Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heterosexual Marital Intention: Effects of Internalized Homophobia, Homosexual Identity, Perceived Family Support, and Disclosure Among Chinese Gay and Bisexual Men

ABSTRACT The present study explored the factors that influence the likelihood that 217 Chinese gay/bisexual men will engage in heterosexual marriage, focusing on the Chinese cultural context, in which filial duties to marry, have children, and support one’s parents in their old age are taken seriously. Data on heterosexual marital intention (HMI) were examined in relation to demographics, internalized homophobia, homosexual identity formation (HIF), perceived family support, and disclosure. We estimated a multinomial logistic regression model for HMI. Internalized homophobia was a predictor for HMI. Lower levels of HIF and disclosure were found in gay/bisexual men who have married or who intend to marry; and the more family support gay/bisexual men perceived, the more likely they were to enter heterosexual marriages. The findings could help to better evaluate and comprehend the factors leading to heterosexual marriages involving Chinese gay/bisexual men. The social implications of this research are also discussed.
Knockdown of sal‐like 4 expression by small interfering RNA induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancers worldwide and causes a significant amount of deaths annually. Spalt‐like transcription factor 4 is known as a transcription factor, which has an important role in the proliferation of cancerous cells. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a short‐chain molecule of 20 to 25 nucleotides that protrude on two sides of the 3′, two nucleotides. In this study, using a specific sequence of siRNA against the sequence of this gene, its activity is investigated in the cell line of breast cancer. The breast cancer cells (MCF‐7) were cultured and then, using a specific anti‐sal–like 4 (SALL4) siRNA, their toxic doses were determined. Then, the gene is transfected into the cell. Proliferation and expression of the SALL4 and BCL‐2 gene were measured using the real‐time polymerase chain reaction method. The specific concentration of siRNA IC50 of the SALL4 gene was 40.35 nmole. Gene expression results indicated that the expression of the Bcl‐2 gene in the siRNA group was significantly reduced ( P < 0.05). SiRNA can increase the apoptosis of breast cancer cells by reducing the gene expression of SALL4 gene and Bcl‐2; it can be used as a novel targeted therapy. This strategy, in addition to increasing the specificity of the drug, also reduces the side effects when compared with conventional chemotherapy.
Mangalore University INLI@FIRE2018: Artificial Neural Network and Ensemble based Models for INLI

In this paper, the systems submitted by Mangalore University team for Indian Native Language Identification (INLI) task have been described. Native Language Identification (NLI) has different applications such as social media analysis, authorship identification, secondlanguage acquisition and forensic investigation. We submitted three systems using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model and Ensemble approach. All the three submitted systems achieved the same accuracy of 35.30% and secured second rank over all submissions for the task.
Reductions in the United Kingdom's Government Housing Benefit and Symptoms of Depression in Low-Income Households

Housing security is an important determinant of mental ill health. We used a quasinatural experiment to evaluate this association, comparing the prevalence of mental ill health in the United Kingdom before and after the government's April 2011 reduction in financial support for low-income persons who rent private-sector housing (mean reduction of approximately £1,220 ($2,315) per year). Data came from the United Kingdom's Annual Population Survey, a repeated quarterly cross-sectional survey. We focused our analysis on renters in the private sector, disaggregating data between an intervention group receiving the government's Housing Benefit (n = 36,859) and a control group not receiving the Housing Benefit (n = 142,205). The main outcome was a binary measure of self-reported mental health problems. After controlling for preexisting time trends, we observed that between April 2011 and March 2013, the prevalence of depressive symptoms among private renters receiving the Housing Benefit increased by 1.8 percentage points (95% confidence interval: 1.0, 2.7) compared with those not receiving the Housing Benefit. Our models estimated that approximately 26,000 (95% confidence interval: 14,000, 38,000) people newly experienced depressive symptoms in association with the cuts to the Housing Benefit. We conclude that reducing housing support to low-income persons in the private rental sector increased the prevalence of depressive symptoms in the United Kingdom.
Prognostic evaluation of NANOG and OCT4 expression for posttransplantation hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence

Postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence and metastasis throw great threaten to its overall survival (OS). This paper focus on exploring the prognostic significance of NANOG and OCT4 expression in HCC recurrence and OS after liver transplantation. Eighty‐six patients who meet University of California San Francisco (UCSF) criteria and underwent liver transplantation in Tianjin First Central Hospital between August 2010 and August 2013 were included. Expression of NANOG and OCT4 was determined by immunohistochemistry. The relationships between NANOG and OCT4 expression with tumor recurrence, tumor count, histology stage, lymph node metastasis (LNM) and microvascular invasion (MVI) were explored through the χ2 test and Cox regression analysis. We found that 19/26 and 20/24 patients with positive expression of NANOG and OCT4 relapsed. Combination of NANOG and OCT4 expression was indicated as valuable prognostic signature for HCC recurrence prediction (P < 0.0011). Besides, we identified other key factors with significant correlations with recurrence, such as LNM (P = 0.011) and MVI (P = 0.024). Strikingly, recurrence sites could significantly affect recurrence time (P = 0.0062) and patients with recurrence in transplanted liver have longer recurrence time. In conclusions, we analyzed the relationships between NANOG/OCT4 expression, clinicopathology features, HCC recurrence, and OS after liver transplantation for the first time. Combination of NANOG, OCT4, LNM, histopathological stage, and MVI may be predictor for HCC recurrence posttransplantation. Comprehensive of histopathological stage grade and LNM were considered as prognosis factor for OS after liver transplantation. This should be helpful for treatment method selection for HCC patients after liver transplantation.
La Crosse virus: a scoping review of the global evidence

Abstract Urbanisation and climate change are altering the pattern of California serogroup viruses in North America. As La Crosse virus (LACV) is the most pathogenic of the California serogroup, it is important to identify changes in distribution, transmission and pathogenesis. A scoping review (ScR) was prioritised to summarise the global evidence on LACV. A comprehensive search strategy was used, identified references were screened for relevance and relevant articles were characterised. Each step was conducted by two independent reviewers using pre-tested forms. Analysis identified areas of research saturation and gaps. The ScR included 481 research articles that were mostly journal articles (78.2%) conducted in North America (90.9%) from 1969 to 2016. Most evidence focused on epidemiology (44.9%), virus characteristics (25.8%), transmission conditions (18.7%) and pathogenesis of LACV in hosts (18.3%). Fewer studies evaluated the accuracy of diagnostic tests (8.7%), the efficacy of treatments (3.5%), prevention and control strategies (3.1%), the economic burden of infection (0.6%) and social impact (0.2%) of LACV. None of the literature predicted the impact of climate change on LACV, nor were any cases reported in Canada. These findings are intended to guide research to close knowledge gaps and inform evidence-based decisions surrounding activities for the prevention and control of LACV.
A comparison of WISC-IV and WISC-V verbal comprehension index scores for children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract Objectives: This study aimed to explore changes in verbal comprehension subtest and index scores from Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fourth edition (WISC)-IV to WISC-V for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as the test revision dropped the subtest that has proven to be most challenging for those with ASD (i.e. Comprehension). Methods: In all, 48 children with ASD who had been assessed with WISC-IV and re-evaluated with WISC-V were included in this study. Paired samples t-tests were used to examine changes in scores between administrations. Results: Results indicated that changes in subtest scores were minimal although a statistically significant index score change occurred. Discussion: These data suggest that administering additional measures of verbal intellect to individuals with ASD (i.e. beyond the two core verbal comprehension subtests of WISC-V) is critical for capturing the totality of their strengths and weaknesses, to effectively inform treatment planning.
The antigenic identity of human class I MHC phosphopeptides is critically dependent upon phosphorylation status

Dysregulated post-translational modification provides a source of altered self-antigens that can stimulate immune responses in autoimmunity, inflammation, and cancer. In recent years, phosphorylated peptides have emerged as a group of tumour-associated antigens presented by MHC molecules and recognised by T cells, and represent promising candidates for cancer immunotherapy. However, the impact of phosphorylation on the antigenic identity of phosphopeptide epitopes is unclear. Here we examined this by determining structures of MHC-bound phosphopeptides bearing canonical position 4-phosphorylations in the presence and absence of their phosphate moiety, and examining phosphopeptide recognition by the T cell receptor (TCR). Strikingly, two peptides exhibited major conformational changes upon phosphorylation, involving a similar molecular mechanism, which focussed changes on the central peptide region most critical for T cell recognition. In contrast, a third epitope displayed little conformational alteration upon phosphorylation. In addition, binding studies demonstrated TCR interaction with an MHC-bound phosphopeptide was both epitope-specific and absolutely dependent upon phosphorylation status. These results highlight the critical influence of phosphorylation on the antigenic identity of naturally processed class I MHC epitopes. In doing so they provide a molecular framework for understanding phosphopeptide-specific immune responses, and have implications for the development of phosphopeptide antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy approaches.
Disruption of DNA repair in cancer cells by ubiquitination of a destabilising dimerization domain of nucleotide excision repair protein ERCC1

DNA repair pathways present in all cells serve to preserve genome stability, but in cancer cells they also act reduce the efficacy of chemotherapy. The endonuclease ERCC1-XPF has an important role in the repair of DNA damage caused by a variety of chemotherapeutic agents and there has been intense interest in the use of ERCC1 as a predictive marker of therapeutic response in non-small cell lung carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and ovarian cancer. We have previously validated ERCC1 as a therapeutic target in melanoma, but all small molecule ERCC1-XPF inhibitors reported to date have lacked sufficient potency and specificity for clinical use. In an alternative approach to prevent the repair activity of ERCC1-XPF, we investigated the mechanism of ERCC1 ubiquitination and found that the key region was the C-terminal (HhH)2 domain which heterodimerizes with XPF. This ERCC1 region was modified by non-conventional lysine-independent, but proteasome-dependent polyubiquitination, involving Lys33 of ubiquitin and a linear ubiquitin chain. XPF was not polyubiquitinated and its expression was dependent on presence of ERCC1, but not vice versa. To our surprise we found that ERCC1 can also homodimerize through its C-terminal (HhH)2 domain. We exploited the ability of a peptide containing this C-terminal domain to destabilise both endogenous ERCC1 and XPF in human melanoma cells and fibroblasts, resulting in reductions of up to 85% in nucleotide excision repair and near two-fold increased sensitivity to DNA damaging agents. We suggest that the ERCC1 (HhH)2 domain could be used in an alternative strategy to treat cancer.
Meropenem and ciprofloxacin in complicated gastric surgery for cancer patients: A simple SPE-UHPLC-PDA method for their determination in human plasma.

A simple and rapid ultra-high-performance liquid chromatographic (UHPLC) for the simultaneous determination of meropenem and ciprofloxacin in human plasma was developed and validated. All of the analytes were separated in <5 min. A solid-phase extraction method was applied from sample preparation. Analytical separation was performed on a Poroshell SB C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm, 2.7 μm particle size) with photodiode array (PDA) detection. Meropenem and ciprofloxacin were determined at wavelengths of 300 and 277 nm, respectively. The mobile phase was a mixture of acetonitrile-10 mm ammonium acetate-methanol in gradient elution. The method has been validated for both drugs in gastric surgery for cancer patients. The method showed good linearity with correlation coefficients, r2 = 0.994 for the two drugs, as well as high precision (RSD < 10.5% in each case); accuracy ranged from -5.8 to +6.0%. The limit of quantitation of the two drugs was established at 0.02 and 0.01 μg/mL, respectively. Meropenem, ciprofloxacin and the internal standard were extracted from human plasma with a mean recovery ranging from 92.5 to 98.6%. The method was applied to quantify the drugs dosage in complicated gastric surgery patients.
ESTERR-PRO: A Setup Verification Software System Using Electronic Portal Imaging

The purpose of the paper is to present and evaluate the performance of a new software-based registration system for patient setup verification, during radiotherapy, using electronic portal images. The estimation of setup errors, using the proposed system, can be accomplished by means of two alternate registration methods. (a) The portal image of the current fraction of the treatment is registered directly with the reference image (digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR) or simulator image) using a modified manual technique. (b) The portal image of the current fraction of the treatment is registered with the portal image of the first fraction of the treatment (reference portal image) by applying a nearly automated technique based on self-organizing maps, whereas the reference portal has already been registered with a DRR or a simulator image. The proposed system was tested on phantom data and on data from six patients. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the setup estimates was 0.8 ± 0.3 (mean value ± standard deviation) for the phantom data and 0.3 ± 0.3 for the patient data, respectively, by applying the two methodologies. Furthermore, statistical analysis by means of the Wilcoxon nonparametric signed test showed that the results that were obtained by the two methods did not differ significantly (P value > 0.05).
An Extracellular Subtilase Switch for Immune Priming in Arabidopsis

In higher eukaryotes, induced resistance associates with acquisition of a priming state of the cells for a more effective activation of innate immunity; however, the nature of the components for mounting this type of immunological memory is not well known. We identified an extracellular subtilase from Arabidopsis, SBT3.3, the overexpression of which enhances innate immune responses while the loss of function compromises them. SBT3.3 expression initiates a durable autoinduction mechanism that promotes chromatin remodeling and activates a salicylic acid(SA)-dependent mechanism of priming of defense genes for amplified response. Moreover, SBT3.3 expression-sensitized plants for enhanced expression of the OXI1 kinase gene and activation of MAP kinases following pathogen attack, providing additional clues for the regulation of immune priming by SBT3.3. Conversely, in sbt3.3 mutant plants pathogen-mediated induction of SA-related defense gene expression is drastically reduced and activation of MAP kinases inhibited. Moreover, chromatin remodeling of defense-related genes normally associated with activation of an immune priming response appear inhibited in sbt3.3 plants, further indicating the importance of the extracellular SBT3.3 subtilase in the establishment of immune priming. Our results also point to an epigenetic control in the regulation of plant immunity, since SBT3.3 is up-regulated and priming activated when epigenetic control is impeded. SBT3.3 represents a new regulator of primed immunity.
A Clinical Study Comparing the Diagnostic Performance of Assist Strain Ratio Against Manual Strain Ratio in Ultrasound Breast Elastography

Objective Strain ratio (SR) is a semiquantitative parameter in differentiating benign from malignant tumors in breast ultrasound elastography. Currently, SR is computed manually and, thus, user dependent. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a new tool assist strain ratio (ASR) and determine how it performs compared with an expert sonologist. Methods Ninety-one patients scheduled for breast biopsy were included in this institutional review board–approved/Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant study. For manual strain ratio (MSR), fat and lesion were manually outlined, whereas for ASR, the clinician indicated the lesion center and the fat-to-lesion ratio is computed automatically. Three measurements were obtained for each lesion. The same raw data were used to calculate the MSR and ASR. Results The SR thresholds to differentiate benign from malignant tumors were determined using the Youden index. For MSR, the cutoff was 2.7, and for ASR was 2.8. The MSR showed a sensitivity of 88%, specificity of 64%, accuracy of 77%, positive predictive value of 72%, and negative predictive value of 92.1%. Corresponding ASR showed a sensitivity of 86%, specificity of 76%, accuracy of 81%, positive predictive value of 79%, and negative predictive value of 84%. The areas under the curve for the MSR and ASR were 0.83 and 0.85, respectively. The average coefficients of variation for the MSR and ASR measurements were 43% and 30%, respectively. Conclusion Assist strain ratio demonstrated similar diagnostic performance compared with MSR. In addition, the coefficient of variation of ASR is lower, implying lower intraoperator dependency. Thus, ASR may aid less-experienced scanners in obtaining improved results.
International Willingness to Pay for the Protection of the Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon rainforest, the world's largest tropical rainforest and an important constituent of the global biosphere, continues degrading by rapid deforestation, which is expected to continue despite policies to prevent it. Current international funding to protect the Amazon rainforest focuses on benefits from reduced carbon emissions. This paper examines an additional rationale for Amazon protection: the valuation of its biodiversity and forests as natural heritage to the international community. To measure the economic value of this benefit, the paper examines U.S. and Canadian households' willingness to pay to help finance Amazon rainforest protection. The analysis finds that mean willingness to pay to avoid forest losses projected to occur by 2050 despite current protective policies is $92 per household per year. Aggregating across all households and considering the area protected, the analysis finds that preserving the Amazon rainforest is worth $3,168 per hectare (95-percent confidence interval $1,580-$4,756), on average, to households in the United States and Canada. Considering households in other developed countries would generate yet larger estimates of aggregate value, likely comparable to the carbon benefits from rainforest protection. The results reveal high values of the Amazon rainforest to people geographically distanced from it, lending support to international efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon.
Microarray, IPA and GSEA Analysis in Mice Models

This protocol details a method to analyze two tissue samples at the transcriptomic level using microarray analysis, ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Methods such as these provide insight into the mechanisms underlying biological differences across two samples and thus can be applied to interrogate a variety of processes across different tissue samples, conditions, and the like. The full method detailed below can be applied to determine the effects of muscle-specific Notch1 activation in the mdx mouse model and to analyze previously published microarray data of human liposarcoma cell lines.
Zone identification based on features with high semantic richness and combining results of separate classifiers

ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose a new approach to zone identification which is based on considering features with high semantic richness. Out of the scenarios of selecting features for identifying a zone based on classifying the sentences in a text, we came to notice that in the scenario where specialized names belonging to a text’s domain and mode of the verbs together with reduced versions of conventional features, including history, are taken into account, an accuracy rate of 61% (resp. 81%) is obtained which is higher than that belonging to Liakata’s (resp. Fisas’s) approach. Also, to have a genuine comparison, both Liakata’s and Fisas’s corpora are used in our experiments. Such accuracy is obtained at the place where less computational cost for extracting the features was decreased. In order to improve the accuracy of zone identification, a decision-level fusion process based on combining the results of separate classifiers, was considered. With regard to this, two fusion techniques of ‘majority voting’ and ‘average of probabilities’ were used. Experimentations show the fact that ensemble of ‘Logistic Regression’, ‘Support Vector Machine’ and ‘Neural Network’ as classifiers yields the best performance. Also ‘majority voting’ was shown to perform a bit better than ‘average of probabilities’.