Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lapatinib, a Preventive/Therapeutic Agent against Mammary Cancer, Suppresses RTK-Mediated Signaling through Multiple Signaling Pathways

Activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) plays a key role in the prognosis of mammary cancer. Lapatinib is a small molecule dual RTK inhibitor that targets epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Identifying the protein targets involved in the effects of lapatinib and other RTK inhibitors might help determine why preventive efficacy varies. In this study, female Sprague-Dawley rats were given methylnitrosourea (MNU) by intravenous injection resulting in the development of multiple estrogen receptor–positive tumors. Treatment with lapatinib beginning 5 days after MNU was highly effective in preventing cancer development. In addition, we treated rats with palpable mammary tumors with lapatinib daily. In these tumor-bearing animals, treatment continued for 42 days and therapeutic results were obtained. Some rats bearing cancers were treated for 5 days, and the resulting lesions were examined for biomarker modulation. Lapatinib effectively suppressed the abundance of HER2, phosphorylated HER2 (Tyr1221/1222), and phosphorylated EGFR (Tyr1173, Tyr1110) compared with tumors from untreated rats. Protein array analyses allowed parallel determination of the effect of lapatinib on the relative levels of protein phosphorylation and proteins associated with apoptosis. These results combined with immunoreactivity data indicated that, in addition to EGFR and HER2, lapatinib treatment was associated with changes in a number of other signaling molecules, including IGF-1R, Akt, and downstream targets such as GSK3, p27, p53, and cyclin D1 presumably leading to impaired proliferation, apoptosis, or cell-cycle arrest. Cancer Prev Res; 4(8); 1190–7. ©2011 AACR.
Effects of Bifidobacterium Breve Feeding Strategy and Delivery Modes on Experimental Allergic Rhinitis Mice

Background Different delivery modes may affect the susceptibility to allergic diseases. It is still unknown whether early intervention with probiotics would counteract this effect. Objectives The effect of different delivery modes on immune status and nasal symptoms was investigated on established allergic rhinitis (AR) mouse model. In addition, the immunoregulatory effects and mechanisms of different feeding manners with Bifidobacterium breve(B. breve) were examined. Methods Live lyophilized B. breve was orally administered to BALB/c mice born via vaginal delivery(VD) or cesarean delivery (CD) for 8 consecutive weeks, after which they were sensitized by ovalbumin(OVA) to establish experimental AR. Nasal symptoms, serum immunoglobulins, cytokines, splenic percentages of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T(Treg) cells and nasal eosinophil infiltration were evaluated. Results Compared with VD mice, mice delivered via CD demonstrated more serious nasal symptoms, higher concentrations of OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E, more nasal eosinophils and lower percentages of splenic CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells after establishing experimental AR. These parameters were reversed by administering B. breves hortly after birth. However, the effect of B. breve did not differ between different delivery modes. Conclusion CD aggravates the nasal symptoms of AR mice compared to VD. This is the first report that oral administration of B. breve shortly after birth can significantly alleviate the symptoms of AR mice born via both deliveries, probably via activation of the regulatory capacity of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells.
A Practical Approach to Language Complexity: A Wikipedia Case Study

In this paper we present statistical analysis of English texts from Wikipedia. We try to address the issue of language complexity empirically by comparing the simple English Wikipedia (Simple) to comparable samples of the main English Wikipedia (Main). Simple is supposed to use a more simplified language with a limited vocabulary, and editors are explicitly requested to follow this guideline, yet in practice the vocabulary richness of both samples are at the same level. Detailed analysis of longer units (n-grams of words and part of speech tags) shows that the language of Simple is less complex than that of Main primarily due to the use of shorter sentences, as opposed to drastically simplified syntax or vocabulary. Comparing the two language varieties by the Gunning readability index supports this conclusion. We also report on the topical dependence of language complexity, that is, that the language is more advanced in conceptual articles compared to person-based (biographical) and object-based articles. Finally, we investigate the relation between conflict and language complexity by analyzing the content of the talk pages associated to controversial and peacefully developing articles, concluding that controversy has the effect of reducing language complexity.
Artificial intelligence in medicine. Where do we stand?

After hearing for several decades that computers will soon be able to assist with difficult diagnoses, the practicing physician may well wonder why the revolu? tion has not occurred. Skepticism at this point is understandable. Few, if any, programs currently have active roles as consultants to physicians. The story behind these unfulfilled expectations is instructive and, we believe, offers hope for the future. Research on computer-aided diagnosis began in the 1960s with high hopes that difficult clinical problems might yield to mathematical formalisms. Most work therefore centered on the application of flow charts, Boolean algebra, pattern matching, and decision analysis to the diagnostic process.1 Except in extremely narrow clinical domains, each of these techniques proved to have little or no practical value. Most observers came to believe that for a program to have expert capability, it must in some fashion mimic the behavior of experts. Early work on computer-aided diagnosis was thus largely discarded, and in the early 1970s attention shifted to the study of the actual problem-solving behav *This article is reprinted, with permission, from 316 New Eng. J. Med. 685 (March 27, 1987). Dr. Schwartz is at the Tufts University School of Medicine. Drs. Patil and Szolovits are at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The citation form of the original has been
Effective Dual Sourcing with a Single Index Policy

We consider a single stage periodic-review inventory system with backorders and dual sourcing: Replenishment can occur through a regular channel and/or a more expensive expedited channel with a smaller lead time. Globally optimal policies for these problems are in general highly complex; we therefore introduce a simple class of heuristic base stock policies. We call our class of policies the single index policies, as they require maintaining only one system statistic. We derive simple expressions for optimal single index parameters, enabling us to analytically find the optimal single index policy (by solving a newsvendor problem) in less than a second. Despite its simplicity, we establish computationally that the single index policy can be highly effective, especially on large problems. In this case it is comparable in performance to the more complex dual index heuristic, which has been shown in the literature to perform within a few percent of the optimal solution. Moreover, we demonstrate when dual sourcing can achieve significant savings compared to single sourcing, and establish that for our model single sourcing with the expedited supplier is never optimal.
PAC-Bayesian Inequalities for Martingales

We present a set of high-probability inequalities that control the concentration of weighted averages of multiple (possibly uncountably many) simultaneously evolving and interdependent martingales. Our results extend the PAC-Bayesian (probably approximately correct) analysis in learning theory from the i.i. d. setting to martingales opening the way for its application to importance weighted sampling, reinforcement learning, and other interactive learning domains, as well as many other domains in probability theory and statistics, where martingales are encountered. We also present a comparison inequality that bounds the expectation of a convex function of a martingale difference sequence shifted to the [0, 1] interval by the expectation of the same function of independent Bernoulli random variables. This inequality is applied to derive a tighter analog of Hoeffding-Azuma's inequality.
[Serum levels of ghrelin and leptin in women with polycystic ovary syndrome].

OBJECTIVE To compare ghrelin and leptin levels in women with PCOS and healthy subjects and to evaluate the relationship between them and the heterogeneity of clinical and biochemical manifestations of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS 45 women with PCOS and 20 controls were included in the study. Serum levels of ghrelin, leptin, testosterone, immune-reactive insulin (IRI), sex hormone-binding globulin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, cortisol, LH and FSH were measured. Free androgen index (FAI) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were calculated. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were assessed. RESULTS Serum ghrelin levels in PCOS patients were lower (21.78 +/- 2.12 ng/ml vs. 34.67 +/- 3.57 ng/ml; p = 0.04) and leptin levels were higher (15,03 +/- 2,9 ng/ml vs. 6,16 +/- 0,60 ng/ml p = 0,048) than the control group. In group with PCOS negative correlation exists between ghrelin and testosterone (r = -0.315; p < 0.05) and between ghrelin and leptin levels (r = -0.306; p < 0.05). The latter correlation disappeared after partial correlation analysis controlling for BMI, WHR and HOMA-IR. In PCOS patients there were strong positive correlation between leptin and IRI (r = 0.592, p < 0.01) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.637, p< 0.01). In PCOS patients with more pronounced insulin resistance the correlation between leptin levels and HOMA-IR is independent of BMI, WHR and waist circumference. CONCLUSION Our study confirms the strong association that exists between serum leptin levels and clinical and hormonal indices of IR. The ghrelin level in women with PCOS reflects the metabolic and hormonal changes which are characteristics of the syndrome. The inverse correlation between ghrelin and leptin in these women is mediated through metabolic factors.
Reinforcement learning in continuous state- and action-space

Reinforcement learning in the continuous state-space poses the problem of the inability to store the values of all state-action pairs in a lookup table, due to both storage limitations and the inability to visit all states sufficiently often to learn the correct values. This can be overcome with the use of function approximation techniques with generalisation capability, such as artificial neural networks, to store the value function. When this is applied we can select the optimal action by comparing the values of each possible action; however, when the action-space is continuous this is not possible. In this thesis we investigate methods to select the optimal action when artificial neural networks are used to approximate the value function, through the application of numerical optimization techniques. Although it has been stated in the literature that gradient-ascent methods can be applied to the action selection [47], it is also stated that solving this problem would be infeasible, and therefore, is claimed that it is necessary to utilise a second artificial neural network to approximate the policy function [21, 55]. The major contributions of this thesis include the investigation of the applicability of action selection by numerical optimization methods, including gradient-ascent along with other derivative-based and derivative-free numerical optimization methods,and the proposal of two novel algorithms which are based on the application of two alternative action selection methods: NM-SARSA [40] and NelderMead-SARSA. We empirically compare the proposed methods to state-of-the-art methods from the literature on three continuous state- and action-space control benchmark problems from the literature: minimum-time full swing-up of the Acrobot; Cart-Pole balancing problem; and a double pole variant. We also present novel results from the application of the existing direct policy search method genetic programming to the Acrobot benchmark problem [12, 14].
Backwards Phonology

This paper constitutes an investigation into the generative capabilities of two-level phonology with respect to unilevel generative phonological rules. Proponents of two-level phonology have claimed, but not demonstrated, that two-level rules and grammars of two-level rules are reversible and that grammars of unilevel rules are not. This paper makes "reversibility" explicit and demonstrates by means of examples from Tunica and Klamath that two-level phonology does have certain desirable cababilities that are not found in grammars of unilevel rules.
American Option Pricing Formula for Uncertain Financial Market

Option pricing is the the core content of modern finance. American option is widely accepted by investors for its flexibility of exercising time. In this paper, American option pricing formula is calculated for uncertain financial market and some mathematical properties of them are discussed. In addition, some examples are proposed. keywords: finance, uncertain process, option pricing
Expression of miR-711 and mechanism of proliferation and apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRs) are involved in many aspects of cell biology, including cell proliferation and apoptosis, two critical aspects of tumor biology. We investigated the effect of miR-711 on Bcl-2 expression in human MGC803 gastric cancer cells and the mechanism of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion. Expression of miR-711 and Bcl-2 was significantly increased in gastric adenocarcinoma compared to adjacent normal tissue. Inhibition of miR-711 in MGC803 gastric cancer cells decreased the expression of Bcl-2, decreased cell proliferation, decreased the invasion ability, and increased apoptosis. The expression of Bcl-2 protein correlated with clinical staging, lymph node metastasis, and tumor differentiation in patients with gastric cancer. The expression of miR-711 positively correlated with the expression of Bcl-2, suggesting that miR-711 and Bcl-2 are co-regulated and involved in the development of gastric cancer.
Emergent Trends in Nigeria’s Popular Entertainment: Cross-Dressing and Blurred Identity in Social Media Skits

This paper explores the relationship between mass media and its audience, specifically in Nigeria where this field is under-studied. Since its debut in 1959 as a medium of domestic entertainment, television in Nigeria has been a wonderland for new vistas and foreign and strange concepts that became trendsetters for viewers’ astonishment and enthusiastic lifestyle emulation. This study uses qualitative methods, including Key Informant Interviews and secondary analysis, to explore cross-dressing as a cultural phenomenon. The theoretical framework is based on the gratification and technological determinism theories. The study examines how technological advancements have enabled the normalization of "sophisticated, imported" options in entertainment culture. The paper explores gender fluidity and identity blurring in the artist's perception. The findings showed that the incursion of technology, especially television and its more sophisticated variant, social media, are the purveyors of democratized ideas of individual identity and blurred sexuality profiling that disrupted existentialist binary notions. The study results also showed that cross-dressing, as employed in skit-making, has earned respect on the employment index of the creative sector and art community. Tech shapes youth culture, paving the way for new norms in human relationships and personal expression
The Rising Incidence of Celiac Disease in Scotland

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although the incidence of pediatric celiac disease (CD) is increasing globally, it is uncertain whether this is attributed to improved case ascertainment or signifies a true rise. We aimed to identify all incident cases of childhood CD in southeast Scotland over the period 1990 to 2009 to assess trends in total incidence and cases diagnosed as a result of (1) a classic presentation, (2) a nonclassic presentation, or (3) targeted screening. METHODS: Twenty-year retrospective cohort study of case notes, pathology databases, endoscopy, and patient records for all children (<16 years of age) diagnosed with CD on biopsy in southeast Scotland (at-risk population of 225 000–233 000). Data were age-gender standardized and Poisson regression models used to calculate changes in incidence over time. RESULTS: A total of 266 children were diagnosed from 1990 to 2009 with an increase in incidence from 1.8/100 000 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–2.7) to 11.7/100 000 (95% CI 9.8–13.9) between the epochs 1990 to 1994 and 2005 to 2009, respectively (P < .0001). The incidence of nonclassic presentation (children with a monosymptomatic presentation and those with extraintestinal symptoms) and actively screened cases increased by 1566% (P < .05) and 1170% (P < .001) from 1990 to 1999 to 2000 to 2009, respectively. However, a rise in the incidence of Oslo classic cases from 1.51/100 000 (95% CI 0.91–2.38) in 1990 to 1994 to 5.22/100 000 (95% CI 3.98–6.75) in 2005 to 2009 (P < .01) remained evident. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of pediatric CD increased 6.4-fold over the 20 years. This study demonstrates that this rise is significant for classic CD, indicating a true rise in the incidence of pediatric CD.
The Great Mimicker: Zona Zoster at the Mastectomy Site Causing Contralateral Intramammary Lymph Node Enlargement

Zona zoster is rarely observed in patients with malignancy; when present, it follows a dermatomal fashion. Involvement of widely separated regions is very rare. Hereby, zona zoster causing enlarged intramammary lymph nodes (IMLN) in the opposite breast is reported for the first time in literature. The masses were hypoechoic on US with no hilum and hypervascular on color Doppler US. MRI showed hypointense masses with type 3 time-intensity curve and adjacent vessel sign. The complete regression of the nodes after the antiviral therapy confirmed the diagnosis. In breast cancer patients, IMLN enlargements may mimic breast cancer metastasis, and zona zoster infection of the mastectomy site may present with contralateral IMLN enlargement due to altered lymphatic drainage. When breast US is not sufficient for the differential diagnosis, breast MRI may warrant proper diagnosis, and prevent unnecessary biopsies. Antiviral treatment with followup would be sufficient for management.
Design and Implementation of Load Balancing Strategy in Openstack Cloud Platform

With the rapid development of cloud computing, more and more users choose to deploy the application services on the virtual machine in the cloud platform. OpenStack is one of the most popular platforms in open source. At present, there are a few researches on the load balancing of virtual machines in cloud platform. Most of the researches adopt the traditional dynamic load balancing algorithm, the reliability and the efficiency is not high. Therefore, how to achieve load balancing is an urgent need to be satisfied. Based on modified OpenStack, this paper presents a load balancing including a load forecasting model and algorithms based on BP neural network. We conduct a series of experiments to verify the approach. The experimental results show that the performance of the cloud platform has been greatly improved.
Where Does the Driver Look? Top-Down-Based Saliency Detection in a Traffic Driving Environment

A traffic driving environment is a complex and dynamically changing scene. When driving, drivers always allocate their attention to the most important and salient areas or targets. Traffic saliency detection, which computes the salient and prior areas or targets in a specific driving environment, is an indispensable part of intelligent transportation systems and could be useful in supporting autonomous driving, traffic sign detection, driving training, car collision warning, and other tasks. Recently, advances in visual attention models have provided substantial progress in describing eye movements over simple stimuli and tasks such as free viewing or visual search. However, to date, there exists no computational framework that can accurately mimic a driver's gaze behavior and saliency detection in a complex traffic driving environment. In this paper, we analyzed the eye-tracking data of 40 subjects consisted of nondrivers and experienced drivers when viewing 100 traffic images. We found that a driver's attention was mostly concentrated on the end of the road in front of the vehicle. We proposed that the vanishing point of the road can be regarded as valuable top-down guidance in a traffic saliency detection model. Subsequently, we build a framework of a classic bottom-up and top-down combined traffic saliency detection model. The results show that our proposed vanishing-point-based top-down model can effectively simulate a driver's attention areas in a driving environment.
Dimensioning Receiver Buffer Requirement for Unidirectional VBR Video Streaming over TCP

We explore the impact of the playout buffer size on the video quality and the response time in a video streaming application. Large buffer generally improves video quality, since it accommodates wide range of rate variability. However it incurs large buffering delay, and it is not suitable for many streaming applications (e.g., video sharing). In this paper, we investigate the playout buffer requirement to ensure desired video quality, given network conditions and bitstream characteristics. We develop a unidirectional VBR video streaming model and derive an analytic expression of the minimum playout buffer requirement to achieve desired video quality. Our experimental results validate the model and analysis.
Identification, characterization and expression analysis of the chalcone synthase family in the Antarctic moss Pohlia nutans

Abstract Mosses have adapted to the Antarctic environment and are an ideal medium for studying plant resistance to abiotic stress. Chalcone synthase is the first committed enzyme in the flavonoid metabolic pathway, which plays an indispensable role in plant resistance to adversity. In this study, six genes (Pn021, PnCHS088, Pn270, PnCHS444, PnCHS768 and Pn847) were identified in the Antarctic moss Pohlia nutans Lindberg transcriptome by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Sequence alignment and three-dimensional structure analysis revealed the conserved amino acid residues of the enzymes of the chalcone synthase family, including three catalytic residues (Cys164, His303 and Asn336) and two substrate recognition residues (Phe215 and Phe265). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that PnCHS088, PnCHS444 and PnCHS768 might be chalcone synthase but that Pn021 is more like stilbenecarboxylate synthase. These genes were located at the transition between fungi and advanced plants in the phylogenetic tree. In addition, real-time PCR analysis revealed that the expression profiles of the six P. nutans genes were influenced by diverse abiotic stresses as well as by abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate. The results presented here contribute to the study of the CHS gene family in polar mosses and further reveal the mechanisms underlying the adaptation of mosses to extreme environments.