Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is a picture really worth a 1000 words?

One of the biggest challenges in glioma management is accurately tracking tumor response to treatment. While direct tissue assessment might be ideal, repeat surgery is not always feasible and subject to sampling error. Consequently, MRI (or less ideally CT) is the surrogate tool for tracking changes in tumor in response to therapy. However, there are clear limitations to MRI which, in reality, is just a picture and we do not always know what biological process or processes that picture symbolizes.
Purification and characterization of an 82-kD membrane protein as a neurite outgrowth factor binding protein: possible involvement of NOF binding protein in axonal outgrowth in developing retina

Neurite outgrowth factor (NOF) is a glycoprotein isolated from an extract of gizzard that induces neurite outgrowth from cultured retinal or ciliary ganglionic (CG) neurons. We have reported that a glycoprotein of approximately 82 kD solubilized from gizzard muscles binds to NOF (ligand blotting) and inhibits the neurite promoting activity of NOF (inhibition assay). The 82-kD protein (NOF binding protein) was purified from gizzard muscle membranes as a doublet band on SDS-PAGE and a polyclonal antibody was raised against it. An NOF binding protein in developing retina exhibited the same physicochemical properties as that of the gizzard muscle. Quantitative decrease in NOF binding protein in embryonic retinas was observed after day 11 by the inhibition assay, ligand blotting, and immunoblotting, its decrease being parallel with reduction of NOF-induced neurite outgrowth of embryonic retinas. In an immunohistochemical study, the antibody stained only the optic fiber layers of the retinas of 8-d embryos, and this staining was no longer detectable in retinas of 18-d embryos. These results suggest that the 82-kD protein is a novel membrane protein that behaves as an NOF receptor and that the loss of neuritic response of the retinal neurons to NOF reflects a decrease in NOF receptor molecules.
The Efficacy and Safety of Combined Phacoemulsification, Intraocular Lens Implantation, and Limited Goniosynechialysis, Followed by Diode Laser Peripheral Iridoplasty, in the Treatment of Cataract and Chronic Angle-closure Glaucoma

PurposeTo report the efficacy and safety of combined phacoemulsification, intraocular lens implantation, and limited goniosynechialysis, followed by diode laser peripheral iridoplasty, in the treatment of cataract and chronic angle-closure glaucoma. MethodsPatients with chronic angle-closure glaucoma with total synechial angle closure and intraocular pressures higher than 21 mm Hg on maximally tolerated medications, and concurrent cataract, underwent phacoemulsification with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation and goniosynechialysis followed by diode laser peripheral iridoplasty to the inferior half of the angle. Intraoperative complications, postoperative visual acuity, intraocular pressures, and complications were evaluated. ResultsSeven eyes of seven patients received the operation, and the mean follow-up was 8.9 months (range, 2–16 months). The mean preoperative intraocular pressure was 33.0 ± 4.8 mm Hg. The mean postoperative intraocular pressure at most recent follow-up was 13.3 ± 2.9 mm Hg. The absolute success rate (intraocular pressure less than 21 mm Hg without medication) was 100%. The visual acuity of all eyes improved by more than two Snellen lines. Postoperative complications included intraocular pressure spike, hyphema, and transient corneal decompensation. ConclusionIt appears that phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation combined with inferior 180° goniosynechialysis followed by diode laser peripheral iridoplasty is an effective and safe surgical procedure for treating chronic angle-closure glaucoma with total synechial angle closure and cataract.
Teams as a Learning Forum for Accounting Professionals.

The pace of organizational and environmental change seems to demand that such professional organizations as CPA firms become learning organizations in order to compete adequately with other firms. The flattening out of traditional hierarchical structures within organizations argues that traditional mentoring and supervisory structures may be inadequate for fostering needed individual learning and personal learning. One effect of the lack of such learning may be increased role stress, job burnout, loss of commitment to the organization, intention to leave, and diminished job satisfaction. Using a sample of 440 accounting professionals from major CPA firms in several regions of the USA, studies the ability of team social interaction processes within work teams to foster the personal, organizational, and team‐source learning, and also to influence attitudinal outcomes directly and indirectly. Also examines whether personal learning, organizational socialization and team‐source learning mediate the impact of team social interaction process on attitudinal outcomes. Uses a hierarchical regression‐based test to evaluate our hypotheses. The results supported our expectations. A structural equation modeling test of the model showed that organizational and personal learning mediated the relationship between team social interaction processes and the attitudinal outcomes, but team‐source learning did not.
Do Parks Work? Impact of Protected Areas on Land Cover Clearing

Abstract This paper evaluates the impact of protected areas on land-cover clearing, using a metadata analysis of information on 49 locations from 22 countries. Protected areas had significantly lower rates of clearing in comparison to their surroundings. In addition, protected areas had also significantly lowered rates of clearing within their boundary following initiation of protection. Thus, protected areas do appear to be effective at limiting overall land-cover clearing. There was some variation in the rates of clearing across regions, where most protected areas from North America and Europe showed positive rates of land-cover change, while protected areas from Asia had the highest rates of land-cover clearing. While most protected areas from North America and Europe involved a relatively smaller number of actors, a greater number of actors and drivers of clearing was implicated in protected areas from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, indicating the increased difficulties faced by park management in these regions. In contrast, country income levels and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources category of protection did not appear to impact the likelihood of land-cover clearing in protected areas.
SciDB DBMS Research at

This paper presents a snapshot of some of our scientific DBMS research at M.I. T. as part of the Intel Science and Technology Center on Big Data. We focus our efforts primarily on SciDB, although some of our work can be used for any backend DBMS. We summarize our work on making SciDB elastic, providing skew-aware join strategies, and producing scalable visualizations of scientific data.
The Drosophila Homolog of Mammalian Zinc Finger Factor MTF-1 Activates Transcription in Response to Heavy Metals

ABSTRACT Metallothioneins (MTs) are short, cysteine-rich proteins for heavy metal homeostasis and detoxification; they bind a variety of heavy metals and also act as radical scavengers. Transcription of mammalian MT genes is activated by heavy metal load via the metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF-1), an essential zinc finger protein whose elimination in mice leads to embryonic lethality due to liver decay. Here we characterize the Drosophila homolog of vertebrate MTF-1 (dMTF-1), a 791-amino-acid protein which is most similar to its mammalian counterpart in the DNA-binding zinc finger region. Like mammalian MTF-1, dMTF-1 binds to conserved metal-responsive promoter elements (MREs) and requires zinc for DNA binding, yet some aspects of heavy metal regulation have also been subject to divergent evolution between Drosophila and mammals. dMTF-1, unlike mammalian MTF-1, is resistant to low pH (6 to 6.5). Furthermore, mammalian MT genes are activated best by zinc and cadmium, whereas in Drosophila cells, cadmium and copper are more potent inducers than zinc. The latter species difference is most likely due to aspects of heavy metal metabolism other than MTF-1, since in transfected mammalian cells, dMTF-1 responds to zinc like mammalian MTF-1. Heavy metal induction of bothDrosophila MTs is abolished by double-stranded RNA interference: small amounts of cotransfected double-stranded RNA ofdMTF-1 but not of unrelated control RNA inhibit the response to both the endogenous dMTF-1 and transfected dMTF-1. These data underline an important role for dMTF-1 in MT gene regulation and thus heavy metal homeostasis.
Utility of the Housekeeping Genes 18S rRNA, β‐Actin and Glyceraldehyde‐3‐Phosphate‐Dehydrogenase for Normalization in Real‐Time Quantitative Reverse Transcriptase‐Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis of Gene Expression in Human T Lymphocytes

The accuracy of 18S rRNA, β‐actin mRNA and glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) mRNA as indicators of cell number when used for normalization in gene expression analysis of T lymphocytes at different activation stages was investigated. Quantitative real‐time reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the expression level of 18S rRNA, β‐actin mRNA, GAPDH mRNA and mRNA for six cytokines in carefully counted samples of resting human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), intestinal lymphocytes and PBMCs subjected to polyclonal T‐cell activation. The 18S rRNA level in activated and resting PBMCs and intestinal lymphocytes was essentially the same, while the levels of β‐actin and GAPDH mRNAs fluctuated markedly upon activation. When isolated γδTCR+, CD4+ and CD8+ subpopulations were studied, 18S rRNA levels remained unchanged after 21 h of activation but increased slightly after 96 h. In contrast, there was a 30–70‐fold increase of GAPDH mRNA/cell in these cell populations upon activation. Cytokine analysis revealed that only normalization to 18S rRNA gave a result that satisfactorily reflected their mRNA expression levels per cell. In conclusion, 18S rRNA was the most stable housekeeping gene and hence superior for normalization in comparative analyses of mRNA expression levels in human T lymphocytes.
Participation of children on the autism spectrum in home, school, and community

BACKGROUND Children on the autism spectrum participate less frequently, and in a narrower range of activities, than their nonautistic peers, but little is known about exact participation patterns across contexts or how this is perceived by caregivers. This study aimed to document patterns of participation and caregiver views with regard to frequency and intensity of activities. METHOD Caregivers of children on the spectrum aged 5 (n = 90) and 9-10 years (n = 128) completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth for home, school, and community. Caregivers reported on frequency of child's participation, level of involvement, and caregivers' desire for change in participation patterns. RESULTS Item-level analyses revealed similar patterns of participation across home, school, and community for both cohorts with some small age-appropriate differences. Caregivers generally desired increased diversity, frequency, and involvement in activities but a decreased use of electronics (computers, games, TV, and DVDs). CONCLUSION The possibility of autism-specific participation patterns could inform future interventions aimed at enhancing social inclusion. This warrants further investigation through multiinformant designs that seek the perspectives of the child and caregivers.
Relevance and redundancy as selection techniques for human-autonomy sensor fusion

Human-autonomy teaming using physiological sensors poses a novel sensor fusion problem due to the dynamic nature of the sensor models and the difficulty of modeling their temporal and inter-subject variability. Developing analytical models therefore requires defining objective criteria for selection and weighting of sensors under an appropriate fusion paradigm. We investigate a selection methodology grounded in two intuitions: 1) that maximizing the relevance between sensors and target classes will enhance overall performance within a given fusion scheme; and 2) that minimizing redundancy amongst the selected sensors will not harm fusion performance and may improve precision and recall. We apply these intuitions to a human-autonomy image classification task. Preliminary results indicate strong support for the relevance hypothesis and weaker effects for the redundancy hypothesis. This relationship and its application to human-autonomy sensor fusion are explored within a framework employing three common fusion methodologies: Naive Bayes fusion, Dempster-Shafer theory, and Dynamic Belief Fusion.
The Impact of Information Tagging in the MD & A on Investor Decision Making : Implications for XBRL

This paper investigates professional and nonprofessional investors' use of the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) portion of the corporate annual report. The MD&A is a key component of financial reporting that provides management's view on the company's current and future performance. We investigate alternative structures for the MD&A, comparing the standard format currently used by companies to a " tagged " format that mimics XBRL. We make this comparison in the context of a company that discloses a possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as a material weakness in the Section 404 auditor's report, indicating risk of corporate misconduct and perhaps fraud. Overall, we find that investors using the tagged format spend less time viewing the risk information and view relatively fewer items than those using the standard format. However, within the tagged format, there is a stronger association between use of information on this source of risk and investors' financial judgments and predictions. This implies that the tagged format facilitates the incorporation of risk information into investors' decision processes, compared to the standard MD&A format in current use. These results have both efficiency and effectiveness implications for moving to XBRL-enabled search strategies.
LDL are oxidatively modified by platelets via GP91phox and accumulate in human monocytes

Oxidative stress‐mediated LDL modification has a key role in initiation of the atherosclerotic process. Platelets produce reactive oxidant species (ROS) upon stimulation with agonist, but it is uncertain whether they are able to oxidatively modify LDL. Human platelets taken from healthy subjects were incubated with LDL, then stimulated with collagen. Compared with unstimulated platelets, collagen‐stimulated platelets induced LDL modification as shown by enhanced conjugated dienes and lysophosphatidylcho‐line formation, electrophoretic mobility, Apo B‐100 degradation, and monocyte LDL uptake. Activated platelets also induced a marked reduction of vitamin Ε contained in LDL. A significant inhibition of LDL oxidation was observed in platelets treated with arachi‐donyl trifluomethyl ketone (AACOCF3), an inhibitor of phospolipase A2. The experiments reported above were also conducted in patients with hereditary deficiency of gp91phox, the central core of NADPH oxidase, and in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Platelets from gp91 phox‐deficient patients produced a small amount of ROS and weakly modified LDL. Conversely, platelets from hypercholesterolemic patients showed enhanced ROS formation and oxidized LDL more than platelets from healthy subjects. This study provides evidence that platelets modify LDL via NADPH oxidase‐mediated oxidative stress, a phenomenon that could be dependent on arachidonic acid activation. This finding suggests a role for platelets in favoring LDL accumulation within atherosclerotic plaque. —Carnevale, R. , Pignatelli, P., Lenti, L. , Buchetti B. , Sanguigni, V. , Di Santo, S. , Violi, F. LDL are oxidatively modified by platelets via GP91phox and accumulate in human monocytes. FASEB J. 21, 927–934 (2007)
Deletion polymorphism in the coding region of the human NESP55 alternative transcript of GNAS1.

NESP55, a novel member of the chromogranins, was originally implicated as a precursor of a peptide LSAL with 5-HT1B receptor antagonist activity. In humans, NESP55 (MIM 139320) is encoded by an alternative transcript of GNAS1, the gene encoding the guanine nucleotide-binding alpha subunit of G(S). As a result of the potential relevance of NESP55 to serotoninergic neurotransmission, we screened its sequence using genomic DNA pools from autistic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) probands and control subjects. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified and the allele frequencies of those SNPs were determined. In addition, a 24-bp in-frame deletion in the coding region was found in one of the OCD probands. To further investigate its pattern of inheritance and the relevance to studied phenotypes, we genotyped 123 total subjects from autism, OCD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) families. The deletion was detected only in one OCD family and followed Mendelian inheritance. All subjects with the deletion were heterozygous. However, there are no specific behavioural or physical alterations in the subjects with this deletion variant. The physiological role of NESP55 in serotoninergic neurotransmission as well as the effect of the deletion on its function should be evaluated in future studies.
An Expressive Writing Intervention to Cope with Lesbian-Related Stress: The Moderating Effects of Openness about Sexual Orientation

Over the past two decades, expressive writing interventions have been used successfully to reduce distress and improve well-being for those dealing with traumatic events, stressors, and illnesses. The purpose of this study was to investigate an expressive writing intervention for lesbian-related stressors. As expected, writing about traumatic events related to sexual orientation reduced self-reported confusion and perceived stress over a 2-month period for those lesbians who were less open about their sexual orientation. Interestingly, writing about such traumatic experiences was associated with increases in confusion and perceived stress for those who were more open about their sexual orientation. Applying this paradigm to assist individuals in coping with stressors related to their sexual orientation represents an important addition to the expressive writing literature. Furthermore, it offers a promising, cost-effective method to assist closeted lesbians in coping with stressors related to their sexual orientation.
Kultura organizacyjna a organizacyjne uczenie się w świetle badań empirycznych

ynamiczny charakter otoczenia współczesnych organizacji sprawił, że zmiana i proces zarządzania zmianą są obecnie postrzegane jako elementy trwale wpisane w ich funkcjonowanie. W teorii organizacji i zarządzania pojawił się nawet odrębny nurt zwany ruchem rozwoju organizacyjnego, poświecony zagadnieniom zmian i dostosowywania się organizacji do otoczenia. Jego niedoskonałości i ograniczenia zmusiły jednak do poszukiwania szerszej teorii zmiany organizacyjnej, w wyniku czego naukowcy skoncentrowali się na koncepcji organizacyjnego uczenia. Koncepcja ta początkowo była związana z behawioralnym podejściem do uczenia i zmian, traktując uczenie jako prostą adaptację [Cyert i March, 1963]. Obecnie uwypukla proces poznawania i kreowania wiedzy organizacji jako działania służącego do tworzenia nowych oraz doskonalenia istniejących rozwiązań [Huber, 1991; Bratnicki, Ausen, Sikora, 2002]. Z perspektywy zarządzania, organizacyjne uczenie może być rozumiane jako rozwój lub nabywanie nowej wiedzy lub umiejętności w reakcji na wewnętrzne lub zewnętrzne bodźce, które prowadzą do mniej lub bardziej permanentnych zmian kolektywnych zachowań [Sadler-Smitch, Spicer, Chaston, 2001]. Definicja ta wskazuje na relację miedzy działaniem a wiedzą podkreślając, że zmiana działania jest konsekwencją zmiany w rodzaju i poziomie wiedzy [Crossan, Lane, White, 1995]. Celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie różnych podejść do zmian w kontekście kultury organizacyjnej, jako determinanty sprzyjającej akceptacji danego podejścia, w odniesieniu do wyników badań empirycznych zrealizowanych przez autorki w województwie zachodniopomorskim.
An Architecture for Integrating Concurrency Control into Environment Frameworks

Layered and componentized systems promise substantial benefits from dividing responsibilities, but it is still unresolved how to construct a system from pre-esisting, independently developed pieces. Good solutions to this problem, in general or for specific classes of components, should reduce duplicate implementation efforts and promote reuse of large scale subsystems. We tackle the domain of software development environments and present an architecture for retrofitting external concurrency control components onto existing environment frameworks. We describe a sample ECC component, explain how we added concurrency control to a commercial product that had none, and briefly sketch how we replaced the concurrency control mechanism of a research system.
Interval Walking Training for Middle-Aged and Older People: Methods and Evidence

Faced with social problems such as rapidly aging society, the solutions have been expected in sports medicine. Humans became widely distributed on the earth from their birth by acquiring abilities to walk in an upright position and to adapt themselves to various natural environments. However, seeking a ‘comfortable environment’ in modern civilization has deteriorated these genetic characteristics of humans, and the consumption of resources and energy to acquire such a ‘comfortable environment’ has induced global warming-associated natural disasters and the destruction of social order. To halt this vicious cycle, we may reactivate the genetic characteristics in humans by doing exercise. To do this, we have developed a health promotion program for middle aged and older people, Jukunen Taiikudaigaku Program, in cooperation with the Japanese government, developed high-intensity interval walking training (IWT), and examined the physical and mental effects on 5,400 people for these 10 years. We found that IWT for 4 months increased physical fitness by 10–20%, decreased the indices of life-style related diseases by 10–20%. Since a prescription of IWT can be conducted by using an IT network system called e-Health Promotion System, the participants in the program were able to receive the prescription even if they lived remote from trainers, enabling them to perform IWT at their favored places and times, and also at low cost. Moreover, we found some single nucleotide polymorphisms closely related to inter-individual differences in the responses to IWT. Further, the system enables us to assess the inactivation/activation of genes for inflammatory responses which has been suggested to be involved in life-style related diseases. Also, the system enables us to search foods to promote health when they are consumed during exercise training. Thus, the system would have strong potential to promote health of middle-aged and older people in advanced aging society. key words: interval walking training, portable calorimeter, e-health promotion system, genomic variations, epigenetic effects, supplements
Moderate deviations for stable Markov chains and regression models

We prove moderate deviations principles for unbounded additive functionals of the form $S_n = \sum_{j=1}^{n} g(X^{(p)}_{j-1})$, where $(X_n)_{n\in N}$ is a stable $R^d$-valued functional autoregressive model of order $p$ with white noise and stationary distribution $\mu$, and $g$ is an $R^q$-valued Lipschitz function of order $(r,s)$; the error of the least squares estimator (LSE) of the matrix $\theta$ in an $R^d$-valued regression model $X_n = \theta^t \phi_{n-1} + \epsilon_n$, where $(\epsilon_n)$ is a generalized gaussian noise. We apply these results to study the error of the LSE for a stable $R^d$-valued linear autoregressive model of order $p$.