Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integration of Friend murine leukemia virus into both alleles of the p53 oncogene in an erythroleukemic cell line

The Friend virus-transformed erythroleukemic cell line DP16-9B4 has undergone a complex rearrangement of the p53 oncogene and lacks any detectable expression of the p53 protein. We report here characterization of both p53 alleles in this cell line and identify independent integrations of Friend murine leukemia virus sequences into the coding region of both alleles.
Expression of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor in Acute Ischemic Myocardial Injury

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a key mediator in inflammatory or immune-mediated diseases, although its role in heart diseases is unknown. This study investigated the expression of MIF in the myocardium in the development of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). By use of immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, RT-PCR, and in situ hybridization, the gene and protein expression of MIF in the heart at 6 hr, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, and 2 weeks after AMI was studied. In both normal and sham-operated rats, MIF mRNA and protein were expressed constitutively at low levels by the myocytes. By contrast, MIF mRNA was rapidly upregulated by the surviving myocytes in the infarcted region and, to a lesser extent, the non-infarcted region, accounting for a sevenfold increase at 6 hr after AMI (p<0.001). This was followed by a fourfold increase in MIF protein expression at day 1 after AMI (p<0.05). Macrophages were found accumulated in the infarcted region, being significant at day 1 (p<0.01) and progressive increased over the 2-week time course (p<0.01) in which MIF was found expressed in these cells. The results indicated that the infiltrating macrophages and myocytes were sources of MIF in the infarcted region. The latter cells became activated and involved in the amplification of inflammatory response in AMI. Therefore, upregulation of myocardial MIF may contribute to macrophage accumulation in the infarcted region and their pro-inflammatory role may participate in the myocyte damage seen in AMI.
Multiple Roles of APC and its Therapeutic Implications in Colorectal Cancer

Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) is widely accepted as a tumor suppressor gene highly mutated in colorectal cancers (CRC). Mutation and inactivation of this gene is a key and early event almost uniquely observed in colorectal tumorigenesis. Alterations in the APC gene generate truncated gene products, leading to activation of the Wnt signaling pathway and deregulation of multiple other cellular processes. It has been a mystery why most patients with CRC retain a truncated APC protein, but accumulating evidence suggest that these C terminally truncated APC proteins may have gain of function properties beyond the well-established loss of tumor suppressive function. Here, we will review the evidence for both the loss of function and the gain of function of APC truncations and how together they contribute to CRC initiation and progression.
Assessing Blackmouth Shiner (Notropis melanostomus) habitat in the Pascagoula River using a habitat inundation index based on time series Landsat data

This Honors Thesis-Unrestricted is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Honors Thesis-Unrestricted in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself.
Classification of EEG signals for epileptic seizure evaluation

Feature extraction and classification of biosignals is an important issue in development of disease diagnostic expert system (DDES). In this paper we propose a simple method for EEG classification based on Fourier features. Parameters like energy, entropy, power, and kurtosis were considered for discrimination of various categories of EEG signals. After calculating the above mentioned parameters of the discussed signals, we found that without going for rigorous time-frequency domain analysis, only frequency based analysis is well suitable to classify various EEG signals.
A Compact Dual Band-Notched Circular Ring Printed Monopole Antenna for Super wideband Applications

In this article, a simple and compact dual bandnotched (DBN) super wideband (SWB) printed monopole antenna (PMA) has been proposed. The proposed antenna composed of a circular PMA, which is connected through a 50-Ω triangular tapered microstrip fed line (TTMFL) and a round-cornered finite ground plane (RCFGP). It exhibit s a very wide frequency band from 1.6–25 GHz (ratio bandwidth of 15.63:1) with a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) ≤2. By employing a U-shaped parasitic element (USPE) near the RCFGP and a T-shaped protruded stub (TSPS) inside the radiating patch, a single band-notched (SBN) characteristic in the frequency band of 3.2–4.4 GHz (WiMAX/C-band) is generated. In order to realize the second band-notched function for X-band satellite communication systems (7.2–8.4 GHz), a U-shaped slot (USS) has been inserted in the RCFGP. The overall dimension of the proposed antenna is 24×30×0.787 mm and occupies a relatively small space compared to the existing DBN antennas. Good agreement has been attained between predicted and measured results.
Doxycycline treatment prevents alveolar destruction in VEGF‐deficient mouse lung

In vivo lung‐targeted VEGF gene inactivation results in pulmonary cell apoptosis, airspace enlargement, and increased lung compliance consistent with an emphysema‐like phenotype. The predominant hypothesis for the cause of lung destruction in emphysema is an imbalance between active lung protease and anti‐protease molecules. Therefore, we investigated the role of protease (e.g., matrix metalloproteinases—MMPs) and anti‐protease (e.g., tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases—TIMPs) expression in contributing to the lung structural remodeling observed in pulmonary‐VEGF‐deficient mice. VEGFLoxP mice instilled through the trachea with an adeno‐associated virus expressing Cre recombinase (AAV/Cre) manifest airspace enlargement and a greater (P < 0.05) mean linear intercept (MLI: 44.2 ± 4.2 µm) compared to mice instilled with a control virus expressing LacZ (31.3 ± 2.5 µm). Airspace enlargement was prevented by the continuous administration of the general MMP inhibitor, doxycycline (Dox) (Cre + Dox: 32.6 ± 2.5 µm), and MLI values were not different from either control (LacZ + Dox: 30.5 ± 1.2 µm). In situ magnetic resonance imaging of VEGF gene inactivated mouse lungs revealed uneven inflation, residual trapped gas volumes upon oxygen absorption deflation/re‐inflation, and loss of parenchymal structure; effects that were largely prevented by Dox. Five weeks after AAV/Cre infection Western blot revealed a 9.9‐fold increase in pulmonary MMP‐3, and 2‐fold increases in MMP‐9 and TIMP‐2. However, the increase in MMP‐3 was prevented by Dox administration and was associated with a 2‐fold increase in serpin b5 (Maspin) expression. These results suggest that doxycycline treatment largely prevents the aberrant lung remodeling response observed in VEGF‐deficient mouse lungs and is associated with changes in protease and anti‐protease expression. J. Cell. Biochem. 104: 525–535, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Breast segmentation in MRI: quantitative evaluation of three methods

A precise segmentation of breast tissue is often required for computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) of breast MRI. Only a few methods have been proposed to automatically segment breast in MRI. Authors reported satisfactory performance, but a fair comparison has not been done yet as all breast segmentation methods were evaluated on their own data sets with different manual annotations. Moreover, breast volume overlap measures, which were commonly used for evaluations, do not seem to be adequate to accurately quantify the segmentation qualities. Breast volume overlap measures are not sensitive to small errors, such as local misalignments, because the breast appears to be much larger than other structures. In this work, two atlas-based approaches and a breast segmentation method based on Hessian sheetness filter are exhaustively evaluated and benchmarked on a data set of 52 manually annotated breast MR images. Three quantitative measures including dense tissue error, pectoral muscle error and pectoral surface distance are defined to objectively reflect the practical use of breast segmentation in CAD methods. The evaluation measures provide important evidence to conclude that the three evaluated techniques perform accurate breast segmentations. More specifically, the atlas-based methods appear to be more precise, but require larger computation time than the sheetness-based breast segmentation approach.
High serum lactate dehydrogenase level as a marker for drug resistance and short survival in multiple myeloma.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as a prognostic factor in previously untreated patients with multiple myeloma. DESIGN Study of 391 consecutive patients with uniformly treated multiple myeloma, followed until death in 63% of patients. SETTING Tertiary, referral cancer center. PATIENTS A total of 391 consecutive, previously untreated, symptomatic patients with various stages of multiple myeloma. INTERVENTION Various chemotherapy regimens that included doxorubicin or glucocorticoids, or both, with a consistent response rate (53%). MEASUREMENTS Outcomes included clinical response based on a 75% reduction of calculated tumor load and survival time from treatment. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used. MAIN RESULTS Eleven percent of patients showed a high serum LDH level of more than 5.0 mukat/L (300 U/L). An elevated LDH level was seen more frequently with a rise in the tumor load; an increased level was present in 26% of patients with high tumor mass. A high LDH level was associated with plasma cell leukemia or lymphoma-like clinical features (43%) and with plasma cell hypodiploidy (17%). Only 20% of patients with elevated LDH levels responded to chemotherapy compared with a response rate of 57% for patients with low levels of LDH. Using multivariate analysis, LDH was a significant independent predictor of response (P = 0.001), with an odds ratio of 0.25 (95% Cl, 0.11 to 0.57). A high LDH level was associated with a short median survival (9 months) and showed the highest relative risk (2.63; Cl, 1.75 to 3.95; P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Elevation of the LDH level suggests the presence of occult extraosseous disease and high tumor mass. The LDH level is a predictor of a poor prognosis in selected patients who should be considered for early intensive treatment.
Outbreak of norovirus in Västra Götaland associated with recreational activities at two lakes during August 2004

A large community outbreak of norovirus (NV) gastrointestinal infection occurred in Västra Götaland County, Sweden in August 2004, following attendance at recreational lakes. A frequency age-matched case control study was undertaken of persons who had attended these lakes to identify risk factors. 163 cases and 329 controls were included. Analysis indicates that having water in the mouth while swimming (OR = 4.7; 95% CI 1.1–20.2), attendance at the main swimming area at Delsjön Lake (OR = 25.5; 95% CI 2.5–263.8), taking water home from a fresh water spring near Delsjön lake (OR = 17.3; 95% CI 2.7–110.7) and swimming less than 20 m from shore (OR = 13.4; 95% CI 2.0–90.2) were significant risk factors. The probable vehicle was local contamination of the lake water (especially at the main swimming area). The source of contamination could not be determined
Cluster based prioritized power conservation mechanism

The large deployment of ad hoc networks is already throttled by the slow advancement of battery technology. In fact, wireless devices usually rely on portable power sources such as batteries to provide the necessary power. The use of low-power mode was adopted by many approaches in the literature to conserve energy. However, most of these approaches do not take account of the impact of such mode on network capacity and performances. In this paper, we present a synchronous power saving approach which relies on a virtual infrastructure formed by elected clusterheads and gateways to conserve network capacity. The main contribution lies on the differentiation between processed packets based on the amount of resources so far consumed. The good performance of our algorithm in terms of more energy saving and better network throughput is witnessed by extensive simulations under various traffic loads.
Stacking Faults in Formation of Silver Nanodisks

Structural investigations by using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) of silver nanodisks with different sizes are presented. The disks have a face centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure and their flat surfaces are (111). Stacking faults parallel to the (111) planes are frequently observed for the nanodisks. A unique (111) stacking fault model which is parallel to the flat (111) disk surface has been proposed to explain the observed 1/3{422} forbidden reflections in [111] SAED pattern and the corresponding 3×{422} supperlattice fringes in the [111] HRTEM image. It is suggested that the presence of the stacking faults may be the key in the formation and growth of the disk morphology. This study may provide an insight to synthetically controlling particle shape and size through defect engineering.
Ancillary Approaches to Toxicokinetic Evaluations

The principal objective of toxicokinetic studies is to assess systemic exposure of the toxicity species to test compound during nonclinical toxicity studies by generation of pharmacokinetic data on the rate, extent, and duration of exposure. Toxicokinetics are normally integrated within the toxicity studies (concomitant); however, there are a number of circumstances when prospective, retrospective, or other ancillary types of toxicokinetic studies are performed in support of toxicity studies. The need for retrospective toxicokinetic studies arises when the original toxicity study was conducted with insufficient plasma concentration determinations, especially when pilot toxicity studies show lack of toxicity or unusual organ toxicities. Examples of ancillary toxicokinetic studies from the Drug Metabolism and Drug Safety departments at The R. W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute and from the scientific literature are provided that highlight the challenges associated with these alternate approaches. Each example includes a discussion of the rationale for the supportive toxicokinetic study, the specific experimental designs, the data interpretation, and the usefulness of the toxicokinetic data in decision-making. The ancillary toxicokinetic studies cited provided important information on establishing systemic exposure during long-term toxicity studies, allowing comparisons to human exposures, elucidating compound-related toxicities, and explaining lack of toxicity due to autoinduction and resulting low levels of parent compound.
Implementation of FilmArray Respiratory Viral Panel in a Core Laboratory Improves Testing Turnaround Time and Patient Care

Abstract The FilmArray respiratory virus panel detects 15 viral agents in respiratory specimens using polymerase chain reaction. We performed FilmArray respiratory viral testing in a core laboratory at a regional children’s hospital that provides service 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The average and median turnaround time were 1.6 and 1.4 hours, respectively, in contrast to 7 and 6.5 hours documented 1 year previously at an on-site reference laboratory using a direct fluorescence assay (DFA) that detected 8 viral agents. During the study period, rhinovirus was detected in 20% and coronavirus in 6% of samples using FilmArray; these viruses would not have been detected with DFA. We followed 97 patients with influenza A or influenza B who received care at the emergency department (ED). Overall, 79 patients (81%) were given oseltamivir in a timely manner defined as receiving the drug in the ED, a prescription in the ED, or a prescription within 3 hours of ED discharge. Our results demonstrate that molecular technology can be successfully deployed in a nonspecialty, high-volume, multidisciplinary core laboratory.
Basics of Pharmacogenomics for the Nuclear Pharmacist Continuing Education for Nuclear Pharmacists And Nuclear Medicine Professionals

7 PHARMACOGENOMICS BACKGROUND AND HISTORY . 7 VARIABILITY OF DRUG ACTION IN POPULATIONS . 9 DNA . 10 CELLS AND DNA . 10 THE CENTRAL BIOLOGICAL DOGMA . 12 GENES AND GENOMICS . 12 POLYMORPHIC VARIANTS OF GENES AND DNA . 14 NOMENCLATURE ASSOCIATED WITH POLYMORPHIC VARIANTS . 16 PHARMACOKINETIC CONSIDERATIONS IMPORTANT TO PHARMACOGENOMICS . 19 PHARMACODYNAMIC CONSIDERATIONS IMPORTANT TO PHARMACOGENOMICS . 20 GENETIC VARIANTS IN DNA REPLICATION AND REPAIR GENES . 21 METHODS USED FOR PHARMACOGENOMIC ANALYSES . 23 DNA amplification methods – the Polymerase Chain Reaction . 23 DNA sequencing methods . 25 Microarray or chip analysis . 26 IDENTIFYING GENES ASSOCIATED WITH VARIATIONS IN DRUG RESPONSE . 28 ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS OF PHARMACOGENOMICS . 29 SUMMARY . 30 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 30 REFERENCES . 31 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . 33 ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS . 34
The Impact of Corporate and Personal Taxes on the Valuation of Employee Stock Options

We incorporate the impact of corporate and personal taxes into the valuation of employee stock options. We provide three new results. First, we show that the fair value of the ESO, defined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in Financial Accounting Standards (FAS) No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, as the price that a willing investor would pay for the security, is less than the value given by a call option pricing model but greater than the value given by a warrant pricing model. Second, we show that the true economic cost to the company is much less than the fair value. Third, we show that the value to the grantee is much less than the fair value, but is greater than the economic cost to the company.
Student Aid, Student Behavior, and Educational Attainment

Forty years ago, when the federal system of student loans and grants was born, about half of all recent high school graduates enrolled in college. While significant differences persist across demographic groups, we have made considerable progress in improving access to higher education. Today, two-thirds of those who complete high school enroll in two-year or four-year colleges within a year (NCES, 2013, Table 302.10). Since 1972, the percentage of adults ages 25 or older who have completed at least four years of college has increased from 12 percent to 32 percent (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014, Table A-2). 1 Despite this progress, many of those who start college never earn degrees. Among Americans ages 25 and older, 17 percent have some college but no degree (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014, Table A-4). Among students who first enrolled in college in fall 2007, less than 60 percent had completed a degree or certificate after six years. While some were still enrolled, just under one-third had left without a credential (Shapiro & Dundar, 2013). The rising price of college, increasing reliance on student debt, and the significant earnings gap between those with only some college and those who completed degrees have led to an increasing focus on improving completion rates.2 Increasing the number of adults with postsecondary credentials depends both on removing barriers to college access and on finding ways to improve completion rates. In addition to the social and economic factors shaping the lives of young people long before they reach the age when they might begin postsecondary study, the quality of postsecondary pedagogy and academic support systems, the mechanisms available for financing college, and the attitudes and behaviors of students all influence the rate at which individuals successfully complete programs of study. The financial aid system is only one part of this story. But the availability of financial subsidies, the extent to which students understand and can access the system, and the enrollment patterns it encourages all contribute to educational attainment. The issue is not just whether the money is there, but whether financial aid programs and processes are structured to maximize the impact of the available funds on student enrollment and success. This paper examines the U.S. financial aid system from the perspective of its influence on behaviors likely to affect postsecondary enrollment and success. The federal student aid system was designed to diminish financial barriers for students without sufficient resources to pay for
The Cellular TAR RNA Binding Protein, TRBP, Promotes HIV-1 Replication Primarily by Inhibiting the Activation of Double-Stranded RNA-Dependent Kinase PKR

ABSTRACT The TAR RNA binding protein, TRBP, is a cellular double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding protein that can promote the replication of HIV-1 through interactions with the viral TAR element as well as with cellular proteins that affect the efficiency of translation of viral transcripts. The structured TAR element, present on all viral transcripts, can impede efficient translation either by sterically blocking access of translation initiation factors to the 5′-cap or by activating the dsRNA-dependent kinase, PKR. Several mechanisms by which TRBP can facilitate translation of viral transcripts have been proposed, including the binding and unwinding of TAR and the suppression of PKR activation. Further, TRBP has been identified as a cofactor of Dicer in the processing of microRNAs (miRNAs), and sequestration of TRBP by TAR in infected cells has been proposed as a viral countermeasure to potential host cell RNA interference-based antiviral activities. Here, we have addressed the relative importance of these various roles for TRBP in HIV-1 replication. Using Jurkat T cells, primary human CD4+ T cells, and additional cultured cell lines, we show that depletion of TRBP has no effect on viral replication when PKR activation is otherwise blocked. Moreover, the presence of TAR-containing mRNAs does not affect the efficacy of cellular miRNA silencing pathways. These results establish that TRBP, when expressed at physiological levels, promotes HIV-1 replication mainly by suppressing the PKR-mediated antiviral response, while its contribution to HIV-1 replication through PKR-independent pathways is minimal.
Density Evolution and Thresholds for Accumulate Repeat Tree Codes in Mobile Communication Systems

Channel coding theories are widely used in computer science and communication systems. This paper proposes a novel channel coding scheme called accumulate repeat tree (ART) codes for improving the channel coding performance in mobile communication systems. This class of codes can be viewed as turbo-like codes combining many advantages of turbo codes and low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. ART codes can be represented by the Bayesian network and Tanner graph, which allows for high-speed iterative decoding implementation using belief-propagation (BP) algorithm. The density evolution method is presented, and the practicable Gaussian approximation algorithm for ART codes to analyze the thresholds and decoding performance is discussed. ART codes have low coding complexity, and they show good performance improvement by simulation.