Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vivo Expression of Natural Killer Cell Inhibitory Receptors by Human Melanoma–Specific Cytolytic T Lymphocytes

Natural killer (NK) receptor signaling can lead to reduced cytotoxicity by NK cells and cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in vitro. Whether T cells are inhibited in vivo remains unknown, since peptide antigen–specific CD8+ T cells have so far not been found to express NK receptors in vivo. Here we demonstrate that melanoma patients may bear tumor-specific CTLs expressing NK receptors. The lysis of melanoma cells by patient-derived CTLs was inhibited by the NK receptor CD94/NKG2A. Thus, tumor-specific CTL activity may be decreased through NK receptor triggering in vivo.
Judgments of the Creativity of Artwork From Students and Professional Artists

Abstract One of the most popular methods for assessing creativity relies on judgments. Often professionals or other experts are asked to judge creative works, but self-ratings and peer ratings have also been used with some success. The primary objective of this study was to compare judgments given by all three groups. Three-dimensional artworks were produced by 47 students and then rated by both their peers and by three professional artists. The students also rated their own work and used Feist's (1991) Feelings Questionnaire to describe how they felt about each art project. Comparisons of means indicated that the students saw statistically significant differences among their three artworks in terms of both rated creativity and two Feelings Questionnaire composites (satisfaction and energy). They did not give their works different ratings on the other two Feelings Questionnaire composites (dissatisfaction and inhibition). Differences were also apparent in peer ratings of the artwork. The ratings given by .
The Performance Comparison among Product-Bundling Strategies Based on Different Online Behavior Data

For a very popular sales promotion tool, bundling selling, a critical issue is to decide what products can be bundled together in order to have better sales performance. Traditionally, such decision is often based on the order data collected from the POS. However, the new power of the Internet marketing allows marketers to collect not only the order data but also the browsing data and the shopping cart as well. It means that the marketers can collect information about the consumers’ decision-making processes rather than the final shopping decisions only. This paper is motivated by finding the value of the newly collected information by comparing the performance of making decision on product bundling based on different online customer behavior data, such as order data, browsing data, or shopping cart data. A field experiment was held for this research. The results reveal the value of integrated browsing data and the shopping cart data is significantly higher than that of order data or browsing data only for making decisions on bundling of products.
Current Scenario of Hepatitis B and Its Treatment in India

Abstract Hepatitis B is a significant public health problem in India, yet disease awareness is very low among the general population. The disease is mostly acquired horizontally, but the role of vertical transmission should not be underestimated. In spite of the fact that the majority of cases are e negative disease, most patients present in the advanced stage and even with hepatocellular carcinoma, the leading cause of which is hepatitis B. High-risk groups (especially tribals) also harbour significant disease burden and have a high prevalence of occult infection, supporting the potential of unknowingly spreading the disease. Findings on the relation of genotypes with disease severity or drug action have been conflicting. Though recently, oral antivirals with high genetic barrier to resistance have shown good viral suppression in the long term, e and s seroconversion is poor and relapse is universal upon therapy discontinuation. As no cure is possible with the currently available therapy, the target is long-term viral suppression by prolonged administration of oral antivirals; unfortunately, this leads to poor treatment adherence, which along with the high cost of therapy results in disease progression and spread of infection. At present, therefore, emphasis should be put on health education of the general and high-risk populations, along with health care workers to increase knowledge on such preventive measures as avoiding unsafe injection practices, high-risk sex, performing unnecessary injection and blood transfusion and providing proper screening of blood products; these efforts should be combined with intensive screening and aggressive vaccination programs, especially in high-risk groups and areas of high endemicity. Vaccination strategies are still below par and logistics should be developed for wider coverage; in addition, further research should be carried out on the efficacy and mode of usage for different types of vaccine.
Characterization of transcriptomes from sexual and asexual lineages of a New Zealand snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum)

Understanding the evolution and maintenance of sexual reproduction is one of the central challenges of evolutionary biology, yet we know very little about how sex influences molecular evolution. The New Zealand freshwater snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum is ideally suited to address this knowledge gap because obligately sexual individuals often coexist with multiple independently derived obligately asexual lineages. This unusual situation allows direct comparisons both between sexual and asexual P. antipodarum and across populations that differ in the relative frequency of sexual individuals. As such, P. antipodarum has received a great deal of attention as a model system for the maintenance of sex in nature and is also used as a model for environmental toxicology and biological invasions. Molecular genetic resources for P. antipodarum will thus be useful to investigators in a variety of biological fields. We used 454 sequencing of cDNA libraries to generate transcriptomes from two sexual and two asexual P. antipodarum lineages. A de novo assembly of 116.7 Mb of sequence reads produced 41 396 contigs, and sequence similarity‐based Gene Ontology annotations were obtained for 3740 contigs. We detected 408 315 SNP loci and 7315 microsatellite loci, which together represent the first genome‐scale resource available for P. antipodarum. Raw 454 read sequences, contig sequences, annotation data and polymorphism data are publicly available in a searchable online database and for download at http://www.biology. uiowa.edu/neiman/transcriptome.php.
Improving the Targeting of Treatment

Remediation is one of the largest single interventions intended to improve outcomes for underprepared college students, yet little is known about the remedial screening process. Using administrative data and a rich predictive model, we find that severe mis-assignments are common using current test-score-cutoff-based policies, with “underplacement” in remediation much more common than “overplacement” college courses. Incorporating high school transcripts into the process could significantly reduce placement errors, but adding test scores to already available high school data often provides little marginal benefit. Moreover, the choice of screening policy has significant implications for the racial and gender composition of college-level courses. Finally, the use of more accurate screening tools would enable institutions to remediate substantially fewer students without compromising college success.
miR-93 suppresses proliferation and colony formation of human colon cancer stem cells.

AIM To identify differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in human colon cancer stem cells (SW1116csc) and study their function in SW1116csc proliferation. METHODS SW1116csc were isolated from the human colon cancer cell line, SW1116 and cultured in serum-free medium. A miRNA microarray was used to detect differential expression profiles of miRNAs in SW1116csc and SW1116 cells. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to verify the differential expression of candidate miRNAs obtained from the microarray. Target mRNAs of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted with target prediction tools. miRNA expression plasmids were transfected into SW1116csc using Lipofectamine 2000 reagent. Cell proliferation curves were generated with trypan blue staining, and the colony formation rate of transfected cells was measured with the soft agar colony formation assay. Expression of target mRNAs and proteins from differentially expressed miRNAs were detected using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and western blotting. RESULTS Compared with expression in SW1116 cells, 35 miRNAs (including hsa-miR-192, hsa-miR-29b, hsa-miR-215, hsa-miR-194, hsa-miR-33a and hsa-miR-32) were upregulated more than 1.5-fold, and 11 miRNAs (including hsa-miR-93, hsa-miR-1231, hsa-miRPlus-F1080, hsa-miR-524-3p, hsa-miR-886-3p and hsa-miR-561) were downregulated in SW1116csc. The miRNA microarray results were further validated with quantitative RT-PCR. miR-93 was downregulated, and its predicted mRNA targets included BAMBI, CCND2, CDKN1A, HDAC8, KIF23, MAP3K9, MAP3K11, MYCN, PPARD, TLE4 and ZDHHC1. Overexpressed miR-93 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation by SW1116csc. Furthermore, miR-93 negatively regulated the mRNA and protein levels of HDAC8 and TLE4. CONCLUSION Some miRNAs were differentially expressed during differentiation of SW1116csc into SW1116 cells. miR-93 may inhibit SW1116csc proliferation and colony formation.
Evaluation of Industrial Usefulness of Pet Companion for Elderly

The concepts of pet companion for elderly were proposed. Wireless network technique enhances communication and emotion reception abilities between pet and elderly. Several kinds of interaction modes were proposed to fulfil the ability and living characteristics of the elderly. The sustainable and industrial applicability issues are evaluated. Zigbee attachment concept is much better in energy saving and flexibility of use. Based on the prior art, a process to evaluate useful and industrial applicability requirements is proposed. By the analysis step, wireless network technique can fulfil implementation requirements of the pet companion. Keywords—Pet companion, industrial applicability , elderly
Pharmacologic transgene control systems for gene therapy

Pharmacologic transgene‐expression dosing is considered essential for future gene therapy scenarios. Genetic interventions require precise transcription or translation fine‐tuning of therapeutic transgenes to enable their titration into the therapeutic window, to adapt them to daily changing dosing regimes of the patient, to integrate them seamlessly into the patient's transcriptome orchestra, and to terminate their expression after successful therapy. In recent years, decisive progress has been achieved in designing high‐precision trigger‐inducible mammalian transgene control modalities responsive to clinically licensed and inert heterologous molecules or to endogenous physiologic signals. Availability of a portfolio of compatible transcription control systems has enabled assembly of higher‐order control circuitries providing simultaneous or independent control of several transgenes and the design of (semi‐)synthetic gene networks, which emulate digital expression switches, regulatory transcription cascades, epigenetic expression imprinting, and cellular transcription memories. This review provides an overview of cutting‐edge developments in transgene control systems, of the design of synthetic gene networks, and of the delivery of such systems for the prototype treatment of prominent human disease phenotypes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prejudice : the target's perspective

J.K. Swim and C. Stangor, Introduction. Encountering Prejudice: L.F. Barrett and J.K. Swim, Appraisals of Prejudice and Discrimination. J.K. Swim, L.L. Cohen, and L.L. Hyers, Experiencing Everyday Prejudice and Discrimination. M. LaFrance and J.A. Woodzicka, No Laughing Matter: Women's Verbal and Nonverbal Reactions to Sexist Humor. Consequences of Prejudice: J. Aronson, D.M. Quinn, and S.J. Spencer, Stereotype Threat and the Academic Underperformance of Minorities and Women. C. Stangor and G.B. Sechrist, Conceptualizing the Determinants of Academic Choice and Task Performance Across Social Groups. D.M. Quinn and J. Crocker, Vulnerability to the Affective Consequences of the Stigma of Overweight. K.W. Allison, Stress and Oppressed Social Category Membership. K. Truax, D.I. Cordova, A. Wood, E. Wright, and F. Crosby, Undermined? Affirmative Action From the Targets' Point of View. Coping With Prejudice: C.T. Miller and A.M. Myers, Compensating for Prejudice: How Heavyweight People (And Others) Control Outcomes Despite Prejudice. B. Major and T. Schmader, Coping With Stigma Through Psychological Disengagement. N.R. Branscombe and N. Ellemers, Coping with Group-Based Discrimination: Individualistic Versus Group-Level Strategies. W.E. Cross, Jr., and L. Strauss, The Everyday Functions of African American Identity. D. Oyserman and K. Harrison, Implications of Cultural Context: African American Identity and Possible Selves. K. Deaux and K.A. Ethier, Negotiating Social Identity. Index.
Uncooled radio frequency bolometer based on carbon nanotube thin films

Carbon nanotube thin films deposited on sapphire substrates have been used to realize a microwave power sensor that operates at and above room temperature. The detector includes a power-sensitive resistor that has been incorporated into a voltage divider circuit. Using lock-in detection, experiments were performed with 915 MHz test signals that showed detection down to -45 dBm. A sensitivity of 0.36mV/mW was achieved with the device held at a temperature of 15°C. Additional experiments (which included static and pulsed current versus voltage measurements) indicate that the primary physical mechanism responsible for power detection near room temperature is Joule heating.
Sex difference in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of the human brain

A quantitative analysis of the volume of the darkly staining region of the posteromedial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis was performed on the brains of 26 age‐matched male and female human subjects. We suggest the term “darkly staining posteromedial” component of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST‐dspm) to describe this sexually dimorphic region of the human brain. The volume of the BNST‐dspm was 2.47 times greater in males than in females. This region in humans appears to correspond to an area of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in laboratory animals that exhibits volumetric and neurochemical sexual dimorphisms, concentrates gonadal steroids, and is anatomically connected to several other sexually dimorphic nuclei. Furthermore, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is involved in sexually dimorphic functions, including aggressive behavior, sexual behavior, and gonadotropin secretion, which are also influenced by gonadal steroids. Therefore, it is possible that in human beings as well, gonadal hormones influence the sexual dimorphism in the BNST‐dspm and that this morphological difference, in part, underlies sexually dimorphic function.
Self-renewal of a purified Tie2+ hematopoietic stem cell population relies on mitochondrial clearance

Purified hematopoietic stem cells reveal that mitophagy plays a key role in their expansion. How to maintain hematopoietic stem cells Hematopoiesis provides the body with a continuous supply of blood cells (see the Perspective by Sommerkamp and Trumpp). Taya et al. report that amino acid content is important for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance in vitro and in vivo. Dietary valine restriction seems to “empty” the mouse bone marrow niche. Ito et al. used single-cell approaches and cell transplantation to identify a subset of HSCs at the top of the HSC hierarchy. Self-renewal relied on the induction of mitophagy, a quality-control process linked to a cell's metabolic state. Both studies may be helpful in improving clinical bone marrow transplantation. Science, this issue p. 1103, p. 1152; see also p. 1156 A single hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) is capable of reconstituting hematopoiesis and maintaining homeostasis by balancing self-renewal and cell differentiation. The mechanisms of HSC division balance, however, are not yet defined. Here we demonstrate, by characterizing at the single-cell level a purified and minimally heterogeneous murine Tie2+ HSC population, that these top hierarchical HSCs preferentially undergo symmetric divisions. The induction of mitophagy, a quality control process in mitochondria, plays an essential role in self-renewing expansion of Tie2+ HSCs. Activation of the PPAR (peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor)–fatty acid oxidation pathway promotes expansion of Tie2+ HSCs through enhanced Parkin recruitment in mitochondria. These metabolic pathways are conserved in human TIE2+ HSCs. Our data thus identify mitophagy as a key mechanism of HSC expansion and suggest potential methods of cell-fate manipulation through metabolic pathways.
High Titer Ethanol and Lignosulfonate Production from SPORL Pretreated Poplar at Pilot Scale

Poplar NE222 (Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh × P. nigra L.) wood chips were pretreated in a 390 L pilot-scale rotating wood-pulping digester using a dilute sulfite solution of approximately pH  1.8 at 160°C for 40 min for bioconversion to ethanol and lignosulfonate (LS). An estimated combined hydrolysis factor (CHF) of 3.3 was used to scale the pretreatment temperature and time from laboratory bench scale experiments, which balanced sugar yield and inhibitor formation to facilitate high titer ethanol production through fermentation using S. cerevisiae YRH400 without detoxification. A terminal ethanol titer of 43.6 g L-1 with a yield of 247 L tonne wood-1 was achieved at total solids loading of 20%. The relatively low ethanol yield compared with yield from SPORL-pretreated softwoods was due to inefficient utilization of xylose. The LS from SPORL has a substantially higher phenolic group (Ph-OH) content although it is less sulfonated and has a lower molecular weight than a purified commercial softwood LS, and therefore has potential for certain commercial markets and future novel applications through further processing.
From the Impossibility of Obfuscation to a New Non-Black-Box Simulation Technique

The introduction of a non-black-box simulation technique by Barak (FOCS 2001) has been a major landmark in cryptography, breaking the previous barriers of black-box impossibility. Barak's techniques were subsequently extended and have given rise to various powerful applications. We present the first non-black-box simulation technique that does not rely on Barak's technique (or on nonstandard assumptions). Our technique is based on essentially different tools: it does not invoke universal arguments, nor does it rely on collision-resistant hashing. Instead, the main ingredient we use is the impossibility of general program obfuscation (Barak et al., CRYPTO 2001). Using our technique, we construct a new resettably-sound zero-knowledge (rsZK) protocol. rsZK protocols remain sound even against cheating provers that can repeatedly reset the verifier to its initial state and random tape. Indeed, for such protocols black-box simulation is impossible. Our rsZK protocol is the first to be based solely on semi-honest oblivious transfer and does not rely on collision-resistant hashing; in addition, our protocol does not use PCP machinery. In the converse direction, we show a generic transformation from any rsZK protocol to a family of functions that cannot be obfuscated.
The cadherin Fat2 is required for planar cell polarity in the Drosophila ovary

Planar cell polarity is an important characteristic of many epithelia. In the Drosophila wing, eye and abdomen, establishment of planar cell polarity requires the core planar cell polarity genes and two cadherins, Fat and Dachsous. Drosophila Fat2 is a cadherin related to Fat; however, its role during planar cell polarity has not been studied. Here, we have generated mutations in fat2 and show that Fat2 is required for the planar polarity of actin filament orientation at the basal side of ovarian follicle cells. Defects in actin filament orientation correlate with a failure of egg chambers to elongate during oogenesis. Using a functional fosmid-based fat2-GFP transgene, we show that the distribution of Fat2 protein in follicle cells is planar polarized and that Fat2 localizes where basal actin filaments terminate. Mosaic analysis demonstrates that Fat2 acts non-autonomously in follicle cells, indicating that Fat2 is required for the transmission of polarity information. Our results suggest a principal role for Fat-like cadherins during the establishment of planar cell polarity.
Infant feeding practices among HIV-positive mothers at Tembisa hospital, South Africa

Background Despite the nutritional, physiological and emotional benefits of breastfeeding, HIV-positive mothers cannot practise exclusive breastfeeding for six months because of a range of influences on their feeding choice – thereby creating a caveat for morbidity in infants. Aim This study explored factors influencing the infant feeding choice of HIV-positive mothers at a peri-urban hospital in Tembisa, South Africa. Methods This study was qualitative and was conducted among 30 purposefully selected postnatal HIV-positive mothers at Tembisa hospital, Gauteng, from May to June 2011. In-depth interviews were conducted mainly in isiZulu and Sepedi which were then transcribed into English. An open coding system of analysis was used for thematic analysis. Results Nurses significantly influenced the feeding choices of new mothers – sometimes with inconsistent information. The grandmothers of infants also influenced the new mothers’ feeding options, in some cases with the new mother coming under duress. Other relatives like the sisters and aunts of mothers appeared to significantly affect feeding choices. The time frames expressed for the initiation of a supplementary diet were as follows: before 1 month, at 1 month and at 4 months. The main reason was the belief that infants required more than breast milk as sustenance during this period. Conclusion In the postnatal hospital setting of this study, the feeding choices of mothers were influenced by nursing personnel. Nursing personnel could marry the influential ‘authority’ they have with correct and consistent information, in order to change feeding behaviour. Significant ‘others’ like grandmothers and other relatives also influenced decisions on infant feeding. As such, family dynamics need to be considered when encouraging breastfeeding.