Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of AP-1 and HIF-1 Transcription Factors in TGF-β Activation of VEGF Expression

Abstract Aberrant expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been demonstrated to be associated with most human solid tumors. Here we report that TGF-β potently induces VEGF expression in human HT-1080 fibrosarcomas primarily through transcrip-tional activation with no significant changes in mRNA turnover. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein and AP-1 inhibitor curcumin significantly blocked TGF-β induction of VEGF expression while SP-1 and MKKl inhibitors did not. TGF-β enhanced both AP-1 and HIF-1 DNA binding activities whereas SP-1, AP-2 and NF-1 did not show major changes. Transcriptional reporter assays provided further evidence that TGF-β augmented both AP-1 and HIF-1 activities. Moreover, TGF-β-treated HT-1080 cells contained higher levels of HIF-1α and c-jun proteins in nuclear extracts. TGF-β and hypoxia synergistically induced VEGF mRNA expression. Given the fact that most tumors respond to hypoxic stress with increased VEGF expression via HIF-1 dependent transcription, this study identifies for the fmt time that TGF-β also increases VEGF mRNA in an AP-l/HIF-1-dependent mechanism and may potentiate the hypoxic response.
Beyond Codes of Conduct and Monitoring: An Organizational Integrity Approach to Global Labor Practices

This article analyzes the "best practices" of several companies at the leading edge of the global labor rights movement and offers guidance to companies seeking to enhance the effectiveness of their human rights programs. While leading companies still continue to devote significant resources to monitoring and compliance, the companies following the "organizational integrity" approach are exploring other initiatives designed to prevent rights violations from occurring in the first place and to enable remediation of problems which are uncovered. This article analyzes the three essential components of the organizational integrity approach: (1) Cooperation with NGOs, (2) Training and remediation programs for problems uncovered through monitoring, and (3) Integration of proactive rights-sensitive sourcing policies with overall company strategy.
GEOMEKids: Educational application for teaching of figures and geometric bodies in kindergarten

At present, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) constitute another component of the physiognomy of the different scenarios where children grow, develop and form. The kindergarten and the first years of the primary level, are one of these scenarios where is interesting their connection with these technologies, as with other that are part of your life. Children are born in the era of digital technologies, and with them live spontaneously, without fear and with the interest of mastering what they have at their fingertips. In order to take advantage of this motivation and the implementation of ICTs in this area, an educational application, complementary, is created for the teaching of Geometrical Figures and Bodies, to children of kindergarten, offering then alternative of complementary learning, that broadens their educational experiences, and the enriches the possibilities of interaction and production through the multimedia language. The material has currently been analyzed through peer evaluation and first experience with children aged 6 years, with gives the opportunity to make improvements for later use.
Simple topological properties predict functional misannotations in a metabolic network

Motivation: Misannotation in sequence databases is an important obstacle for automated tools for gene function annotation, which rely extensively on comparison with sequences with known function. To improve current annotations and prevent future propagation of errors, sequence-independent tools are, therefore, needed to assist in the identification of misannotated gene products. In the case of enzymatic functions, each functional assignment implies the existence of a reaction within the organism’s metabolic network; a first approximation to a genome-scale metabolic model can be obtained directly from an automated genome annotation. Any obvious problems in the network, such as dead end or disconnected reactions, can, therefore, be strong indications of misannotation. Results: We demonstrate that a machine-learning approach using only network topological features can successfully predict the validity of enzyme annotations. The predictions are tested at three different levels. A random forest using topological features of the metabolic network and trained on curated sets of correct and incorrect enzyme assignments was found to have an accuracy of up to 86% in 5-fold cross-validation experiments. Further cross-validation against unseen enzyme superfamilies indicates that this classifier can successfully extrapolate beyond the classes of enzyme present in the training data. The random forest model was applied to several automated genome annotations, achieving an accuracy of in most cases when validated against recent genome-scale metabolic models. We also observe that when applied to draft metabolic networks for multiple species, a clear negative correlation is observed between predicted annotation quality and phylogenetic distance to the major model organism for biochemistry (Escherichia coli for prokaryotes and Homo sapiens for eukaryotes). Contact: j.pinney@imperial.ac. uk Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Electromyographic activity falsely elevates the bispectral index.

THE bispectral index (BIS, Aspect Medical Systems, Framingham, MA) is a complex electroencephalographic (EEG) parameter that integrates several disparate descriptors of the EEG into a single variable and correlates behavioral assessments of sedation and hypnosis. We report two cases in which the bispectral index failed to measure depth of anesthesia but instead was a measure of electromyographic (EMG) activity. In the first case bispectral index paradoxically increased after increasing propofol concentration, correlating with increasing EMG activity. In the second case the administration of a nondepolarizing muscle relaxant decreased the bispectral index value at constant anesthetic drug concentrations.
Effect of 15-Deoxyspergualin on Immediate Function and Long-Term Survival of Transplanted Islets in Murine Recipients of a Marginal Islet Mass

15-Deoxyspergualin (DSG), a macrophage immunomodulatory agent, was used as a probe in a murine model of islet transplantation to examine 1) the significance of the nonspecific, macrophage-mediated effector arm of β-cell injury in recipients of a marginal mass of isologous islets by analyzing the duration of temporary posttransplant hyperglycemia, a parameter of immediate β-cell function; and 2) whether long-term (> 100 days) functional survival could be achieved in recipients of a marginal mass of allogeneic islets. A dose-response study of the number of islets required to ameliorate diabetes showed that 150 isologous islets per recipient resulted in a 75% incidence of cure at a mean of 39.2 ± 5.8 days posttransplant. DSG-treated (0.625 mg.kg−1.day−1 intraperitoneally) recipients of isologous islets demonstrated a significant (P < 0.01) reduction in the duration of temporary posttransplant hyperglycemia (16.8 ± 3.2 vs. 39.2 ± 5.8 days), and DSG-treated recipients of allogeneic islets demonstrated a significant (P < 0.03) improvement in the rate of achieving long-term functional survival (75 vs. 22% in untreated control animals). Finally, identical rates of islet engraftment were found among control animals and DSG-treated animals by measurement of tissue insulin content in transplanted specimens. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that DSG alters the duration of temporary posttransplant hyperglycemia and extends long-term functional survival in murine recipients of a marginal mass of islets, not by affecting the efficiency of islet engraftment, but by suppression of the inhibitory effects on β-cell function by nonspecific, macrophage mediators.
A New Net to Go Fishing: Messages From International Evidence-Based Research and Kaupapa Māori Research

This article draws upon a Māori metaphor to describe the theoretical framework underpinning the methodology and findings of a research project completed by researchers from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, in 2010. It explains how and why the project required the research team to synthesise key information from four New Zealand Ministry of Education Best Evidence Synthesis (BES) reports as well as kaupapa Māori research associated with the Ministry's Ka Hikitia Māori Education Strategy. The key messages outlined in this article were designed by the research team to serve as a new tool to assist whānau (family) and iwi (tribe) to actively engage in the New Zealand schooling system and assert their rights in accordance with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (1840). Given the large number of Māori children attending Australian schools, the findings of this research may be of interest to Australian educationalists.
DIPS: A Framework for Distributed Intrusion Prediction and Prevention Using Hidden Markov Models and Online Fuzzy Risk Assessment

This paper proposes a Distributed Intrusion Prevention System (DIPS), which consists of several IPS over a large network (s), all of which communicate with each other or with a central server, that facilitates advanced network monitoring. A Hidden Markov Model is proposed for sensing intrusions in a distributed environment and to make a one step ahead prediction against possible serious intrusions. DIPS is activated based on the predicted threat level and risk assessment of the protected assets. Intrusions attempts are blocked based on (1) a serious attack that has already occurred (2) rate of packet flow (3) prediction of possible serious intrusions and (4) online risk assessment of the assets possibly available to the intruder. The focus of this paper is on the distributed monitoring of intrusion attempts, the one step ahead prediction of such attempts and online risk assessment using fuzzy inference systems. Preliminary experiment results indicate that the proposed framework is efficient for real time distributed intrusion monitoring and prevention.
Multi-timbre chord classification using wavelet transform and self-organized map neural networks

This paper presents a new method for musical chord recognition based on a model of human perception. We classify the chords directly from the sound without the information of timbres and notes. A wavelet-based transform as well as a self-organized map (SOM) neural network is adopted to imitate human ears and cerebra, respectively. The resultant system can classify chords very well even in a noisy environment.
A Hybrid HMM/SVM Classifier for Wavelet Front End Robust Automatic Speech Recognition

Noisy ambient conditions pose a challenge to speech recognition, increasing the acoustic confusability, thereby looking for powerful acoustic models to improve the generalization ability of the machine learning and improve the recognition accuracy. This paper discusses a hybrid classifier that harness the power of hidden markov models (HMM) and the discriminative support vector machines (SVM) applied to a wavelet front end based automatic speech recognition (ASR) system. The experiments are performed on speaker independent TIMIT database which are trained in a clean environment and later tested in the presence of additive white gaussian noise (AWGN) for various SNR levels using the HTK toolkit, SVMLib and SVMLight software tool. Experiments indicate that for large vocabulary the classification power of SVMs and the elegant iterative training algorithms for the estimation of HMMs together as a hybrid classifier with the wavelet front end performs better than the conventional classifiers.
The Tables Have Turned: How Can the Information Systems Field Contribute to Technology and Innovation Management Research?

Pervasive digitalization has brought new disruptive changes in the economy. At the core of these disruptive changes is digitally enabled generativity. In this paper, I argue that scholars must offer new theoretical models and insights that guide management practices in the age of generativity that can extend, or perhaps supplant, the prevailing emphasis on modularity. To that end, I suggest that information systems scholars must attend explicitly to the generative materiality of digital artifacts by drawing on the sociomaterial perspective, which has emerged as a robust intellectual tradition of the IS community. This paper is a provocation for those IS scholars who are willing to stretch the boundaries of their intellectual imagination beyond the comfort of IS journals and conferences, and offers a promising path forward.
Relations among Epistemological Beliefs, Academic Achievement, and Task Performance in Secondary School Students

Students with differing profiles of epistemological beliefs—their beliefs about personal epistemology, intelligence, and learning—vary in thinking, reasoning, motivation, and use of strategies while working on academic tasks, each of which affect learning. This study examined students’ epistemological beliefs according to gender, school orientation, overall academic achievement, and performance on two differently structured academic tasks. Epistemological beliefs in fixed and quick ability to learn, simple knowledge, and certain knowledge differed significantly as a function of gender, school orientation, and levels of academic achievement. These beliefs, particularly the belief in simple knowledge, significantly predicted overall performance and reflective judgment scores on the ill‐structured task but not on the well‐structured task. Implications concerning the relations among epistemological beliefs, reflective judgment, gender, school orientation, task structure, and achievement are discussed.
Species composition of forested natural communities near freshwater hydrological features in an urbanizing watershed of west-central Florida

Natural communities near freshwater hydrological features provide important ecosystem functions and services. As human populations increase, forested landscapes become increasingly fragmented and deforested, which may result in a loss of the functions and services they provide. To investigate the current state of forested natural communities in the rapidly urbanizing Tampa Bay Watershed, this study examined a systematic random sample of fixed radius 0.04 hectare (0.10 acre) plots that were located within 15.2 meters of a hydrologic feature. These 85 plots were further stratified based on site legacy, and were categorized into three groups: remnant (43 plots), emergent (23 plots), and altered (19 plots). A hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis identified plots that were most similar to one another within each group. These clusters were then compared to Florida Natural Area Inventory (FNAI) descriptions of natural community types. A high degree of clusters in the remnant and emergent groups resembled natural community types, but variations in species composition and dominance also occurred. However, zero clusters in the altered group resembled natural community types, suggesting anthropogenic changes to the landscape have impacted natural plant community assemblages. Findings from this study fill a gap in our current understanding of how natural communities in the Tampa Bay Watershed differ from those in a non-urban context.
Freedom as a Value in Arab Media: Perceptions and Attitudes Among Journalists

This article examines the development of freedom of the press and censorship in Egypt and the Arab world. Further, it discusses patterns of influence on freedom of the press and their impact on Arab journalists. It finds that press freedom in Arab countries and the performance of Arab journalists are still threatened by a censorial political culture, one that develops in an environment usually dominated by a single political party. Overt censorship and self-censorship are commonplace in the Arab news media today and journalism education programs, just as the media themselves have, in fact, been recruited into a national enterprise for the production of propaganda. The technological changes sweeping the world will increase the pressure for change and make issues of censorship obsolete as journalists find outlets for reporting among transnational media.
Local Projections Method and Curvature Approximation of 3 D Polygonal Models

Mesh processing is a wide area which consists of several approaches, heavily specific for each task. We present a novel approach to mesh processing using the Local Projections method. The described method makes benefit of wide variety of image processing algorithms, very similar to 3D tasks, and implements a conversion mechanism to make possible use of these processes on polygonal models. We also designed, implemented and evaluated the curvature approximation algorithm to test and compare the proposed method usability on real and artificial data. Use of the proposed method brings significant benefits especially to noised mesh analysis.
Defining and developing autonomy in East Asian contexts

Autonomy in language learning is sometimes presented as a Western concept unsuited to contexts, such as those in East Asia, which have different educational traditions. This paper argues that this view is unfounded but that we need to match the different aspects of autonomy with the characteristics and needs of learners in specific contexts. First the paper analyses the concept of autonomy as it relates to language learning and proposes a framework which would be applicable to learners in all contexts. Then it looks at three sources of influence which many teachers and researchers believe to have an important effect on students' approaches to learning in East Asia: the collectivist orientation of East Asian societies; their acceptance of relationships based on power and authority; and the belief that success may be achieved through effort as much as through innate ability. The paper then considers some of the attitudes and habits of learning which we might expect to result from these sociocultural influences. These are presented as hypotheses which might guide us towards a better understanding of our students but should not blind us to the immense variation that exists in reality. Within the framework for analysing autonomy developed earlier, the paper considers what aspects of autonomy might be most strongly rooted in East Asian traditions and how they might be developed in support of language learning. The paper warns against setting up stereotypic notions of 'East Asian learners' which, if misused, may make teachers less rather than more sensitive to the dispositions and needs of individual students.
What Makes Parties Trust Mediators

The relationship of trust between mediators and parties is a key element of the mediation process. This article reviews the trust relationship from the parties’ perspectives. A qualitative research methodology was used to identify five key factors explaining why parties trust their mediator: degree of mastery over the process, explanation of the process, warmth and consideration, chemistry with the parties, and lack of bias toward either party. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
Electric communication during courtship and spawning in two sibling species of dwarf stonebasher from southern Africa, Pollimyrus castelnaui and P. marianne (Mormyridae, Teleostei): evidence for a non species-specific communication code?

The fixed part of the electrocommunication signal, the electric organ discharge (EOD) waveform, is well differentiated in the two vicariant dwarf stonebasher species, Pollimyrus castelnaui and P. marianne. However, differentiation regarding the variable, situation-dependent part, i.e., inter-discharge interval (IDI) patterns, has never been studied in a pair of sibling species of mormyrid fish. We here compare the electrical signalling that accompanies different motor behaviours (such as resting and swimming, territorial agonistic interactions, courtship and spawning) in the two species. Double pulse patterns of regularly alternating short IDIs of 8-11 ms and long ones of 16-100 ms accompanied threat displays in both species. In three pairs of P. marianne and five pairs of P. castelnaui, courtship was characterised by nest building, territory patrolling and acoustic displays (advertisment calls) that were accompanied by long discharge breaks in the male and highly regular IDIs around 50 ms in the female of both species. Nest-tending males showed IDI sequences consisting of regularly alternating double pulse patterns, similar to threat displays. During spawning both sexes generated stereotyped IDI sequences of a low discharge rate. All IDI patterns occurring in one species were also found in the other, and no species-specifity was identified at that level. Playback experiments contrasting conspecific and heterospecific IDI sequences (that had been recorded from nocturnally swimming fish) revealed preferences in none of the six experimental subjects. Double pulse patterns, high discharge rate displays (HD) and regularisations of the IDI sequence accompanying specific behaviours occurred in similar form in both dwarf stonebasher species of the present study. Therefore, we conclude that in the speciation of P. castelnaui and P. marianne the fixed part of the EOD, its waveform, was under more differential selection pressure than its variable part, the patterns of IDI.
Peripheral nerve-derived VEGF promotes arterial differentiation via neuropilin 1-mediated positive feedback

In developing limb skin, peripheral nerves are required for arterial differentiation, and guide the pattern of arterial branching. In vitro experiments suggest that nerve-derived VEGF may be important for arteriogenesis, but its role in vivo remains unclear. Using a series of nerve-specific Cre lines, we show that VEGF derived from sensory neurons, motoneurons and/or Schwann cells is required for arteriogenesis in vivo. Arteriogenesis also requires endothelial expression of NRP1, an artery-specific coreceptor for VEGF164 that is itself induced by VEGF. Our results provide the first evidence that VEGF is necessary for arteriogenesis from a primitive capillary plexus in vivo, and show that in limb skin the nerve is indeed the principal source of this signal. They also suggest a model in which a `winner-takes-all' competition for VEGF may control arterial differentiation, with the outcome biased by a VEGF164-NRP1 positive-feedback loop. Our results also demonstrate that nerve-vessel alignment is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for nerve-induced arteriogenesis. Different mechanisms therefore probably underlie these endothelial patterning and differentiation processes.
A grounded theory on knowledge sharing in industrial research

Organizations need knowledge sharing. However, although many factors influencing the amount of knowledge sharing have been found, the ways in which useful knowledge sharing is initiated and realized is left underexplored. This paper describes ethnographic studies on the realization of the content of knowledge sharing in two industrial research groups. Analyses in line with the grounded theory approach resulted in the concept of ‘origination mechanisms’. Origination mechanisms are distinguished on the basis of three dimensions: (1) did the content of knowledge sharing already exist or is it newly developed in interaction? (2) is this selection or development determined by ego, by alter or by management? (3) is this determination oriented at a problem of ego, a problem of alter, a shared problem or no particular problem at all? The paper describes eight frequently occurring origination mechanisms, their preconditions and their contributions to industrial research practices. The concept of origination mechanisms is able to integrate fragmented findings in the literature and uncover existing biases. The paper ends with the knowledge management implications of this new perspective and the empirical findings on knowledge sharing.