Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigating the Effect of Health Status on Unemployment

According to the economic literature, Human capital can be considered as essential factor for economic development of countries such as labour force, capital, land and management. So that economists have known it as the motor of development. In the existing studies, education and health are introduced as two main aspects of human capital. In addition to the direct effect of education and health on economic growth, these factors can reduce the unemployment by improving the labour productivity, a subject which has been considered in few studies especially about health. In this study we focus on the effects of these factors on unemployment in 117 countries over the period 2005? 2013 using panel data method. To do this, the life expectancy and education index are selected as proxies for human capital. The results show that there is a negative relationship between life expectancy and unemployment but, the effect of expected years of schooling as well as increase in mean years of schooling on unemployment is positively significant. In addition, the impacts of inflation and per capita gross national income on unemployment are negative and significant as well.
Role of chemokine receptor CXCR2 expression in mammary tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis

Background: Chemokines and their receptors have long been known to regulate metastasis in various cancers. Previous studies have shown that CXCR2 expression is upregulated in malignant breast cancer tissues but not in benign ductal epithelial samples. The functional role of CXCR2 in the metastatic phenotype of breast cancer still remains unclear. We hypothesize that the chemokine receptor, CXCR2, mediates tumor cell invasion and migration and promotes metastasis in breast cancer. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential role of CXCR2 in the metastatic phenotype of mouse mammary tumor cells. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the functional role of CXCR2 in breast cancer by stably downregulating the expression of CXCR2 in metastatic mammary tumor cell lines Cl66 and 4T1, using short hairpin RNA (shRNA). The effects of CXCR2 downregulation on tumor growth, invasion and metastatic potential were analyzed in vitro and in vivo. Results: We demonstrated knock down of CXCR2 in Cl66 and 4T1 cells (Cl66-shCXCR2 and 4T1-shCXCR2) cells by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at the transcriptional level and by immunohistochemistry at the protein level. We did not observe a significant difference in in vitro cell proliferation between vector control and CXCR2 knock-down Cl66 or 4T1 cells. Next, we examined the invasive potential of Cl66-shCXCR2 cells by in vitro Matrigel invasion assay. We observed a significantly lower number (52 ± 5) of Cl66-shCXCR2 cells invading through Matrigel compared to control cells (Cl66-control) (182 ± 3) (P < 0.05). We analyzed the in vivo metastatic potential of Cl66-shCXCR2 using a spontaneous metastasis model by orthotopically implanting cells into the mammary fat pad of female BALB/c mice. Animals were sacrificed 12 weeks post tumor implantation and tissue samples were analyzed for metastatic nodules. CXCR2 downregulation significantly inhibited tumor cell metastasis. All the mice (n = 10) implanted with control Cl66 cells spontaneously developed lung metastasis, whereas a significantly lower number of mice (40%) implanted with Cl66-shCXCR2 cells exhibited lung metastases. Conclusions: Together, these results suggest that CXCR2 may play a critical role in breast cancer invasion and metastasis.
Double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover comparison of five classes of antihypertensive drugs

Objective Hypertension guidelines recommend initial treatment with a β-blocker or diuretic and adding the other drug where blood pressure is not controlled. We hypothesized that systematic rotation through the major classes of antihypertensive drugs would demonstrate substantial differences in the pattern of an individual patient's response, and suggest a more rational approach to choosing best treatment. Design Thirty-four young hypertensives (age 28–55, median 47) rotated in a double-blind, Latin-square, crossover fashion through 6 weeks of treatment each with amlodipine, doxazosin, lisinopril, bisoprolol, bendrofluazide and placebo. Blood pressure was measured at each visit. ‘Best’ drug, defined by efficacy and tolerability, was repeated at the end. Results Rotation doubled the number of patients reaching target blood pressure (systolic < 140 mmHg) on one drug (P = 0.03). All five drugs were represented among the ‘best’ drugs. In six patients, the blood pressure on ‘best’ drug was at least 10 mmHg lower than on any other. Response to the ‘best’ drug was highly correlated (r = 0.79) with its previous administration. By contrast, there were only weak correlations between responses to pairs of drugs, except for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor (A) with β-blocker (B), and calcium blocker (C) with diuretic (D) – each r = 0.71, P < 0.005). In these young patients, the majority of patients (23/34) responded best to a drug suppressing the renin system (A and B). Conclusions Patients vary reproducibly in their response to initial treatment, and switching among drugs can increase the efficacy of monotherapy. The results support an AB/CD scheme for choosing therapy, in which the first drug is taken from one of these pairs, and uncontrolled patients switch to one of the other pair.
Effective, Nonsensitizing Vaccination with Culture Filtrate Proteins against Virulent Mycobacterium bovis Infections in Mice

ABSTRACT Vaccination of mice with Mycobacterium bovis culture filtrate proteins (CFP), prepared in a variety of adjuvants (aluminum hydroxide, Quil-A, and dimethyldioctyldecyl ammonium bromide [DDA]), provided significant protection against an aerosol challenge of virulent M. bovis. Additionally, vaccination with CFP in DDA or Quil-A did not sensitize mice toM. bovis purified protein derivative.
PANCHROMATIC OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING OF THE HV TAU C EDGE-ON DISK

We present new high spatial resolution (≲0.″1) 1–5 μm adaptive optics images, interferometric 1.3 mm continuum and 12CO 2–1 maps, and 350 μm, 2.8 and 3.3 mm fluxes measurements of the HV Tau system. Our adaptive optics images unambiguously demonstrate that HV Tau AB–C is a common proper motion pair. They further reveal an unusually slow orbital motion within the tight HV Tau AB pair that suggests a highly eccentric orbit and/or a large deprojected physical separation. Scattered light images of the HV Tau C edge-on protoplanetary disk suggest that the anisotropy of the dust scattering phase function is almost independent of wavelength from 0.8 to 5 μm, whereas the dust opacity decreases significantly over the same range. The images further reveal a marked lateral asymmetry in the disk that does not vary over a timescale of two years. We further detect a radial velocity gradient in the disk in our 12CO map that lies along the same position angle as the elongation of the continuum emission, which is consistent with Keplerian rotation around a 0.5–1 M☉ central star, suggesting that it could be the most massive component in the triple system. To obtain a global representation of the HV Tau C disk, we search for a model that self-consistently reproduces observations of the disk from the visible regime up to millimeter wavelengths. We use a powerful radiative transfer model to compute synthetic disk observations and use a Bayesian inference method to extract constraints on the disk properties. Each individual image, as well as the spectral energy distribution, of HV Tau C can be well reproduced by our models with fully mixed dust provided grain growth has already produced larger-than-interstellar dust grains. However, no single model can satisfactorily simultaneously account for all observations. We suggest that future attempts to model this source include more complex dust properties and possibly vertical stratification. While both grain growth and stratification have already been suggested in many disks, only a panchromatic analysis, such as presented here, can provide a complete picture of the structure of a disk, a necessary step toward quantitatively testing the predictions of numerical models of disk evolution.
Biometric Sensor Interoperability: A Case Study in 3D Face Recognition

Biometric systems typically suffer a significant loss of performance when the acquisition sensor is changed between enrolment and authentication. Such a problem, commonly known as sensor interoperability, poses a serious challenge to the accuracy of matching algorithms. The present work addresses for the first time the sensor interoperability issue in 3D face recognition systems, analysing the performance of two popular and well known techniques for 3D facial authentication. For this purpose, a new gender-balanced database comprising 3D data of 26 subjects has been acquired using two devices belonging to the new generation of low-cost 3D sensors. The results show the high sensor-dependency of the tested systems and the need to develop matching algorithms robust to the variation in the sensor resolution.
Attitude disturbance correction for binocular vision cameras in rendezvous and docking

In this paper, a camera attitude disturbances correction method for binocular vision is proposed that uses a compact and easily designed auxiliary optical path. The light from a reference marker fixed inside of the spacecraft enters each camera's field of view through the auxiliary optical path and then is imaged on the CCD sensor, providing virtual and infinite reference points for each camera. The image position of the reference marker varies with the attitude change of the camera, and the attitude transformation matrix can be computed through the image change of the reference marker. Therefore, if camera attitude disturbances occur, the matrix can be used to compensate for camera attitude disturbances. The experimental results show that the auxiliary optical path design is feasible and the light from the reference marker can be reflected into the view of each camera. The proposed camera attitude disturbances correction method can be used to eliminate camera attitude disturbances for improving 3D measurement accuracy. However, it is certain that the complexity of the system is increased compared with systems without an auxiliary optical path, and complexity is a compromise with accuracy. Besides, camera attitude disturbances for binocular vision in RVD are complex and affected by many factors. We only dealt with the problem from a geometric view and still have much work to do. For example, the auxiliary optical path will introduce more error sources that need further study. In addition, the effects of camera attitude disturbances on image quality are neglected, while image quality will influence 3D measurement accuracy.
Recruitment of Young-of-the-Year Fishes to Natural and Artificial Offshore Structure Within Central and Southern California Waters, 2008-2010

Many of the oil and gas platforms off California harbor high densities of young-of-the-year (YOY) fishes, primarily rockfishes (genus Sebastes). One decommissioning option for these platforms is "topping", cutting the structure some distance below the water line and leaving the rest of the jacket in place. Questions have arisen regarding how this option would affect the nursery function of the remaining structure. Between 2008 and 2010, we surveyed the densities of YOY fishes at seven intact platforms, as well as six reefs and three shipwrecks that did not crest near the surface and thus might act as surrogates for topped platforms. Rockfishes of about five species dominated the deeper parts of the platforms, reefs, and shipwrecks, while YOY blacksmith, Chromis punctipinnis (cooper, 1863), were most characteristic of the shallow portions of platforms. Over the course of the study, we observed large fluctuations in the recruitment success of fishes; recruitment of rockfishes was particularly successful in 2010, while particularly poor for blacksmith in the same year. This interannual pattern was observed throughout our study sites. In general, the YOY fish assemblages around the deeper parts of the platforms were similar to those around the reefs and shipwrecks, implying that removing the shallow parts of California platform may have relatively little effect on juvenile rockfish recruitment; however, blacksmith recruitment to platforms will likely decrease.
Basaloid Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus: Assessment for High-risk Human Papillomavirus and Related Molecular Markers

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC) of the esophagus is rare, historically confused for adenoid cystic carcinoma, and recently shown to behave similar to conventional, keratinizing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. At other sites (eg, oropharynx, anogenital tract) the basaloid phenotype is frequently associated with the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). HPVs role in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas is less certain, and to our knowledge, a direct examination of esophageal BSCC for high-risk HPV has not been performed earlier. Nine cases of esophageal BSCC were retrieved from our surgical pathology files. Twenty-two cases of keratinizing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma served as controls. In situ hybridization (ISH) for high-risk HPV and immunohistochemistry for related molecular markers including p53, cyclin D1, and p16 (scored 0 to 4+ based on percentage of cells staining; p53 additionally scored for intensity) were performed. HPV ISH was nonreactive in all tested cases. Compared with controls, BSCC showed less immunoreactivity for p16 and p53 (P=0.003, 0.009). Esophageal BSCC is negative for high-risk HPV by ISH, distinguishing these lesions from other BSCCs. Differential p16 and p53 expression in BSCC suggests that these tumors are molecularly distinct from conventional esophageal squamous cell carcinomas.
Hodgkin lymphoma: Response assessment by Revised International Workshop Criteria

Until recently, response assessment in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) was primarily performed by computed tomography (CT). Based on CT, International Workshop Criteria (IWC) were developed and widely used. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) has a higher sensitivity and specificity compared with that of CT, and Revised International Workshop Criteria (IWC + PET) were recently proposed, which combine both imaging techniques. We determined whether these integrated IWC + PET-criteria can more accurately predict outcome compared with IWC-criteria in 56 patients with HL. Of the original 56 patients, nine patients relapsed and 47 are still in remission after a median follow-up of 9 years. Based on IWC-criteria, 15 patients had a complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy, 20 had complete remission unconfirmed (CRu), 19 had partial remission (PR) and two had stable disease (SD). In comparison, by IWC + PET, 47 had CR, seven had PR and two had SD. For IWC, outcome was not significantly different in patients with CR/CRu compared to PR (P = 0.61), while for IWC + PET criteria, time-to-next-treatment was significantly shorter in patients with PR compared to CR (P = 0.01). Therefore, IWC + PET-guidelines provide a more accurate response classification compared with that of IWC-guidelines, and are the preferred method for response assessment in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
RMS/Coverage graphs: A qualitative method for comparing three‐dimensional protein structure predictions

Evaluating a set of protein structure predictions is difficult as each prediction may omit different residues and different parts of the structure may have different accuracies. A method is described that captures the best results from a large number of alternative sequence‐dependent structural superpositions between a prediction and the experimental structure and represents them as a single line on a graph. Applied to CASP2 and CASP3 data the best predictions stand out visually in most cases, as judged by manual inspection. The results from this method applied to CASP data are available from the URLs http://PredictionCenter.llnl. gov/casp3/results/th/ and http://www.sanger. ac.uk/∼th/casp/. Proteins Suppl 1999;3:15–21. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The antidepressant drug paroxetine as a new lead candidate in schistosome drug discovery

Recently, our in silico repositioning-chemogenomics approach predicted paroxetine (PAR), an antidepressant drug, as a inhibitor of Schistosoma mansoni serotonin transporters (SmSERTs), and consequently, a new anti-schistosomal candidate. With the aim of determining the anti-schistosomal activity of this drug, we initially used a spectrophotometric assay to determine activity against schistosomula worms. During this investigation, we verified that PAR showed a pronounced effect on schistosomula viability (IC50 = 2.5 μM) after 72 h of incubation. Then, we performed ex vivo studies with adult S. mansoni worms using a new automated image-based assay to accurately measure worm motility. As expected from the PAR's predicted mechanism of action, both male and female worms treated with low concentrations of PAR exhibited enhanced motility followed by reduction in motility as incubation time increased. PAR EC50 values for motility reduction in male and female worms were 5.1 μM and 9.9 μM after 24 h of exposure, respectively, and this effect was maintained until the end of the experiment (72 h). Lastly, homology modeling and docking studies with SmSERT-A and human SERT (hSERT) revealed insights into the chemical basis of PAR antischistosomal activity. These results provide crucial guidance for further studies to optimize PAR in terms of potency and selectivity.
Harmful or Helpful Hypertension – Pathophysiological Basis

Usually not all the very difficult mechanisms lying very deep within cells are apparent. However, this can not excuse the assumption that none of phenomena can be determined only by intracellular processes. If we admit that we are the result of the huge evolution of life, our primeval substance is then represented by cells. The cells can be the hidden motor forcing the organism to fulfill the cellular needs. According to this view, blood pressure is not the only part of a functioning circulation.
Somatic and germline instability of the ATTCT repeat in spinocerebellar ataxia type 10.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 (SCA10) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by ataxia, seizures, and anticipation. It is caused by an expanded ATTCT pentanucleotide repeat in intron 9 of a novel gene, designated "SCA10. " The ATTCT expansion in SCA10 represents a novel class of microsatellite repeat and is one of the largest found to cause human diseases. The expanded ATTCT repeat is unstably transmitted from generation to generation, and an inverse correlation has been observed between size of repeat and age at onset. In this multifamily study, we investigated the intergenerational instability, somatic and germline mosaicism, and age-dependent repeat-size changes of the expanded ATTCT repeat. Our results showed that (1) the expanded ATTCT repeats are highly unstable when paternally transmitted, whereas maternal transmission resulted in significantly smaller changes in repeat size; (2) blood leukocytes, lymphoblastoid cells, buccal cells, and sperm have a variable degree of mosaicism in ATTCT expansion; (3) the length of the expanded repeat was not observed to change in individuals over a 5-year period; and (4) clinically determined anticipation is sometimes associated with intergenerational contraction rather than expansion of the ATTCT repeat.
Molecular basis of crosstalk between oncogenic Ras and the master regulator of hematopoiesis GATA‐2

Disease mutations provide unique opportunities to decipher protein and cell function. Mutations in the master regulator of hematopoiesis GATA‐2 underlie an immunodeficiency associated with myelodysplastic syndrome and leukemia. We discovered that a GATA‐2 disease mutant (T354M) defective in chromatin binding was hyperphosphorylated by p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase. p38 also induced multisite phosphorylation of wild‐type GATA‐2, which required a single phosphorylated residue (S192). Phosphorylation of GATA‐2, but not T354M, stimulated target gene expression. While crosstalk between oncogenic Ras and GATA‐2 has been implicated as an important axis in cancer biology, its mechanistic underpinnings are unclear. Oncogenic Ras enhanced S192‐dependent GATA‐2 phosphorylation, nuclear foci localization, and transcriptional activation. These studies define a mechanism that controls a key regulator of hematopoiesis and a dual mode of impairing GATA‐2‐dependent genetic networks: mutational disruption of chromatin occupancy yielding insufficient GATA‐2, and oncogenic Ras‐mediated amplification of GATA‐2 activity.
Finite-element Analysis of a Stenotic Artery Revascularization Through a Stent Insertion

Short-term and long-term clinical follow-up data clearly indicate the superiority of stenting techniques within the family of mechanical treatments for percutaneous coronary revascularizations. However, restenosis phenomena are in general still present, representing the major drawback for this innovative non-invasive approach. Experimental evidence indicates the mechanical interaction between the stent and the artery as a significant cause for the activation of stent-related restenosis. At the same time, the literature shows a significant lack of computational investigations within this field, possibly as consequence of the complexity of the problem. According to these considerations, the aim of the present work is to study the bio-mechanical interaction between a balloon-expandable stent and a stenotic artery, highlighting considerations able to improve the general understanding of the problem. In particular, given an initial stent design (J&J Palmaz-Schatz like), we show the presence of possible areas of artery injury during the stent deployment and areas of non-uniform contact pressure after the stent apposition, due to a non-uniform stent expansion. Since these concentrated mechanical actions can play an important role in the activation of restenosis mechanisms, we propose a modified stent design, which shows a more uniform expansion and for which typical stenting parameters (i.e., residual stenosis, elastic recoil, foreshortening) are computed and presented.
MicroRNA-451 Negatively Regulates Hepatic Glucose Production and Glucose Homeostasis by Targeting Glycerol Kinase–Mediated Gluconeogenesis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a new class of regulatory molecules implicated in type 2 diabetes, which is characterized by insulin resistance and hepatic glucose overproduction. We show that miRNA-451 (miR-451) is elevated in the liver tissues of dietary and genetic mouse models of diabetes. Through an adenovirus-mediated gain- and loss-of-function study, we found that miR-451 negatively regulates hepatic gluconeogenesis and blood glucose levels in normal mice and identified glycerol kinase (Gyk) as a direct target of miR-451. We demonstrate that miR-451 and Gyk regulate hepatic glucose production, the glycerol gluconeogenesis axis, and the AKT-FOXO1-PEPCK/G6Pase pathway in an opposite manner; Gyk could reverse the effect of miR-451 on hepatic gluconeogenesis and AKT-FOXO1-PEPCK/G6Pase pathway. Moreover, overexpression of miR-451 or knockdown of Gyk in diabetic mice significantly inhibited hepatic gluconeogenesis, alleviated hyperglycemia, and improved glucose tolerance. Further studies showed that miR-451 is upregulated by glucose and insulin in hepatocytes; the elevation of hepatic miR-451 in diabetic mice may contribute to inhibiting Gyk expression. This study provides the first evidence that miR-451 and Gyk regulate the AKT-FOXO1-PEPCK/G6Pase pathway and play critical roles in hepatic gluconeogenesis and glucose homeostasis and identifies miR-451 and Gyk as potential therapeutic targets against hyperglycemia in diabetes.