Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal Xenopus Zic2 negatively regulates Nodal-related gene expression during anteroposterior patterning

During the development of Xenopus laevis, maternal mRNAs and proteins stored in the egg direct early patterning events such as the specification of the dorsoventral axis and primary germ layers. In an expression screen to identify maternal factors important for early development, we isolated a truncated cDNA for maternal Zic2 (tZic2), encoding a zinc-finger transcription factor. The predicted tZic2 protein lacked the N-terminal region, but retained the zinc-finger domain. When expressed in embryos, tZic2 inhibited head and axial development, and blocked the ability of full-length Zic2 to induce neural crest genes. Depletion of maternal Zic2 from oocytes, using antisense oligonucleotides, caused exogastrulation, anterior truncations and axial defects. We show that loss of maternal Zic2 results in persistent and increased expression of Xenopus nodal-related (Xnr) genes, except for Xnr4, and overall increased Nodal signaling. Injection of a Nodal antagonist, Cerberus-short, reduced the severity of head and axial defects in Zic2-depleted embryos. Depletion of Zic2 could not restore Xnr expression to embryos additionally depleted of VegT, a T-domain transcription factor and an activator of Xnr gene transcription. Taken together, our results suggest a role for maternal Zic2 in the suppression of Xnr genes in early development. ZIC2 is mutated in human holoprosencephaly (HPE), a severe defect in brain hemisphere separation, and these results strengthen the suggestion that increased Nodal-related activity is a cause of HPE.
Agent Based Models in marketing: Statistical and self-organizing aspects

Traditional statistical modeling in applied marketing is a huge area both for scientists and practitioners. Agent Based Models (ABM), on the other hand, are comparatively new field, yet gaining its weight very fast in last decade. The purpose of this article is to show some aspects of interrelations between these two types of models and address the common challenges, based on the concept of self-organized ABM. In particular, the complicated problems of semantic analysis of marketing texts and the extraction of the numerical values (a problem scarcely discussed in the literature) are considered; its importance is demonstrated on some examples from marketing texts. A Marketing Net Ontology draft version is proposed. An ABM for typical business web oriented process is designed. On its example it is shown, how problems of optimal ABM parameters tuning may be better understood using proposed statistical techniques.
Role of Activating Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 3 Mutations in the Development of Bladder Tumors

Purpose: Bladder tumors develop through different molecular pathways. Recent reports suggest activating mutations of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene as marker for the “papillary” pathway with good prognosis, in contrast to the more malignant “carcinoma in situ” (CIS) pathway. The aim of this clinical follow-up study was to investigate the role of FGFR3 mutations in bladder cancer development in a longitudinal study. Experimental Design: We selected 85 patients with superficial bladder tumors, stratified into early (stage Ta/grade 1-2, n = 35) and more advanced (either stage T1 or grade 3, n = 50) developmental stages. The patients were followed prospectively, and metachronous tumors were included. We did screening for FGFR3 and TP53 mutations by direct bidirectional sequencing and for genome-wide molecular changes with microarray technology. Results: A total of 43 of 85 cases (51%) showed activating mutations of FGFR3. The mutations were associated with papillary tumors of early developmental stage. However, after stratifying for developmental stage, FGFR3-mutated tumors showed the same malignant potential as wild-type tumors. Tumors with concomitant CIS were generally FGFR3 wild type. They were characterized by different patterns of chromosomal changes and gene expression signatures compared with FGFR3-mutated tumors, indicating different molecular pathways. Conclusions:FGFR3 mutations seem to have a central role in the early development of papillary bladder tumors. These tumors follow a common molecular pathway, which is different from tumors with concomitant CIS. FGFR3 mutations do not seem to play a role in bladder cancer progression.
Motivation of Parent Involvement in Secondary-Level Schooling

Inspired by K. V. Hoover-Dempsey and H. M. Sandler's (1995, 1997) model of the parent involvement process, the authors examined 4 psychological constructs of parent involvement: (a) relative strength of parents' role construction, (b) parents' self-efficacy for helping adolescents succeed in school, (c) parents' perceptions of teacher invitations to become involved, and (d) parents' perceptions of students' invitations to become involved. The authors obtained survey responses from 770 parents of adolescents in 5 Quebec secondary schools—354 parents of 7th graders, 231 parents of 8th graders, and 185 parents of 9th graders. Results emphasize that it is important that researchers distinguish parent involvement at home and at school when examining the predictive power of the 4 psychological constructs. Findings also provide evidence of grade-level differences in the predictive models of parent involvement at home and at school. Parents' perceptions of students' invitations was the most powerful predictor of parent involvement at home models across the 3 grade levels. Parents' role construction made important contributions to the prediction of their involvement at Grades 7 and 9; parents' perceptions of teacher invitations were associated with parent involvement at school across the 3 grade levels. Whether at home or at school, parents became involved if they perceived that teachers and students expected or desired their involvement.
Venus Kinase Receptors: Prospects in Signaling and Biological Functions of These Invertebrate Kinases

Venus kinase receptors (VKRs) form a family of invertebrate receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) initially discovered in the parasitic platyhelminth Schistosoma mansoni. VKRs are single transmembrane receptors that contain an extracellular venus fly trap structure similar to the ligand-binding domain of G protein-coupled receptors of class C, and an intracellular tyrosine kinase domain close to that of insulin receptors. VKRs are found in a large variety of invertebrates from cnidarians to echinoderms and are highly expressed in larval stages and in gonads, suggesting a role of these proteins in embryonic and larval development as well as in reproduction. VKR gene silencing could demonstrate the function of these receptors in oogenesis as well as in spermatogenesis in S. mansoni. VKRs are activated by amino acids and are highly responsive to arginine. As many other RTKs, they form dimers when activated by ligands and induce intracellular pathways involved in protein synthesis and cellular growth, such as MAPK and PI3K/Akt/S6K pathways. VKRs are not present in vertebrates or in some invertebrate species. Questions remain open about the origin of this little-known RTK family in evolution and its role in emergence and specialization of Metazoa. What is the meaning of maintenance or loss of VKR in some phyla or species in terms of development and physiological functions? The presence of VKRs in invertebrates of economical and medical importance, such as pests, vectors of pathogens, and platyhelminth parasites, and the implication of these RTKs in gametogenesis and reproduction processes are valuable reasons to consider VKRs as interesting targets in new programs for eradication/control of pests and infectious diseases, with the main advantage in the case of parasite targeting that VKR counterparts are absent from the vertebrate host kinase panel.
Service Choreography Meets the Web of Data Via Micro-Data

Several solutions exist for semantically describing Web Services (WSs) from the perspective of orchestration but little is known about how semantics benefit WS choreography. The most extreme example of a choreography problem occurs in peer-to-peer systems where shared semantics of data may need to be established via services interactions. We present a solution to this problem by sharing micro-data via interaction models. No pre-unified ontology is required in our approach so peers can make use of existing heterogeneous resources having been described in the RDF data model flexibly and compatibly. The experimental results indicate that our approach semantically enhances WS choreography in a lightweight way which complies with principles of Linked Data and republished Interaction Models (IMs) can further facilitate the progress of the Web of data as well as the formation of peer communities generated through peers' interactions.
Vascular pathology of homocysteinemia: implications for the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis.

NDiviDuAI with homocystinuria 12 have been found to lack normal activity of the enzyme cystathionine synthetase.3 In many of the patients progressive arterial disease develops in ildhood, frequently resulting in death from thrombosis in a vital organ45 In addition, congenital dislocation of the lenses, mental retardation, and skeletal abnormalitieseg, osteoporosis, arachnodactyly, and pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum-usually are foundL5' The vascular changes and other abnormalities encoumtered in homocystinuria have been attributed either to the metabolic effects of the elevated tissue concentrations of methionine, homocysteine, or homocystine, or to the metabolic consequences of decreased tissue concentrations of cystathionine found in the disease.7 In a child dying with homocystinuria, cystathioninuria, and methyl malonic aciduria, secondary to an abnormality of cobalamin (B12 ) metabolism, arterial lesions have been discovered that resemble in a striking way many of those found in cystathionine synthetase deficiency. The vascular findigs i this patient will be presented and compared with those in a patient with cystathionine synthetase deficiency. Since the enzymatic abnormalities in both disorders share certain metabolic consequences, the conclusion has been reached that an elevated concentration of homocysteine, homocystine, or a derivative of hornocysteine is the common factor leading to arterial damage. The possible role of elevated concentrations of homocysteine or its derivatives in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis in individls free of known enzyme deficiencies will be discussed and interpreted with particular reference to the findings in experimentally produced arteriosclerosis.
Disagreeing about Disagreement

This study was designed to show how the participants would disagree about interlocutors’ prior disagreement and how that could be managed locally by the participants themselves in and through their talk using the endings -canh- and -ketun. This study assumed that micro analysis of sequential details on how members doing counterchallenge using -canh- and -ketun can provide insights on the usage of the endings in an Korean language class. Using conversation analysis as a methodological and analytical framework, this study presents a sequential analysis of argument episodes in small group interactions in an advanced Korean language class. Close scrutiny of the sequences reveals that participants make use of Korean sentence-endings -canh- and -ketun to adhere their original positions as well as to challenge other members’ stances. Analysis of counterchallenge in the disagreement episodes shows that participants deploy three major practices in their turn of counterchallenge using -canh- and -ketun: denying the existence of self-provided instances, commenting on other’s mental state and enlightenment. The findings expand our understanding of the intricate maneuvers involved in opinion-presentation in Korean language class.
Are Reference Architectures Integration Tools or Descriptive Aids

Reference architectures are most commonly thought of as tools which enable modules developed at different institutions to be easily integrated. However, reference architectures can also be used for other purposes. In particular, they can make it easier to describe the architecture of systems, by allowing developers to just describe how their architecture differs from the reference one. This is one of the goals of the architecture described in a forthcoming book on NLG (Reiter and Dale, 1999).
MEK Inhibition, Alone or in Combination with BRAF Inhibition, Affects Multiple Functions of Isolated Normal Human Lymphocytes and Dendritic Cells

Vella and colleagues show that inhibition of BRAF (dabrafenib) had no effect on healthy donor T cells and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDC), but that MEK inhibition (trametinib) suppressed T-cell proliferation, cytokine production, antigen-specific expansion, and MoDC cross-presentation. Combination therapy with BRAF and MEK inhibition is currently in clinical development for the treatment of BRAF-mutated malignant melanoma. BRAF inhibitors are associated with enhanced antigen-specific T-lymphocyte recognition in vivo. Consequently, BRAF inhibition has been proposed as proimmunogenic and there has been considerable enthusiasm for combining BRAF inhibition with immunotherapy. MEK inhibitors inhibit ERK phosphorylation regardless of BRAF mutational status and have been reported to impair T-lymphocyte and modulate dendritic cell function. In this study, we investigate the effects on isolated T lymphocytes and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDC) of a MEK (trametinib) and BRAF (dabrafenib) inhibitor combination currently being evaluated in a randomized controlled clinical trial. The effects of dabrafenib and trametinib, alone and in combination, were studied on isolated normal T lymphocytes and moDCs. Lymphocyte viability, together with functional assays including proliferation, cytokine production, and antigen-specific expansion, were assessed. MoDC phenotype in response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation was evaluated by flow cytometry, as were effects on antigen cross-presentation. Dabrafenib did not have an impact on T lymphocytes or moDCs, whereas trametinib alone or in combination with dabrafenib suppressed T-lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine production, and antigen-specific expansion. However, no significant decrease in CD4+ or CD8+ T-lymphocyte viability was observed following kinase inhibition. MoDC cross-presentation was suppressed in association with enhanced maturation following combined inhibition of MEK and BRAF. The results of this study demonstrate that MEK inhibition, alone or in combination with BRAF inhibition, can modulate immune cell function, and further studies in vivo will be required to evaluate the potential clinical impact of these findings. Cancer Immunol Res; 2(4); 351–60. ©2014 AACR.
Nonlocal aspects of a quantum wave

Various aspects of nonlocality of a quantum wave are discussed. In particular, the question of the possibility of extracting information about the relative phase in a quantum wave is analyzed. It is argued that there is a profound difference in the nonlocal properties of the quantum wave between fermion and boson particles. The phase of the boson quantum state can be found from correlations between results of measurements in separate regions. These correlations are identical to the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) correlations between two entangled systems. An ensemble of results of measurements performed on fermion quantum waves does not exhibit the EPR correlations and the relative phase of fermion quantum waves cannot be found from these results. The existence of a physical variable (the relative phase) that cannot be measured locally is the nonlocality aspect of the quantum wave of a fermion.
Toward market design for facilitating continuous participation

This paper focuses market design by considering task allocation processes as multi-round contests. So far, contest design has been studied by formalizing the problem as an all-pay auction. These studies, however, fail to take into account the intrinsic nature of the markets, i.e., a fact that participants sequentially enter the market, i.e., incumbent agents and new entrant agents exist. This brings a new design problem that how to balance facilitating the entry of new entrants and strengthening the retention of incumbents. To realize the thick market, we examine the effects of value distribution on the tasks and the carryover of the efforts invested in the past. To tackle this problem, we build a model that multi-period contests are held, and new entrant agents appear in each period, and then clarify the equilibrium strategy how much effort participanting agents should invest. Furthermore, by employing simulation, we clarify what contest design can maximize the number of participants or the amount of effort.
Hypermethylated RASSF1A in maternal plasma: A universal fetal DNA marker that improves the reliability of noninvasive prenatal diagnosis.

BACKGROUND We recently demonstrated that the promoter of the RASSF1A gene is hypermethylated in the placenta and hypomethylated in maternal blood cells. This methylation pattern allows the use of methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme digestion for detecting the placental-derived hypermethylated RASSF1A sequences in maternal plasma. METHODS We performed real-time PCR after methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme digestion to detect placental-derived RASSF1A sequences in the plasma of 28 1st-trimester and 43 3rd-trimester pregnant women. We used maternal plasma to perform prenatal fetal rhesus D (RhD) blood group typing for 54 early-gestation RhD-negative women, with hypermethylated RASSF1A as the positive control for fetal DNA detection. RESULTS Hypermethylated RASSF1A sequences were detectable in the plasma of all 71 pregnant women. The genotype of plasma RASSF1A after enzyme digestion was identical to the fetal genotype in each case, thus confirming its fetal origin. Nineteen of the 54 pregnant women undergoing prenatal fetal RhD genotyping showed undetectable RHD sequences in their plasma DNA samples. The fetal DNA control, RASSF1A, was not detectable in 4 of the 19 women. Subsequent chorionic villus sample analysis revealed that 2 of these 4 women with negative RHD and RASSF1A signals were in fact carrying RhD-positive fetuses. CONCLUSIONS Hypermethylated RASSF1A is a universal marker for fetal DNA and is readily detectable in maternal plasma. When applied to prenatal RhD genotyping, this marker allows the detection of false-negative results caused by low fetal DNA concentrations in maternal plasma. This new marker can also be applied to many other prenatal diagnostic and monitoring scenarios.
Erleben und Verhalten unter Stress in Abhängigkeit von der kardialen Sensibilität

Stresssituationen losen kardiovaskulare Reaktionen aus. Generell sind Individuen in der Lage diese kardiovaskularen Prozesse wahrzunehmen, was man als kardiale Sensibilitat bezeichnet. Allerdings existieren deutliche interindividuelle Unterschiede in dem Ausmas der kardialen Sensibilitat. Theorien zu Emotionen, kognitiver Leistung und Coping (Stressbewaltigung) sowie empirische Befunde legen nahe, dass interindividuelle Unterschiede in der kardialen Sensibilitat die kognitiv-behaviourale Stressreaktion und die Aufmerksamkeitsallokation gegenuber Stressoren beeinflussen konnte. Daher war es Ziel der aktuellen Studien den Einfluss der kardialen Sensibilitat auf das emotionale Stresserleben, die kognitive Leistung und das Coping zu untersuchen. Die Probanden wurde mit Hilfe eines Tests zur Erfassung der kardialen Sensibilitat in Probanden mit hoher versus niedriger kardialer Sensibilitat eingeteilt. Anschliesend wurde Stress in Studie 1 und 2 durch mentale Stressoren induziert und das emotionale Erleben mittels Fragebogen erhoben. Zudem wurde in Studie 2 die kognitive Leistung durch Anzahl der falschen Reaktionen, der richtigen Reaktionen, der Auslassungen sowie dem Median der Reaktionszeit in einem computerbasierten Test erhoben. In Studie 3 wurde die Aufmerksamkeitsallokation gegenuber Stressoren in einem computerbasierten Paradigma erhoben. Es wurde die initiale Aufmerksamkeitsallokation und die Aufmerksamkeitsallokation im Verlauf erhoben. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass kardiale Sensibilitat das emotionale Stresserleben intensivierte. Zudem zeigten sich positive Zusammenhange zwischen kardialer Sensibilitat und der Fehleranzahl sowie zwischen kardialer Sensibilitat und schnelleren Reaktionen. Des weiteren ging hohe kardiale Sensibilitat initial mit einer Aufmerksamkeitszuwendung zu Stressoren einher, jedoch mit einer Aufmerksamkeitsabwendung von Stressoren im Verlauf. Niedrige kardiale Sensibilitat hatte hingegen keinen Effekt auf die Aufmerksamkeitsallokation gegenuber Stressoren. Insgesamt zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass hohe kardiale Sensibilitat das Stresserleben intensiviert, die kognitive Leistung beeintrachtigt und mit einem vigilant-vermeidenden Coping unter Stress einhergeht. Damit modifizieren die Ergebnisse bisherige Stresstheorien, indem sie die Bedeutung der kardialen Sensibilitat fur die emotional-behaviourale Stressreaktion und fur Copingprozesse aufzeigen. Daruber hinaus fugen die aktuellen Ergebnisse dem multidimensionalen Konstrukt „Stress“ eine weitere Dimension, die Interozeption, also die Wahrnehmung somatoviszeraler Prozesse, hinzu.
Precore/Core promoter variants to predict significant fibrosis in both HBeAg positive and negative chronic hepatitis B

Assessing fibrosis is essential in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The objective was to investigate the relationship between fibrosis, host and viral factors to identify non‐invasive markers of significant fibrosis in a large cohort of unselected, well‐characterized, treatment‐naïve CHB patients.
Experimental results on fast 2D-encoded magnetic particle imaging

This paper presents the first experimental results on magnetic particle imaging with full 2D encoding. The encoding speed achieved was 3.88 ms for a field of view of 1 × 1 cm2. Small phantoms composed of several dots each filled with 200 nl undiluted Resovist (500 mmol(Fe) l−1) were scanned. A resolution of better than 1 mm was achieved for a frame rate of 25 frames s−1.
A design methodology using flip-flops controlled by PVT variation detection

A design methodology for sequential logic circuits using controllable flip-flops is proposed. The flip-flop setup time and propagation delay is controlled with a process, voltage and temperature (PVT) detector using an additional setup time and delay control (SDC) input. With this SDC enable, it is possible to enhance the circuit timing performance when PVT variations are detected. The PVT detector is based in the propagation delay of digital buffers. When an increase in the propagation delay is detected in the digital logic, the SDC flip-flop input is enabled to reduce its setup time and Clk-Q propagation delay. When the PVT conditions are maintained under the selected threshold, the SDC control remains disabled, saving power. The proposed flip-flop and PVT detector are designed and characterized in a TSMC 28 nm bulk CMOS technology.