Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Class III β‐tubulin and the cytoskeletal gateway for drug resistance in ovarian cancer

The Class III β‐tubulin isotype (βIII‐tubulin) is a predictive biomarker in ovarian cancer and other solid tumor malignancies. We discovered that βIII‐tubulin function is linked to two GTPases: guanylate‐binding protein 1 (GBP1), which activates its function, and GNAI1, which inhibits it. This finding was demonstrated in a panel of ovarian cancer cells resistant to several chemotherapeutic agents. Using a protein microarray, we identified PIM1 as the downstream partner of GBP1, recruited into the cytoskeleton under hypoxic conditions. The clinical value of these observations was tested by performing an archive study of 98 ovarian cancer patients, which demonstrated that the βIII‐tubulin ‐/PIM1‐ cohort responded to treatment, exhibiting long overall survival (OS), while βIII‐tubulin +/PIM+ patients experienced poor outcomes and OS times similar to patients receiving palliation alone. βIII‐tubulin expression is commonly believed responsible for paclitaxel resistance due to its enhancement of the dynamic instability of microtubules, which counteracts the activity of taxanes. In contrast, our research reveals that βIII‐tubulin behaves as a gateway for prosurvival signals, such as PIM1, to move into the cytoskeleton. When cells are exposed to microenvironmental stressors, they activate this pathway by telling the cytoskeleton to incorporate PIM1 through GBP1 and βIII‐tubulin, which ultimately leads to drug resistance. This discovery reveals that βIII‐tubulin does not act alone but requires partners to play its role. The discovery of such protein:protein interactions underlying this prosurvival cascade makes feasible the development of therapeutic approaches using novel compounds that are capable of inhibiting the transmission of prosurvival signals into the cytoskeleton. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 1034–1041, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Demonstration of Loss of Heterozygosity by Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Microarray Analysis and Alterations in Strain Morphology in Candida albicans Strains during Infection

ABSTRACT Candida albicans is a diploid yeast with a predominantly clonal mode of reproduction, and no complete sexual cycle is known. As a commensal organism, it inhabits a variety of niches in humans. It becomes an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients and can cause both superficial and disseminated infections. It has been demonstrated that genome rearrangement and genetic variation in isolates of C. albicans are quite common. One possible mechanism for generating genome-level variation among individuals of this primarily clonal fungus is mutation and mitotic recombination leading to loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Taking advantage of a recently published genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) map (A. Forche, P. T. Magee, B. B. Magee, and G. May, Eukaryot. Cell 3:705-714, 2004), an SNP microarray was developed for 23 SNP loci residing on chromosomes 5, 6, and 7. It was used to examine 21 strains previously shown to have undergone mitotic recombination at the GAL1 locus on chromosome 1 during infection in mice. In addition, karyotypes and morphological properties of these strains were evaluated. Our results show that during in vivo passaging, LOH events occur at observable frequencies, that such mitotic recombination events occur independently in different loci across the genome, and that changes in karyotypes and alterations of phenotypic characteristics can be observed alone, in combination, or together with LOH.
Quantile Regression with Generated Regressors

This paper studies estimation and inference for linear quantile regression models with generated regressors. We suggest a practical two-step estimation procedure, where the generated regressors are computed in the first step. The asymptotic properties of the two-step estimator, namely, consistency and asymptotic normality are established. We show that the asymptotic variance-covariance matrix needs to be adjusted to account for the first-step estimation error. We propose a general estimator for the asymptotic variance-covariance, establish its consistency, and develop testing procedures for linear hypotheses in these models. Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the finite-sample performance of the estimation and inference procedures are provided. Finally, we apply the proposed methods to study Engel curves for various commodities using data from the UK Family Expenditure Survey. We document strong heterogeneity in the estimated Engel curves along the conditional distribution of the budget share of each commodity. The empirical application also emphasizes that correctly estimating confidence intervals for the estimated Engel curves by the proposed estimator is of importance for inference.
Use of SNP genotyping to determine pedigree and breed composition of dairy cattle in Kenya.

High levels of inbreeding in East African dairy cattle are a potential concern because of use of a limited range of imported germplasm coupled with strong selection, especially by disease, and sparse performance recording. To address this, genetic relationships and breed composition in an admixed population of Kenyan dairy cattle were estimated by means of a 50K SNP scan. Genomic DNA from 3 worldwide Holstein and 20 Kenyan bulls, 71 putative cow-calf pairs, 25 cows from a large ranch and 5 other Kenyan animals were genotyped for 37 238 informative SNPs. Sires were predicted and 89% of putative dam-calf relationships were supported by genotype data. Animals were clustered with the HapMap population using Structure software to assess breed composition. Cows from a large ranch primarily clustered with Holsteins, while animals from smaller farms were generally crosses between Holstein and Guernsey. Coefficients of relatedness were estimated and showed evidence of heavy use of one AI bull. We conclude that little native germplasm exists within the genotyped populations and mostly European ancestry remains.
Bis-naphtho-γ-pyrones from Fungi and Their Bioactivities

Bis-naphtho-γ-pyrones are an important group of aromatic polyketides derived from fungi. They have a variety of biological activities including cytotoxic, antitumor, antimicrobial, tyrosine kinase and HIV-1 integrase inhibition properties, demonstrating their potential applications in medicine and agriculture. At least 59 bis-naphtho-γ-pyrones from fungi have been reported in the past few decades. This mini-review aims to briefly summarize their occurrence, biosynthesis, and structure, as well as their biological activities. Some considerations regarding to synthesis, production, and medicinal and agricultural applications of bis-naphtho-γ-pyrones are also discussed.
Backlash in Policy Attitudes after the Election of Extreme Political Parties

Far-right and far-left parties by definition occupy the fringes of politics, with policy proposals outside the mainstream. This paper asks how public attitudes about such policies respond once an extreme party increases their political representation at the local level. We study attitudes towards the signature policies of two parties in Sweden, one from the far right and one from the far left, using panel data from 290 municipal election districts. To identify causal effects, we compare otherwise similar elections where a party either barely wins or loses an additional seat. We estimate that a one seat increase for the far-right, anti-immigration party decreases negative attitudes towards immigration by 1.8 or 4.1 percentage points (depending on which national survey we use). Likewise, when a far-left, anti-capitalist party politician gets elected, opposition to a six hour workday rises by 2.5 percentage points. These changes are contrary to the two parties’ policy positions. Exploring possible mechanisms, we find evidence for higher politician turnover and a rise in negative newspaper coverage for the anti-immigration party. These findings demonstrate that political representation can cause an attitudinal backlash as fringe parties and their ideas are placed under closer scrutiny.
Explaining central bank trust in an inflation-targeting country: the case of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand

Employing data from a representative population survey conducted in New Zealand in 2016, this paper examines factors that influence, or are at least associated with, public trust in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). The large number of specifically designed questions allows the study of the relationship between six groups of variables and RBNZ trust: (i) economic situation, (ii) monetary policy knowledge, (iii) non-specific trust, (iv) interest and information search, (v) politicians and government, and (vi) socio-demographic indicators. Using ordered logit models, we find that respondents who put more trust in RBNZ are financially satisfied, have more objective and subjective knowledge about the RBNZ, have higher trust in government institutions, are interested in the RBNZ, are older, and are self-employed. The reverse impact is found for those who do not acquire information about the RBNZ and believe that politicians foster the long-term well-being of their country. Institutional trust has the greatest economic impact.
COX‐2 expression in lobular in situ neoplasia of the breast: correlation with histopathological grading system according to the Tavassoli classification

Aims: There is considerable evidence to link cyclooxygenase (COX)‐2 to the development of cancer. The aim of this study was to assess COX‐2 expression and its subcellular localization in lobular in situ neoplasia (LIN) of the breast and to verify differences in COX‐2 expression between different grades of lesions according to the Tavassoli classification.
Enacting self-regulation expectations in kindergarten programs using a distributed leadership framework

On June 30, 2016, the Ontario Ministry of Education released The Kindergarten Program, a document which outlined the expectations to be taught and the pedagogical approaches to be used in all publicly funded Ontario kindergarten classrooms with a mandatory implementation date of September 2016. This document included a focus on self-regulation, since research has shown that self-regulation skills are essential for not only early learning but for social and emotional success throughout life. This Organization Improvement Plan (OIP) investigates several possible strategies for ensuring that all kindergarten teachers and Early Childhood Educators in School Board X can articulate what self-regulation is and why it is important, and that they can teach, document, assess and report on the self-regulation expectations. Strategies used in this OIP to develop and deepen educators’ understanding of self-regulation are underpinned by a constructivist orientation to learning (Butler & Schnellert, 2012) whereby learners actively construct knowledge and understanding, and build upon their prior knowledge, experience and beliefs. The change implementation plan in this OIP leverages existing structures in School Board X utilizing Cawsey, Deszca and Ingol’s Change Path Model (2016) as a guiding framework. The proposed solution explores how the educational leaders of the Curriculum Support Department can use a distributed leadership framework to create, support and sustain a Self-Regulation Leadership Team. Once implemented, this OIP is anticipated to effect positive change in kindergarten educators’ understanding of self-regulation and ensure that all learners reach their full potential.
Multi-Language Sentiment Analysis of SNS across Different Cities

A sentiment analysis system is a classifier that determines sentiment in a sentence. Given a sentence as input, it distinguishes if the input means something positive, negative or neutral for instance. These days this system is applied to many areas. For example, movie or product reviews [9] and opinion surveys for elections [6]. Since there are billions of active users, sentiment analysis of Social Network Service (SNS) especially has potential to see what the users are thinking of, what images they are having on some certain topics. Billions of people in the world are now using the Internet and smartphones. Thus sentiment analysis of SNS can be helpful to see opinions for many kinds of topic (e.g. TV show, concerts etc.). The EU referendum in the U.K in June 2016 showed that the result varied clearly by area in the country [5]. People in London and Scotland supported for remain but the other area did the opposite. Not only this vote in the U.K, this phenomenon was observed also in the U.S. presidential election in November 2016 [4]. The results of these votes both turned out that people even in the same country have different opinion depending on where they live. Not only a large country such as the U.S, but even in the U.K, which is way smaller than the U.S, the gap is widening. Hence, sentimental analysis of different locations is a meaningful task. In addition, we focus on four languages because even people in the same country or city speak different languages, which happens usually in many places nowadays. A psychology research [11] shows language effects on action cognition depending on the language the participant speaks or hears. According to another psychology research [8], if people speak in foreign languages they react differently when they are asked to bet on gamble. Therefore a perspective of only one language is not enough for observing trends on SNS especially in big cities where many people from different countries around the world gather. This paper proposes a system of multi-language sentiment analysis of SNS, specifically Twitter, and analyses tweets across different locations around the world. The reason why we choose Twitter is that thousands of tweets can be searched easily via Twitter API. With public available twitter data that are annotated by humans, we build classifiers to label the tweets obtained by location. We pick 12 cities where English, French, German or Spanish is spoken as the official language. We explore the difference of distribution of sentiment value between cities and languages.
HIV/AIDS Surveillance in Japan, 1984‐2000

&NA; The HIV/AIDS surveillance system in Japan, which began collecting data on the number of AIDS patients in 1984 and the number of HIV‐infected persons in 1987, has played an important role in monitoring the trend and magnitude of Japan's HIV/AIDS epidemic and its distribution across various population subgroups. However, the system lacks any personal identifiers, making it impossible to eliminate duplication or to track cases for disease progression. It also does not permit the identification of the residence of HIV‐infected persons because the residence of only the reporting physician is documented under the New Infectious Diseases Control Law, effective since April 1, 1999. The number of people with HIV/AIDS in Japan continues to grow. Among youth, sexually transmitted diseases, induced abortion, and sexual activities have shown a marked increase since the mid‐1990s. Behavioral risk of infection for both injection drug users (IDUs) and men who have sex with men (MSM) remains alarmingly high. Accurate monitoring of infection rates is critical to the planning and evaluation of treatment, care and prevention programs. Japan should restructure its HIV/AIDS surveillance system to more accurately monitor the HIV/AIDS epidemic and related risk behaviors.
Computer Assisted Mapping in Quantitative Analysis of Cerebral Positron Emission Tomograms

Surgicalor quantitative analysis of CT of the brain, an interactive FORTRAN program was developed to provide a time saving mapping procedure with high, largely user-independent reproducibility and flexible adaptation to individual anatomical variations. Program scope and functions are demonstrated, and results obtained in a group of seven normal volunteers are presented for positron emission tomography using the [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) method. Basically, the procedure is designed as a two step process: first, a region raw contour is defined geometrically on the basis of local Cartesian or polar coordinates relative to the whole brain contour; second, the final region is delimited within the raw region, in the FDG images according to relative local tissue activity. Although all parameters for mapping a brain slice are stored in a standard parameter file ensuring reproducibility and comparability, interactive control of all steps permits user-guided corrections whenever necessary. Numerical results closely correspond to the data obtained in a previous study of normal subjects with individual manual mapping; discrimination between gray and white matter is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. The program can be easily adapted to other CT technique.
Low IQ scores in schizophrenia: primary or secondary deficit?

Background: Schizophrenia is consistently associated with lower IQ compared to the IQ of control groups, or estimated premorbid IQ. It is not likely that the IQ scores deteriorate during the prodromal phase or first psychotic episode; they are already present before the onset of the prodromal phase and have been detected in childhood. Methods: We investigated cognitive functioning and IQ levels in a group of 36 patients with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. Results: The IQ scores in our sample were lower than average. The IQ showed a relation with attention, memory, speed of information processing and some aspects of executive functioning. However, when IQ scores were corrected for processing speed, they were no longer below average. Conclusions: These findings are important in considering the value of intelligence levels in schizophrenia. IQ scores should be judged in combination with cognitive functioning and school career to assess a patients capabilities in society. Cognitive functions and other variables might have a considerable influence on IQ scores. This rises the question of whether the low IQ scores are a primary or secondary deficit. Schizophrenia patients may have normal IQs, but could be less capable of making an IQ-test.
MHC class I gene expression is negatively regulated by the proto‐oncogene, c‐jun.

The trans‐acting factor AP‐1 is a heterodimeric complex composed of c‐Jun and c‐Fos family proteins which bind and regulate genes containing a TPA responsive enhancer element. Although AP‐1 binding sites have been identified within the regulatory region of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes in vitro, the role of AP‐1 in regulating MHC class I transcription in vivo has not been investigated previously. The present study demonstrates that expression of c‐Jun results in decreased MHC class I promoter activity as determined in cotransfection assays of an MHC class I reporter construct with a c‐Jun expression construct. The c‐Jun responsive element is located between bp −440 and −431 upstream of initiation of transcription as determined both functionally and by direct binding of purified c‐Jun. Furthermore, over‐expression of c‐Jun reduced the steady state levels of endogenous MHC class I RNA in murine L cells by approximately 10‐fold. These data indicate that c‐Jun/AP‐1 acts as a negative trans‐acting factor that down‐regulates MHC class I gene expression.
Calcium oscillations and protein synthesis inhibition synergistically activate mouse oocytes

We have examined the ability of the two parthenogenetic agents, strontium (Sr2+) and cycloheximide, to activate mouse oocytes. We demonstrate that Sr2+ and cycloheximide act synergistically to promote parthenogenetic activation up to the pronuclear stage in oocytes collected immediately after ovulation. These two agents appeared to act independently, since incubation in Sr2+ media triggered a series of intracellular Ca2+ rises without affecting protein synthesis and cycloheximide inhibited protein synthesis without causing any intracellular Ca2+ changes. In addition, cycloheximide did not alter the pattern of Ca2+ oscillations induced by Sr2+. In contrast, we show that another commonly used parthenogenetic activation treatment, the Ca2+ ionophore A23187, has dual effects. Exposure of oocytes to the Ca2+ ionophore, A 23187, in Ca2+‐ and Mg2+‐free medium leads to the activation of young oocytes. However, as well as generating a Ca2+ increase, the treatment of mouse oocytes with A23187 and Ca2+‐ and Mg2+‐free media led to a marked inhibition of protein synthesis. Our data show that parthenogenetic agents may have two important loci for activating mammalian oocytes and that the combined effect on Ca2+ release and protein synthesis is most effective. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Robust Antiwindup Compensation for High-Precision Tracking of a Piezoelectric Nanostage

Ultrahigh-precision tracking in nanomanipulations poses major challenges for mechanical design as well as servo control, due to the general confliction between the precision requirement and large stroke tracking. The situation is further complicated by input saturation, which is almost inevitable for microactuators. This paper presents a novel control architecture combining a parallel internal-model-based tracking design and a robust antiwindup control structure, such that asymptotic tracking can be achieved for nanoservo systems in the presence of saturation nonlinearity and model uncertainties. For the augmented system with internal-model dynamics, an I/Obased equivalent representation from control (free of saturation) to system output is derived by incorporating the dead-zone nonlinearity, saturation compensation blocks, as well internal-model units. The robustness condition on the saturation compensator is also derived based on the sector bound criterion and an H∞-optimal design is developed accordingly. The proposed robust antiwindup tracking control architecture is deployed on a customize-designed nanostage driven by a piezoelectric (PZT) actuator, where numerical simulations and real-time experiments demonstrate excellent tracking performance and saturation compensation capability, achieving tracking precision error less than 0.23%.
Hemispheric Priming in a Reading Task

Some theories of reading and of reading disorders assume that the right hemisphere plays an important role in reading. However, despite the evidence supporting the competence of the right hemisphere in recognizing isolate words, there is little direct evidence to support the claim that the right hemisphere is involved in the continuous reading of connected text. This study used a stationary window technique to present text passages in a continuous reading task. At intervals during the reading of the text, a lexical decision was required to a target projected to the left or right side of the visual field. On some trials, the target was primed by a semantic associate which appeared in the passage immediately prior to the presentation of the target. It was found that these associative primes facilitated responses to LVF and RVF targets to an equal degree. It was also found, in agreement with previous investigations, that overall RTs to LVF targets were longer than RTs to RVF targets. It is suggested that these results indicate that the right hemisphere is actively involved in the comprehension of text in normal reading. However, the right hemisphere may not acquire text information directly, but may instead receive most of its information following initial analysis and decoding by the left.