Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MiR-183 Regulates ITGB1P Expression and Promotes Invasion of Endometrial Stromal Cells

We applied in the previous study miRNA microarray screening analysis to identify several differentially expressed miRNAs, including miR-183 in normal, eutopic, and ectopic endometrium. Knockdown of miR-183 expression induced the invasiveness and inhibition of apoptosis in endometrial stromal cells. The current study aims to identify the miR-183 targets with relevance to cell functions in endometrial stromal cells, to verify the interaction of miR-183 with its target genes, and to confirm the role of miR-183 in the process of endometriosis. Using microarray analysis, we identified 27 differentially expressed genes (19 were upregulated and 8 downregulated), from which we selected 4 downregulated genes (ITGB1, AMIGO2, VAV3, and PSEN2) based on GO databases for functional analysis and significant pathway analysis. Western blotting analyses showed that integrin β1 (ITGB1), but not AMIGO2, was affected by miR-183 overexpression, whereas no protein expression of VAV3 and PSEN2 was detected. Luciferase reporter assay verified that ITGB1 is a target gene of miR-183. Moreover, we found that ITGB1 is overexpressed in the endometrium of endometriosis patients. Furthermore, overexpression of ITGB1 rescued the repressive effects of miR-183 on the invasiveness of endometrial stromal cells. These findings, together with the fact that ITGB1 is a critical factor for cell adhesion and invasiveness, suggest that miR-183 may be involved in the development of endometriosis by regulating ITGB1 in endometrial stromal cells.
The link between socioeconomic status and breast cancer-a possible explanation

The aim of this ecological study was to explore possible associations between childhood nutrition and breast cancer. The study compared heights and weights of children of different socioeconomic status and subsequent breast cancer risk in Queensland, Australia. In 1950 12-year-old girls from families of high socioeconomic status were 3 cm taller and 6.6 kg heavier than girls of the same age of lower socioeconomic status. Approximately 35 years later, age standardized mortality rates for breast cancer among all Queensland women were approximately 10% higher for women of high compared with low socioeconomic status. Taking into account the limitations of ecological studies and risk factors other than nutrition, these results are compatible with the hypothesis that there is an association between childhood nutritional experiences and subsequent risk of breast cancer.
The Rising Postgraduate Wage Premium

Despite post‐college degree holders now making up nearly 15% of the US adult workforce, studies of their labour market performance remain sparse. This is surprising given that they are the most educated group in the labour force and as, over time, they have done significantly better than all other education groups. We show a significant rise over time in the postgraduate wage premium, reflecting an increased relative demand due to their superior skill sets and occupational status. The increase in the demand for postgraduates is a key factor behind rising wage inequality within the increasingly heterogeneous college graduate workforce.
A natural representation of the Fischer-Griess Monster with the modular function J as character.

We announce the construction of an irreducible graded module V for an "affine" commutative nonassociative algebra [unk]. This algebra is an "affinization" of a slight variant [unk] of the commutative nonassociative algebra B defined by Griess in his construction of the Monster sporadic group F(1). The character of V is given by the modular function J(q) = q(-1) + 0 + 196884q +. We obtain a natural action of the Monster on V compatible with the action of [unk], thus conceptually explaining a major part of the numerical observations known as Monstrous Moonshine. Our construction starts from ideas in the theory of the basic representations of affine Lie algebras and develops further the calculus of vertex operators. In particular, the homogeneous and principal representations of the simplest affine Lie algebra A(1) ((l)) and the relation between them play an important role in our construction. As a corollary we deduce Griess's results, obtained previously by direct calculation, about the algebra structure of B and the action of F(1) on it. In this work, the Monster, a finite group, is defined and studied by means of a canonical infinite-dimensional representation.
Design and Development of an Emotional Interaction Robot, Mung

The purpose of this study is to develop an interactive and emotional robot that is designed with passive characteristics and a delicate interaction concept using the interaction response: 'Bruises and complexion color due to emotional stimuli'. In order to overcome the mismatch of cue realism issues that cause the Uncanny Valley, an emotional interaction robot, Mung, was developed with a simple design composed of a body and two eyes. Mung could recognize human emotions from human–robot or human–human verbal communications. The developed robot expresses its emotions according to its emotional state modeled by a mass-spring-damper system with an elastic-hysteresis spring. The robot displays a bruise when it is in a negative emotional state, the same as a human becomes bruised when being physically hurt, and the robot shows a natural complexion when its emotional wound is removed. The effectiveness of the emotional expression using color with the concepts of bruising and complexion colors is qualified, and the feasibility of the developed robot was tested in several exhibitions and field trials.
Activation of the DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase by Drug-Induced and Radiation-Induced DNA Strand Breaks

Abstract Mårtensson, S. Nygren, J. Osheroff, N. and Hammarsten, O. Activation of the DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase by Drug-Induced and Radiation-Induced DNA Strand Breaks. Radiat. Res. 160, 291–301 (2003). The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is a DNA-end activated protein kinase that is required for efficient repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and for normal resistance to ionizing radiation. DNA-PK is composed of a DNA-binding subunit, Ku, and a catalytic subunit, DNA-PKcs (PRKDC). We have previously shown that PRKDC is activated when the enzyme interacts with the terminal nucleotides of a DSB. These nucleotides are often damaged when DSBs are introduced by anticancer agents and could therefore prevent recognition by DNA-PK. To determine whether DNA-PK could recognize DNA strand breaks generated by agents used in the treatment of cancer, we damaged plasmid DNA with anticancer drugs and ionizing radiation. The DNA breaks were tested for the ability to activate purified DNA-PK. The data indicate that DSBs produced by bleomycin, calicheamicin and two types of ionizing radiation (137Cs γ rays and N7+ ions: high and low linear energy transfer, respectively) activate DNA-PK to levels matching the kinase activation obtained with simple restriction endonuclease-induced DSBs. In contrast, the protein-linked DSBs produced by etoposide and topoisomerase II failed to bind and activate DNA-PK. Our findings indicate that DNA-PK recognizes DSBs regardless of chemical complexity but cannot recognize the protein-linked DSBs produced by etoposide and topoisomerase II.
Is Social Assistance Contributing to Higher Informality in Turkey?

Although still low for European standards, investments in Social Assistance (SA) transfers in Turkey have been increasing in recent years. The government is expanding access to subsidized health for individuals in the informal sector through a rapid expansion of the Green Card program. Generous non-contributory programs, such as the Green Card, may create perverse incentives for individuals to join or remain in the informal sector as they can access free services without paying taxes and/or contributions, thus potentially being able to get higher “net” labor earnings than in the formal sector. Despite the fact that the Green Card is a large and generous program offered to individuals in the informal sector, empirical analysis in this report does not find an actual impact of the program (or of its rapid expansion) on informality. The reason behind this finding is the existence of a very large differential in wages between formal and informal workers explained by differences worker’s productivity. Low-wage workers facing the possibility to move from the informal sector to the formal sector would have strong incentives to do so even if this would imply losing all SA benefits. As such, the expected monetary and job security gains of having a formal job dominate those of having an informal job even after accounting for SA transfers.
Dynamics of aboveground phytomass of the circumpolar Arctic tundra during the past three decades

Numerous studies have evaluated the dynamics of Arctic tundra vegetation throughout the past few decades, using remotely sensed proxies of vegetation, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). While extremely useful, these coarse-scale satellite-derived measurements give us minimal information with regard to how these changes are being expressed on the ground, in terms of tundra structure and function. In this analysis, we used a strong regression model between NDVI and aboveground tundra phytomass, developed from extensive field-harvested measurements of vegetation biomass, to estimate the biomass dynamics of the circumpolar Arctic tundra over the period of continuous satellite records (1982–2010). We found that the southernmost tundra subzones (C–E) dominate the increases in biomass, ranging from 20 to 26%, although there was a high degree of heterogeneity across regions, floristic provinces, and vegetation types. The estimated increase in carbon of the aboveground live vegetation of 0.40 Pg C over the past three decades is substantial, although quite small relative to anthropogenic C emissions. However, a 19.8% average increase in aboveground biomass has major implications for nearly all aspects of tundra ecosystems including hydrology, active layer depths, permafrost regimes, wildlife and human use of Arctic landscapes. While spatially extensive on-the-ground measurements of tundra biomass were conducted in the development of this analysis, validation is still impossible without more repeated, long-term monitoring of Arctic tundra biomass in the field.
Transmission of visceral leishmaniasis by blood transfusion in hamsters.

We have studied the transmission of visceral leishmaniasis by blood transfusion in the CB hamster model. Five normal CB hamsters (females, 2.5 months old) received a 0.1-ml blood transfusion from a donor that had been infected with 10(7) amastigotes of Leishmania donovani 90 days prior to the blood harvest. The development of the disease in transfused animals was monitored by the increase in anti-Leishmania serum antibodies, splenomegaly, and spleen and liver parasitic burdens. The transfused hamsters developed all the typical signs of the disease, i.e., ascites, cachexia and death. The scores of anti-Leishmania antibodies (1.345) and the level of parasite load (spleen Leishman Donovan units of Stauber (LDU) = 471, liver LDU = 378) in transfuse hamsters were similar to those observed in hamsters experimentally infected with 10(7) amastigotes (P > 0.05, Student t-test). Our results demonstrate that blood transfusion is an effective route for transmission of visceral leishmaniasis, and we point out that adequate precautions should be taken at blood banks in the regions where leishmaniasis is endemic.
Research Note

A procedure is described for turning an elite cross-sectional survey into a panel study — even when no records exist that link individuals to their original questionnaires — and that also protects the respondents' anonymity. This method is used to add a second wave onto the Foreign Policy Leadership Project's 1988 cross-sectional survey. The procedure allows researchers to gather panel data after an unexpected and momentous event, so that they can document how individuals responded to the event.
Information retrieval in metal music sub-genres

Digital music platforms use meta-data based information retrieval systems for offering songs to users for their own taste of music. According to this system, songs that are labeled by other users are compared to songs that user listened and similar labeled songs are retrived in the process. In this situtation, information retrieval is independent from song content and subjective. To achieve objectivity, content based information retrieval systems are needed. In this study, a content-based music retrieval system based on one dimensional local binary pattern features which are extracted from audio data is proposed. Instead of retrieving different music genres, retrieval is applied on metal music sub-genres which have not been studied before and results are reported.
Union Free-riding in Britain and New Zealand

The percentage of workers who choose not to join the union available to them at their workplace has been rising in Britain and New Zealand. Using comparable data for both countries this article shows factors such as perceptions of union instrumentality, the number of problems employees have at work, social custom, ideological convictions, and the costs of union joining all influence the propensity to free-ride. Employer-inspired policies substituting for unionization play no role. Having accounted for all these factors, free-riding remains more common in New Zealand than in Britain.
Does Product Differentiation Explain the Increase in Exports of Transition Countries?

This paper analyzes the increase in transition countries' exports to their nontraditional trade partners. It uses four different measures of product differentiation to determine the extent to which dynamics in product variety explain this phenomenon. It is found that opening up to new trade partners, at first, increases the number of sectors in which trade occurs. This is followed by a brief period of specialization in selected sectors, and finally, an increase in the number of varieties of products in these sectors. It is also found that the increase in product variety in Central and East European country (CEEC) exports has been much more substantial than it has been in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), consistent with a much larger reorientation of CEEC trade with nontraditional partners.
The industrialisation of software production - a knowledge management perspective

ion may serve to make it easier to create the components that will form the solution as a whole, but abstraction will not address the emergent property of software as described above – this can only be addressed in the realisation of the software – i.e. the way in which the software is actually implemented. Domain specific languages, which will be discussed later, are an attempt to cater to some degree for emergent properties in software. 3.1. 2 Conformity The conformity property of software development refers to the heterogeneous environments in which software is required to function, and to the multiple and differing requirements imposed on software products. The conformity issue arises from a number of different root causes. On the one hand is the requirement imposed by the fact that software is a late arrival on the scene, and has to conform to existing legal requirements, user expectations, budgetary constraints, existing data formats, and so forth. Another root cause is the nature of functional and non-functional requirements. Functional requirements may stipulate that a particular piece of software has to be able to interface to two widely differing existing software systems. Non-functional requirements may stipulate that the software should be able to function on a variety of different operating systems, for example Mac OS and Windows. The complexities introduced by certain environmental factors such as legislative and regulatory requirements constitute an irreducible complication in the software development context, since no amount of engineering or design can cater for requirements which can be arbitrarily imposed by agencies that are outside the development or design context. These complexities are not unique to the software development process, but are also present in a large number of other industries, such as the construction and engineering industries. The challenge of conformity that is specific to the software development industry is focused on the multi-platform issue, and on software-specific non-functional requirements. Non-functional requirements for software include the following: 43 Abran, A. , Moore, J., W. (eds). 2004. Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge p. 2-3
Retrenching Incapacity Benefit: Employment Support Allowance and Paid Work

In October 2008 in the UK Incapacity Benefit (IB) (the main income replacement benefit for sick and disabled claimants) was replaced by the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for new claimants. Drawing upon recent work on the retrenchment of welfare benefits and services this paper examines the context for the changes, the marketisation of the job placement services for ESA claimants and the extension of conditionality to sick and disabled benefit claimants. The paper argues that the introduction of ESA is a good example of the retrenchment of benefits for the majority of sick and disabled people. The paper concludes that ESA can be interpreted as creating a group of disadvantaged people through which the private sector can profit.
The Ecotourium Concept and Tourism-Conservation Symbiosis

The credibility of contemporary ecotourism is threatened by the global dominance of a model that minimally fulfils the three core criteria – nature-based attractions, learning opportunities, ecological and sociocultural sustainability – that characterise this sector. A more rigorous ‘comprehensive’ model is better capable of fulfilling ecotourism’s potential to achieve sustainable outcomes, but only if this model embraces both the hard and soft dimensions of the sector. Based on the latter premise and informed by the principles of complexity, knowledge sharing and interdisciplinarity, we propose the development of an international network of protected areas ‘ecotouriums’ that is designed to stimulate positive socioeconomic change within local communities and maintain and improve the ecological health of protected areas. Cornerstone themes that enable the ecotourium concept are research and education, ecological health, community participation and development, and partnerships.
Male Genital Tract Chlamydial Infection: Implications for Pathology and Infertility1

Abstract Chlamydia trachomatis infections are prevalent worldwide, but current research, screening, and treatment are focused on females, with the burden of disease and infertility sequelae considered to be a predominantly female problem. The prevalence of chlamydial infection, however, is similar in males and females. Furthermore, a role for this pathogen in the development of male urethritis, epididymitis, and orchitis is widely accepted. The role of Chlamydia in the development of prostatitis is controversial, but we suggest that Chlamydia is an etiological agent, with incidences of up to 39.5% reported in patients with prostatitis. Infection of the testis and prostate is implicated in a deterioration of sperm, possibly affecting fertility. Chlamydia infections also may affect male fertility by directly damaging the sperm, because sperm parameters, proportion of DNA fragmentation, and acrosome reaction capacity are impaired with chlamydial infection. Furthermore, the proportion of male partners of infertile couples with evidence of a Chlamydia infection is greater than that documented in the general population. An effect of male chlamydial infection on the fertility of the female partner also has been reported. Thus, the need for a vaccine to protect both males and females is proposed. The difficulty arises because the male reproductive tract is an immune-privileged site that can be disrupted, potentially affecting spermatogenesis, if inappropriate inflammatory responses are provoked. Examination of responses to infection in humans and in experimental animal models suggest that an immunoglobulin A-inducing vaccine will be able to target the male reproductive tract effectively while avoiding harmful inflammatory responses that may impair fertility.
Connecting hygroscopic growth at high humidities to cloud activation for different particle types

This work recompiles studies that have been done with respect to hygroscopic growth in the regime of high relative humidities and with respect to activation for different kinds of particle at LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator) during the last few years. The particles examined consisted of a mixture of succinic acid and ammonium sulfate, seawater samples, soot coated with an organic and/or an inorganic substance, and two different atmospheric HULIS (HUmic LIke Substance) samples. An influence of changing non-ideal behavior and of slightly soluble substances on the hygroscopic growth was found in varying degrees in the subsaturation regime. The measured hygroscopic growth was extrapolated towards supersaturation, using a simple form of the Köhler equation, and assuming a constant number of molecules/ions in solution for high relative humidities (≥95% or ≥98%, depending on the particles). When the surface tension of water was used, the modeled critical supersaturations reproduced the measured ones for the seawater samples and for the coated soot particles. To reach agreement between measured and modeled critical supersaturations for the HULIS particles, a concentration-dependent surface tension had to be used, with values of the surface tension that were lower than that of water, but larger than those that had been reported for bulk measurements in the past.
Learning Expressive Performance Rules in Jazz

If-then rules are one of the most expressive and intuitive knowledge representations and their application to represent musical knowledge raises particularly interesting questions. In this paper we present a machine learning approach for inducing rules of expressive music performance from real performances of Jazz standards. It turns out that some of the induced rules represent extremely simple principles which are surpris-
Perceived Clientelism: Effects on Residents' Evaluation of Municipal Services and Their Intentions for Participation in Tourism Development Projects

Provision of public participation in the process of tourism planning and implementation has been imperatively suggested. To date, however, facilitators and inhibitors of public participation have not been adequately addressed in tourism planning literature. This article proposes that in addition to varied structural and cultural factors, residents' perceptions of the intensity of clientelist relations engaged in by the local authority (e.g., municipality) may alienate active public participation in developmental issues. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypothesized links between perceived intensity of clientelism, residents' assessment of public services, and their participation intentions toward municipality-run projects. Statistically significant inverse relationships between perceived intensity of clientelism and residents' assessment of public services are identified. The results show that an increase in perceived clientelism would result in a decrease in residents'public service asses.