Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wnt2 secreted by tumour fibroblasts promotes tumour progression in oesophageal cancer by activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway

Objectives Interaction between neoplastic and stromal cells plays an important role in tumour progression. It was recently found that WNT2 was frequently overexpressed in fibroblasts isolated from tumour tissue tumour fibroblasts (TF) compared with fibroblasts from non-tumour tissue normal fibroblasts in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This study aimed to investigate the effect of TF-secreted Wnt2 in OSCC development via the tumour–stroma interaction. Methods Quantitative PCR, western blotting, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to study the expression pattern of Wnt2 and its effect on the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. A Wnt2-secreting system was established in Chinese hamster ovary cells and its conditioned medium was used to study the role of Wnt2 in cell proliferation and invasion. Results Expression of Wnt2 could only be detected in TF but not in OSCC cancer cell lines. In OSCC tissues, Wnt2(+) cells were mainly detected in the boundary between stroma and tumour tissue or scattered within tumour tissue. In this study, Wnt2-positive OSCC was defined when five or more Wnt2(+) cells were observed in 200× microscopy field. Interestingly, Wnt2-positive OSCC (22/51 cases) was significantly associated with lymph node metastases (p=0.001), advanced TNM stage (p=0.001) and disease-specific survival (p<0.0001). Functional study demonstrated that secreted Wnt2 could promote oesophageal cancer cell growth by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway and subsequently upregulated cyclin D1 and c-myc expression. Further study found that Wnt2 could enhance cell motility and invasiveness by inducing epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Conclusions TF-secreted Wnt2 acts as a growth and invasion-promoting factor through activating the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway in oesophageal cancer cells.
Identification de documents par classification monoclasse

RESUME. Utilisee dans un contexte industriel, la classification d’images de documents necessite le respect de certaines contraintes; par exemple, etre confronte a une grande variabilite des documents et/ou du nombre de classes. Dans cet article, nous repondons a ce probleme en presentant une nouvelle approche basee sur la specialisation du vecteur de caracteristiques et d’un classificateur pour chaque classe, contrairement a la majorite des methodes qui traitent l’ensemble des classes. Cette approche permet alors d’introduire de nouvelles classes sans contraindre le systeme a un nouvel apprentissage. Pour cela, nous calculons un vecteur de caracteristiques generique qui sera ensuite specialise en classant les caracteristiques selon un score de stabilite. Finalement, un classificateur monoclasse de type K plus proche voisins est entraine en utilisant ce vecteur. Les experimentations menees revelent de bons taux de classification prouvant une adaptabilite de notre systeme sur des problemes complexes.
Effect of Fusarium-Derived Metabolites on the Barrier Integrity of Differentiated Intestinal Porcine Epithelial Cells (IPEC-J2)

The human, animal and plant pathogen Fusarium, which contaminates agricultural commodities worldwide, produces numerous secondary metabolites. An example is the thoroughly-investigated deoxynivalenol (DON), which severely impairs gastrointestinal barrier integrity. However, to date, the toxicological profile of other Fusarium-derived metabolites, such as enniatins, beauvericin, moniliformin, apicidin, aurofusarin, rubrofusarin, equisetin and bikaverin, are poorly characterized. Thus we examined their effects—as metabolites alone and as metabolites in combination with DON—on the intestinal barrier function of differentiated intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) over 72 h. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) was measured at 24-h intervals, followed by evaluation of cell viability using neutral red (NR) assay. Enniatins A, A1, B and B1, apicidin, aurofusarin and beauvericin significantly reduced TEER. Moniliformin, equisetin, bikaverin and rubrofusarin had no effect on TEER. In the case of apicidin, aurofusarin and beauvericin, TEER reductions were further substantiated by the addition of otherwise no-effect DON concentrations. In all cases, viability was unaffected, confirming that TEER reductions were not due to compromised viability. Considering the prevalence of mycotoxin contamination and the diseases associated with intestinal barrier disruption, consumption of contaminated food or feed may have substantial health implications.
Canadian health care professionals' knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of nutritional genomics

Nutritional genomics has reached the public through applications of the Human Genome Project offered direct to consumers (DTC). The ability to pursue nutrigenetic testing without the involvement of a health care professional has received considerable attention from academic and policy commentators. To better understand the knowledge and attitudes of Canadian health care professionals regarding nutritional genomics and nutrigenetic testing, qualitative research in the form of focus group discussions was undertaken. Four key themes emerged: (1) concerns over DTC testing; (2) lack of health care professional competency; (3) genetic scepticism and inevitability; (4) expectation of regulation. Together, they indicate that health care professionals have little knowledge about nutritional genomics and hold contradictory attitudes towards genomics in general, and to nutritional genomics in particular. Respondents argue in favour of a delivery model where health care professionals act as intermediaries. They are also aware of their lack of competency to provide such services. To ensure greater public protection, respondents cite the importance of more stringent regulatory oversight of DTC genetic testing. Whether such an approach is necessary to address the various ethical and social issues raised by nutrigenetic testing remains an open debate.
Optimal Performance of Cognitive Random Access Networks With Multi-Packet Reception

This letter considers the performance of secondary networks using an Aloha-type random access protocol with multi-packet reception (MPR) for interference-limited communication. To simplify the analysis, it is usually assumed a specific backoff scheme, geometric retransmission for instance, for cognitive access in previous studies. Consequently, how to achieve the optimal performance of cognitive networks with a general backoff scheme has not been fully explored. The difficulty lies in a proper modeling of the transmission behavior of each secondary node with the interference constraint imposed by the primary user. In this letter, a markov chain is established to characterize all the states of each secondary transmitter. The markov chain enables a unified analysis of both unsaturated and saturated secondary networks, and derivations of explicit expressions of the throughput and the mean access delay. The effect of various factors, such as the interference constraint and the MPR capability of the secondary networks, is further characterized on the optimal network performance.
Noniterative data-driven design of multivariable controllers

In this paper, a data-driven technique is proposed to deal with multivariable fixed-order controller design. The method is based on the Virtual Reference Feedback Tuning (VRFT) philosophy and thus does not require any model of the plant. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first noniterative method that allows one to tune either tracking and decoupling terms of a MIMO controller. Unlike standard VRFT for SISO systems, extended instrumental variables and variance weighting are used to counteract the effect of noise and achieve consistent controller estimate with a single set of input-output data. The proposed strategy is validated on three banchmark examples.
SEM and Stereomicroscopic Analysis of Cut Marks in Fresh and Burned Bone

This study documents the prevalence of cut mark characteristics in fresh and burned domestic pig ribs. Stab wounds from single edge serrated and smooth‐edged knives were inflicted in the vertebral and sternal regions of each fresh rib. Each rack of ribs was then divided into vertebral and sternal units. Vertebral units were defleshed and their associated cut marks were examined using a stereomicroscope. Sternal units were burned in an outdoor fire pit and examined with the addition of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Linear cuts, V‐shaped cross‐sections, mounding, hinge fractures, and wastage were all observed on burned ribs. There was an overall decrease in the prevalence of all features (up to a 40% decrease), regardless of knife type, in burned ribs. Striations within cut marks were not observed in either fresh or burned ribs. Oblique faulting and bone lifts could only be observed using the SEM. Mounding and wastage were obliterated during the burning process. Therefore, cut marks in burned bone should ideally be examined for their characteristics utilizing an SEM.
Neutron diffraction study of the structure of deuterated ice VIII to 10 GPa.

The pressure dependence of the structure of deuterated ice VIII has been studied by time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction up to 10 GPa. The precision of the values of the intramolecular bond length O-D is \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.003 \AA{} or better at all pressures, and the rate of increase of the O-D bond length is found to be 0.0004(4) \AA{} ${\mathrm{GPa}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$. This value is significantly smaller than previous estimates, which all incorporate the assumption that the form of the O-H potential is constant with pressure. It appears that this is not the case.
ROLE OF ACTIVATED MACROPHAGES IN ACANTHAMOEBA KERATITIS

The purpose of this study was to determine whether activating the conjunctival macrophages would affect the course of Acanthamoeba spp. keratitis in a Chinese hamster model of this disease. Chinese hamster spleen cells were stimulated with concanavalin A (Con A), and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) –containing supernatants were collected 24 hr later. The IFN-γ–containing supernatants were loaded into liposomes, which were fed to peritoneal macrophages in vitro. Macrophage activation was assessed by testing for production of nitric oxide (NO) with the use of Griess reagent. Conjunctival macrophages were activated in situ by subconjunctival injection of liposomes containing Con A–activated spleen cell culture supernatants. Control liposomes were loaded with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Macrophages exposed to supernatants from Con A–stimulated spleen cells produced 4-fold-higher amounts of NO than unstimulated macrophages. Activation of macrophages via subconjunctival injection of liposomes containing supernatants from Con A–stimulated spleen cell cultures resulted in rapid resolution of the corneal infection. Approximately 80% of animals treated with PBS-containing liposomes demonstrated evidence of corneal disease at day 14 compared to 10% incidence of infection in the Con A–treated group. Moreover, at all time points examined, the clinical appearance of the keratitis in animals treated with liposomes containing Con A supernatant was significantly reduced compared to the group treated with liposomes containing PBS (P < 0.05). Macrophages stimulated with IFN-γ–containing supernatants killed significant numbers of the trophozoites in vitro (P < 0.05). Killing was inhibited by cytochalasin d, but not by l-N6-1-iminoethyl-l-lysine dihydrochloride (l-NIL), which is a selective inhibitor of inducible NO synthase (INOS).
Discriminative training of tied mixture density HMMs for online handwritten digit recognition

This paper describes and evaluates the maximum mutual information criterion (MMI) for online unconstrained-style handwritten digit recognition based on hidden Markov models (HMMs). The study focuses on determining the best MMI optimization scheme and the HMM parameters that exhibit the most discriminative capabilities in the context of tied mixture density hidden Markov models (TDHMMs), where all HMM states share a pool of Gaussians. The experimental results show that the second-order optimization scheme is the most efficient and that although means and covariance matrix are shared by all models, they contribute the most to discrimination.
A Meta-analysis of the Association between p53 Codon 72 Polymorphism and Susceptibility to Endometriosis

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether the p53 codon 72 polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to endometriosis. Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted on the associations between the p53 codon 72 polymorphism and endometriosis using 1) allele contrast, 2) a recessive model, 3) a dominant model, and 4) homozygote contrast. Results: Nine studies involving 1,803 patients and 2,006 controls were considered in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis of the p53 polymorphism showed no association between endometriosis and the p53 C allele (odds ratio (OR) = 1.087, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.921–1.282, p = 0.323). Stratification by ethnicity indicated no association between the p53 C allele and endometriosis in Europeans and Latin Americans. However, a significant association was found between the p53 C allele and endometriosis in East Asians (OR = 1.405, 95% CI = 1.065–1.854, p = 0.016). Furthermore, association was found between the p53 polymorphism and endometriosis in East Asians using the dominant model (OR = 2.046, 95% CI = 1.123–3.730, p = 0.019). Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrates that the p53 codon 72 polymorphism may be associated with susceptibility to endometriosis in East Asians, but not in Europeans and Latin Americans.
Founder effect of a pathogenic MSH2 mutation identified in Spanish families with Lynch syndrome

Menéndez M, Castellví‐Bel S, Pineda M, de Cid R, Muñoz J, González S, TeuléÀ, Balaguer F, Ramón y Cajal T, Maria Reñé J, Blanco I, Castells A, Capellà G. Founder effect of a pathogenic MSH2 mutation identified in Spanish families with Lynch syndrome.
Resistance of pancreatic carcinoma cells is reversed by coculturing NK-like T cells with dendritic cells pulsed with tumor-derived RNA and CA 19-9.

Immunization with defined tumor antigens is limited to the small number of cancers in which specific tumor antigens have been defined but insufficient tumor material is available to produce an antitumor vaccine. In this study, we investigated whether pulsing dendritic cells (DC) using a liposomal transfer technique with a pancreatic tumor cell line-derived RNA can effectively activate NK-like T cells and tumor immunity. Pulsed DC were cocultured with NK-like T cells, i.e., CD3+CD56+ cells, as immunologic effector cells. Target cells resistant to NK-like T-cell-mediated lysis were used. Total tumor-derived RNA transfected into DC was found to completely reverse tumor cell resistance. Total tumor RNA transfection (30 microg) was found to be superior to poly(A)(+) RNA transfection (5 microg) in inducing NK-like T lymphocytes. Interestingly, additional pulsing of DC with the CA 19-9 peptide in a CA 19-9-positive cell line further increased the sensitivity of pancreas carcinoma cells to NK-like T cells. Treatment of tumor RNA with RNase completely blocked the effect of RNA-transfected DC on NK-like T cells, suggesting that intact tumor-derived RNA is needed for reversal of tumor cell resistance. In conclusion, coculture of NK-like T cells with DC transfected with pancreatic tumor cell line-derived RNA reverses pancreatic tumor cell resistance by directly triggering NK-like T lymphocytes.
An Efficient Switched-Capacitor DC-DC Buck Converter for Self-Powered Wearable Electronics

This paper introduces an efficient reconfigurable, multiple voltage gain switched-capacitor dc-dc buck converter as part of a power management unit for wearable electronics. The proposed switched-capacitor converter has an input voltage of 0.6 V to 1.2 V generated from an energy harvesting source. The switched-capacitor converter utilizes pulse frequency modulation to generate multiple regulated output voltage levels, namely 1 V, 0.8 V, and 0.6 V based on two reconfigurable bits over a wide range of load currents from 10 μA to 800 μA. The switched-capacitor converter is designed and fabricated in 65-nm low-power CMOS technology and occupies an area of 0.493 mm2. The design utilizes a stack of MIM and MOS capacitances to optimize the circuit area and efficiency. The measured peak efficiency is 80% at a load current of 800 μA and regulated load voltage of 1 V.
A LAYERSTRIPPING LAYERSTRIPPING LAYERSTRIPPING SOLUTION OF THE INVERSE PROBLEM FOR A ONE-DIMENSIONAL ELASTIC MEDIUM

A fast algorithm for recovering profiles of density and Lame parameters as functions of depth for the inverse seismic problem in an elastic medium is obtained. The medium is probed with planar impulsive P and SV waves at oblique incidence, and the medium velocity components are measured at the surface. The interconversion of P and SV waves defines reflection coefficients from which the medium parameter profiles are obtained recursively. The algorithm works on a layer-stripping principle, and is specified in both differential and recursive forms. A physical interpretation of this procedure is given in terms of a lattice filter, where the first reflections of the doangoing waves in each layer yield the various reflection coefficients for that layer. A computer run of the algorithm on the synthetic impulsive plane wave responses of a twentylayer medium shows that the algorithm -woriks satisfactorily. *The work of this author was supported by the Exxon Education Foundation. **The work of this author was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant AFOSR-82-0135A. Report Documentation Page Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE SEP 1984 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-09-1984 to 00-09-1984 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE A Layer-Stripping Solution of the Inverse Problem for a One-Dimensional Elastic Medium 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems,77 Massachusetts Avenue,Cambridge,MA,02139-4307 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 31 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON a. REPORT unclassified b. ABSTRACT unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18
In Vivo Transmission of an IncA/C Plasmid in Escherichia coli Depends on Tetracycline Concentration, and Acquisition of the Plasmid Results in a Variable Cost of Fitness

ABSTRACT IncA/C plasmids are broad-host-range plasmids enabling multidrug resistance that have emerged worldwide among bacterial pathogens of humans and animals. Although antibiotic usage is suspected to be a driving force in the emergence of such strains, few studies have examined the impact of different types of antibiotic administration on the selection of plasmid-containing multidrug resistant isolates. In this study, chlortetracycline treatment at different concentrations in pig feed was examined for its impact on selection and dissemination of an IncA/C plasmid introduced orally via a commensal Escherichia coli host. Continuous low-dose administration of chlortetracycline at 50 g per ton had no observable impact on the proportions of IncA/C plasmid-containing E. coli from pig feces over the course of 35 days. In contrast, high-dose administration of chlortetracycline at 350 g per ton significantly increased IncA/C plasmid-containing E. coli in pig feces (P < 0.001) and increased movement of the IncA/C plasmid to other indigenous E. coli hosts. There was no evidence of conjugal transfer of the IncA/C plasmid to bacterial species other than E. coli. In vitro competition assays demonstrated that bacterial host background substantially impacted the cost of IncA/C plasmid carriage in E. coli and Salmonella. In vitro transfer and selection experiments demonstrated that tetracycline at 32 μg/ml was necessary to enhance IncA/C plasmid conjugative transfer, while subinhibitory concentrations of tetracycline in vitro strongly selected for IncA/C plasmid-containing E. coli. Together, these experiments improve our knowledge on the impact of differing concentrations of tetracycline on the selection of IncA/C-type plasmids.