CaOx crystal formation. We found that AR could directly up-regulate hepatic glycolate oxidase and kidney epithelial NADPH oxidase subunit p22-PHOX at the transcriptional level. This up-regulation might then increase oxalate biosynthesis and oxidative stress that resulted in induction of kidney tubular injury. Targeting AR with the AR degradation enhancer ASC-J9 led to suppression of CaOx crystal formation via modulation of oxalate biosynthesis and oxidative stress in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Taken together, these results established the roles of AR in CaOx crystal formation.
Amino Acid 72 of Mouse and Human GDF9 Mature Domain Is Responsible for Altered Homodimer Bioactivities but Has Subtle Effects on GDF9:BMP15 Heterodimer Activities1

ABSTRACT Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) are oocyte-secreted paralogs of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) superfamily. In mammals, these two growth factors play critical roles in folliculogenesis. As previously reported, an arginine in the pre-helix loop of GDF5 defines the high binding specificity to its type 1 receptor. Interestingly, bioactive mouse GDF9 and human BMP15 share the conserved arginine in the pre-helix loop, but their low-activity counterparts (mouse BMP15 and human GDF9) have a glycine or a proline instead. To address the question of whether the arginine residue defines the different activities of GDF9 and BMP15 homodimers and their heterodimers in human and mouse, we used site-directed mutagenesis to change the species-specific residues in human and mouse proteins, and examined their activities in our in vitro assays. Although amino acid 72 of mature GDF9 is responsible for altered homodimer bioactivities, neither the corresponding BMP15 amino acid 62 nor the intact pre-helix loop is indispensable for BMP15 homodimer activity. However, amino acid 72 in GDF9 only has only subtle effects on GDF9:BMP15 heterodimer activity. Based on previous studies and our recent findings, we provide hypothetical models to understand the molecular mechanism to define activities of the homodimeric and heterodimeric ligands. The arginine residue in the pre-helix loop of GDF9 homodimer may prevent the inhibition from its pro-domain or directly alter receptor binding, but this residue in GDF9 does not significantly affect the heterodimer activity, because of suggested conformational changes during heterodimer formation.
Business Relationship Framework in Emerging Market: A Preliminary Study in Indonesia

This paper explores business relationship framework between two companies. In this research, we use relationship marketing and transaction cost as frameworks to analyze business relationship of two different kinds of companies in Indonesia, oil company and hypermarket. Gronroos (1994) defines relationship marketing is establishing, maintaining, and enhancing relationships with customers and other partners, at a profit, so that the objectives of the parties involved are met. This is achieved by a mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises. This definition is a key to analyze the relationship of retailer and their supplier. In the other side, Williamson (1980) argued that relationship in business organization based on their economic interest. This approach known as transaction cost approach. In this kind of relationship, business organizations consider cost and benefit of business relationship. We use qualitative method in this research. The design of the research is case study with multiple cases proposed by Yin (1994). In this case study, we use basic content analysis as tool to analyze the phenomenon. Unit analysis of this research is company. We use two cases in the different companies, Oil Company and hypermarket. In order to gain validity, we use multiple key person or informant to gain validity. The result shows, that in the oil company, relationship between company and their supplier tied on a strict contract. In fact, the relationship of supplier and a company is based on transaction cost theory. In the hypermarket company, the relationship of supplier and retailer is based on trust, commitment and satisfaction. Those three construct are the foundation of relationship marketing.
A Geopolitical Perspective into the Opposition to Globalizing State-Owned Enterprises in Target States

Existing studies on multinational enterprise (MNE) location strategy assume that MNEs are focused on economic not political objectives. The emergence of globalizing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) requires us to revisit such an assumption because SOEs symbolize national interests of their home states and are perceived as political entities by target states. This paper provides a geopolitical perspective into how geographic distance, religious similarity, and political regime similarity between two nation states, as well as resource complementarity between globalizing SOEs and target states, explain the level of opposition that globalizing SOEs face in target states, which in turn affect their abilities to exploit locational advantages globally. We also investigate how the salience of nationalist politics moderates the influence of these geopolitical factors on the level of opposition that globalizing SOEs face. Although our geopolitical model focuses on globalizing SOEs, this model may shed new light on understanding the role of geopolitics in affecting private MNEs’ location choices.
Coiling of the flagellar shaft in the head region of the mature sperm of Nucella (purpura) lampillus (L.).

The sperm of Nucella are long and threadlike. The flagellar shaft runs from the acrosome at the front of the head to the tip of the tail. Its anterior portion, the head shaft, is ensheathed by the nucleus. If a suspension of sperm in normal-concentration sea water is observed under phase contrast, and allowed to dry out slowly, the nuclear material of sperm near the edge of the coverglass swells and the head shafts of these sperm are thrown into gentle spirals within the nuclei. In some sperm the nuclear material disperses completely, and the front threequarters of the head shaft springs into a tight right-handed coil of 5-7 turns. Instantaneous coiling of the head shaft may also be induced by treatment of the sperm with x 2 concentrated sea water or 0.01 % (w/v) solution of sodium lauryl sulphate in sea water. The enzymes pronase and trypsin at a concentration of 50µg/ml in sea water at pH 8.0 cause dispersion of the head nucleoprotein and subsequently the head shaft forms a loose coil. The appearance and activity of the sperm do not change perceptibly over a pH range of 5.5-8.5. Sperm spread on a Langmuir trough containing normal concentration sea water were negatively stained with phosphotungstic acid and examined with an electron microscope. After such treatment the nuclei are partially spread and the fibrils of the head shafts appear twisted as the wires of an electrical flex. The twisted flagellar fibrils are seen more clearly in negatively stained head shafts of sperm whose nuclei have been completely dispersed by spreading on a Langmuir trough containing x2 concentrated sea water. Negatively stained preparations of sperm treated with enzymes show sperm with twisted and coiled head shafts. The nucleoprotein of these sperm is disaggregated into strips or sheets, or may appear as a mass of branching fibres. The flagellar fibres of the enzyme-treated sperm are often bent or broken. Longitudinal sections of mature sperm heads show that in the intact sperm the fibres of the head shaft are not twisted but run straight throughout the length of the head. Sections from the testis and testicular duct show that microtubules are present in sperm in the testis but absent from mature sperm in the testicular duct. It is suggested that the head shaft, as a consequence of some event in spermiogenesis, has an inherent tendency to twist and coil but in the mature sperm it is ‘strait-jacketed’ by the sperm nucleus.
Generation of an inducible colon-specific Cre enzyme mouse line for colon cancer research

Significance A major limitation of current mouse models of colorectal cancer (CRC) is that the cancer that develops is often significantly different from human colon cancer in terms of latency, intestinal location, or molecular signature. Carbonic anhydrase I (Car1) is a gene expressed by colonic epithelial cells. We generated an inducible Car1CreER mouse model with Cre expression in the cecum and proximal colon. Mutations of genes that drive human CRC with our Car1CreER mouse yielded tumors exclusively in the cecum and proximal colon. Differentiated colonic cells in the proximal colon with Apc/Kras mutations initiate tumors supporting a top-down model of intestinal tumorigenesis. The inducible Car1CreER will be a useful model in studying human intestinal cancers originating from the proximal colon. Current mouse models for colorectal cancer often differ significantly from human colon cancer, being largely restricted to the small intestine. Here, we aim to develop a colon-specific inducible mouse model that can faithfully recapitulate human colon cancer initiation and progression. Carbonic anhydrase I (Car1) is a gene expressed uniquely in colonic epithelial cells. We generated a colon-specific inducible Car1CreER knock-in (KI) mouse with broad Cre activity in epithelial cells of the proximal colon and cecum. Deletion of the tumor suppressor gene Apc using the Car1CreER KI caused tumor formation in the cecum but did not yield adenomas in the proximal colon. Mutation of both Apc and Kras yielded microadenomas in both the cecum and the proximal colon, which progressed to macroadenomas with significant morbidity. Aggressive carcinomas with some invasion into lymph nodes developed upon combined induction of oncogenic mutations of Apc, Kras, p53, and Smad4. Importantly, no adenomas were observed in the small intestine. Additionally, we observed tumors from differentiated Car1-expressing cells with Apc/Kras mutations, suggesting that a top-down model of intestinal tumorigenesis can occur with multiple mutations. Our results establish the Car1CreER KI as a valuable mouse model to study colon-specific tumorigenesis and metastasis as well as cancer-cell-of-origin questions.
BaroTrack: Low Cost Tracking of Commuter on Road

Majority of urban commuters prefer cabs due to easy accessibility. A big fraction of these cabs are managed by web-based cab operators, who provide the service to commuters through a mobile application. Sometimes, the drivers of these cabs swindle the customers by over-charging them for the journey. This happens when the cab drivers start the billing process before the commuter boards the cab and/or, when they end the billing process much later than when the commuter has deboarded the cab. Such cases can be prevented by detecting and recording the actual boarding and deboarding time of the commuter. Our proposed system handles such cases of fraud, by detecting the boarding and deboarding events of commuter in the cab. It suggests to do so by using the pressure values recorded by the barometer sensor of the smartphone of the commuter, and of a barometer device installed in the cab or using the barometer sensor of smartphone of the cab driver. The core of our mechanism is a comparison of the sequence of barometer values across two devices: the commuter's and the driver's. Since barometer sensor is passive and uses very low power, it makes overall system economical in terms of power consumption. Further the proposed system necessitates minimal amount of data to be sent to the server for processing. The proposed system is tested in varied environmental conditions and good average accuracy is observed in all the cases.
Analysis of the Relationship between Household Life Cycle and Tourism Expenditure in Taiwan: An Application of the Infrequency of Purchase Model

The infrequency of purchase (IP) model was used to explore the impact of financial factors, limiting factors, social status and household life cycle on family travel intention and travel expenditure in Taiwan. The empirical results indicate that family travel intention and level of expenditure vary at different stages of the household life cycle. Additionally, family incomes, the education level of the head of the household, women's employment and home ownership have significantly positive impacts on travel intention and level of expenditure. The findings also suggest that the presence of a family member's health problems or the number of seniors over 65 years of age in a household will reduce travel intention and thus the level of travel expenditure.
Effectiveness of implicit beamforming using calibration technique in massive MIMO system

This paper describes the effectiveness of implicit beamforming which enables the transmission without the channel state information (CSI) feedback in massive MIMO system. First, we explain the CSI feedback scheme from the terminal stations to base station gives a very large overhead. The calibration technique, which compensate the difference of complex amplitudes between transmitters and receivers for the implicit beamforming, is next introduced. Finally, the throughput by the IEEE802.11ac based massive MIMO transmission with and without CSI feedback is clarified when considering Medium Access Control efficiency.
Does socioeconomic background affect pay growth among early entrants to high-status jobs?

Young people from less advantaged backgrounds are less likely to enter a “professional” job on leaving university (Macmillan et al., 2013). However, this does not tell us about the performance of those who do. This paper considers the relative salary growth of graduates that secure a high-status job by both parental occupational status and school type, using data from a recent survey of English graduates. Using non-parametric techniques and regression modelling, I estimate the relationship between these measures of socio-economic status and pay progression in a “professional” job. I find no evidence of a pay growth differential by parents' occupational status but do find faster pay growth among those that attended a private school, even once I control for a range of background characteristics. Conversely, I find that individuals from state school backgrounds are just as likely to remain in high-status jobs at this early stage of their careers.
Procurement of the Human Pancreas for Pancreatic Islet Transplantation from Marginal Cadaver Donors

Background. Recent advances in pancreatic islet transplantation (PIT) have contributed significantly to the treatment of patients with type 1 diabetes. The specific aim of this study was to develop an effective technique for the procurement of pancreas for PIT from nonheart-beating-donor (NHBDs). Methods. Between January 2004 and August 2004, eight human pancreata were procured and processed for isolation of islets at a cell processing center. After confirmation of brain death status, a double balloon catheter was inserted to prevent warm ischemic damage to the donor pancreas by using an in situ regional organ cooling system that was originally developed for procurement of kidneys. The catheter position of the cooling system was modified specifically for the pancreas and kidney. Furthermore, we worked in cooperation with a kidney procurement team to protect the pancreas during kidney procurement. Results. Warm ischemic time could be controlled with the modified in situ regional cooling system at 3.0±0.8 min (mean±SE). The operations for procurement of the kidneys and pancreata lasted 45.6±3.6 min and 10.6±1.8 min, respectively. Islet yield per isolation was 444,426±35,172 IE (islet equivalent). All eight cases met the criteria for PIT based on the Edmonton protocol. Conclusion. We developed a novel procurement technique in cooperation with our kidney procurement team. This protocol for the procurement of pancreas and kidney from a NHBD enabled us to transplant islets into a type 1 diabetic patient and kidney into a renal failure patient.
Does exposure and response prevention improve the results of group cognitive-behavioural therapy for male slot machine pathological gamblers?

INTRODUCTION Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) seems to offer effective treatment for pathological gambling (PG). However, it has not yet been established which techniques yield the best results, or whether exposure and response prevention (ERP) techniques are of additional use. OBJECTIVES To evaluate clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of a PG sample at baseline, comparing cognitive-behavioural group intervention, with and without exposure, with response prevention (CBT + ERP vs. CBT), to compare the results of therapy and to assess pre-post changes in psychopathology between both groups. DESIGN We applied a quasi-experimental design comprising intervention on the independent variable, but without random assignment. METHODS The sample comprised 502 males with PG, consecutively admitted to a specialist unit, who received standardized outpatient CBT group therapy in 16 weekly sessions. Scores on the Symptom Checklist-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R), the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), and other clinical and psychopathological scales were recorded. RESULTS Pre-post changes did not differ between groups, except for SCL paranoid ideation, being greater in the CBT therapy group. The risk of relapse during treatment was similar in the CBT + ERP and CBT patients. However, compliance with treatment was poorer in the CBT + ERP group, who presented higher drop-out rates during treatment. Drop-out during therapy was associated with shorter disorder duration and higher scores on the TCI-R novelty seeking scale. CONCLUSIONS Although the two CBT programs elicited similar therapy responses, patients receiving CBT alone showed higher adherence to therapy and lower drop-out rates.
Follicular thyroid neoplasms can be classified as low- and high-risk according to HBME-1 and Galectin-3 expression on liquid-based fine-needle cytology.

DESIGN Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is the most reliable diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. A cytologic diagnosis of follicular neoplasm with atypical cells of undetermined significance (FN/AUS) implies that the selection of patients between surgery and follow-up is difficult. In this setting immunocytochemical stainings might be helpful. The efficacy of a panel made up of HBME-1 and Galectin-3 antibodies is evaluated in cases processed by liquid-based cytology (LBC). METHODS Out of 7091 thyroid FNAB processed by LBC method, 120 cases undergoing surgery successively were selected. These cases were classified as benign lesion (BL, eight cases), FN, including the ACUS category of the Bethesda classification (FN/AUS, 50 cases), suspicious for malignancy (SM, 59 cases), and malignant neoplasm (MN, three cases). Immunostains for HBME-1 and Galectin-3 were carried out on the LBC slides. RESULTS All MN and BL were histologically confirmed. FN/AUS and SM showed a malignancy risk of 24 and 72.9% respectively. The complete immunocytochemical panel was positive in 83.3% of the cases resulting in malignancy and negative in 87.5% of cases resulting in benign histology. Among the FN/AUS, the complete positive immunocytochemical panel was detected in 76.9% of cases resulting as malignant and the complete negative immunocytochemical panel was observed in 96.8% of cases resulting as benign at histology. CONCLUSIONS The expression of HBME-1 and Galectin-3 in cases classified as FN/AUS on LBC-processed FNABs can effectively distinguish lesions, which need immediate surgery (high risk or FNH or Thy 3h) from those which can be followed-up (low risk or FNL or Thy 3l).
Identification of cancer chemopreventive isothiocyanates as direct inhibitors of the arylamine N-acetyltransferase-dependent acetylation and bioactivation of aromatic amine carcinogens

Aromatic amines (AAs) are chemicals of industrial, pharmacological and environmental relevance. Certain AAs, such as 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP), are human carcinogens that require enzymatic metabolic activation to reactive chemicals to form genotoxic DNA adducts. Arylamine N-acetyltransferases (NAT) are xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes (XME) that play a major role in this carcinogenic bioactivation process. Isothiocyanates (ITCs), including benzyl-ITC (BITC) and phenethyl-ITC (PEITC), are phytochemicals known to have chemopreventive activity against several aromatic carcinogens. In particular, ITCs have been shown to modify the bioactivation and subsequent mutagenicity of carcinogenic AA chemicals such as 4-ABP. However, the molecular and biochemical mechanisms by which these phytochemicals may modulate AA carcinogens bioactivation and AA-DNA damage remains poorly understood. This manuscript provides evidence indicating that ITCs can decrease the metabolic activation of carcinogenic AAs via the irreversible inhibition of NAT enzymes and subsequent alteration of the acetylation of AAs. We demonstrate that BITC and PEITC react with NAT1 and inhibit readily its acetyltransferase activity (ki = 200 M−1.s−1 and 66 M−1.s−1 for BITC and PEITC, respectively). Chemical labeling, docking approaches and substrate protection assays indicated that inhibition of the acetylation of AAs by NAT1 was due to the chemical modification of the enzyme active site cysteine. Moreover, analyses of AAs acetylation and DNA adducts in cells showed that BITC was able to modulate the endogenous acetylation and bioactivation of 4-ABP. In conclusion, we show that direct inhibition of NAT enzymes may be an important mechanism by which ITCs exert their chemopreventive activity towards AA chemicals.
The Effect of Ecopodagogy-Based Environmental Education on Environmental Attitude of In-service Teachers

Abstract Environmental attitude covers a person’s behavioural aims, impacts, and believings which is acquired from environmental subjects or activites. It is also mentioned that environmental attitude can be used in order to predict environmental behaviour. The aim of this study is to analyse the efficiency of an ecopedagogy-based TUBITAK environmental education project, which comprised of community of practice and was titled ‘Ecology in Canakkale and Around, 2010’, on environmental attitude of in-service teachers and to determine whether there is any difference between genders in terms of environmental attitude. The methodology of the study was mixed methodology within a case study. The qualitative and the quantitative data were collected simultaneously and evaluated together. An environmental attitude scale was used in order to collect the quantitative data. The participants’ diaries, semi-structured interview and non-participant observation notes were used in order to collect the qualitative data. It was found that the ecopedagogy-based environmental eduction caused to change environmental attitude of in-service teachers favourably and this change was observed mostly on male in-service teachers. Key words: Eco-pedagogy , community of practice, in-service teachers, environmental attitude, TUBITAK .