Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impacts of parental migration on children’s subjective well-being in rural china: a double-edged sword

ABSTRACT The emerging problem of left-behind children has attracted mounting academic and policy attention. Prior studies primarily cast light on left-behind children’s education, health, and behavior, while their subjective well-being is much less understood yet. Based on a nationally representative sample of rural children aged 10–15 in 2014, we examine the impacts of different types of parental migration on children’s subjective well-being and how these affects vary between boys and girls. The results show that parental migration is a double-edged sword: children from both-parent migrant families report compromised life satisfaction and relationship quality compared with those in integral families, and mother-only migration significantly lowers children’s subjective health. On the flip side, father-only migration enhances children’s aspiration for attaining college, an encouraging effect that is even stronger than that of parental education and family income. These effects are heterogeneous by children’s gender: boys seem to be more susceptible to the disruptive effects of both-parent migration; mother-only migration effectively promotes girls’ educational aspiration while father-only migration promotes boys’. This study portrays a comprehensive image of left-behind children. Relaxation of hukou restriction, equal access to education, and revitalization of rural economies are imperative to improve the well-being of left-behind children. Abbreviations: LBC: Left-behing children; SWB: subjective well-being
Endothelium‐specific platelet‐derived growth factor‐B ablation mimics diabetic retinopathy

Loss of pericytes from the capillary wall is a hallmark of diabetic retinopathy, however, the pathogenic significance of this phenomenon is unclear. In previous mouse gene knockout models leading to pericyte deficiency, prenatal lethality has so far precluded analysis of postnatal consequences in the retina. We now report that endothelium‐restricted ablation of platelet‐derived growth factor‐B generates viable mice with extensive inter‐ and intra‐individual variation in the density of pericytes throughout the CNS. We found a strong inverse correlation between pericyte density and the formation of a range of retinal microvascular abnormalities strongly reminiscent of those seen in diabetic humans. Proliferative retinopathy invariably developed when pericyte density was <50% of normal. Our data suggest that a reduction of the pericyte density is sufficient to cause retinopathy in mice, implying that pericyte loss may also be a causal pathogenic event in human diabetic retinopathy.
Four of eleven loci required for transient complementation of human cytomegalovirus DNA replication cooperate to activate expression of replication genes

As previously shown, 11 loci are required to complement human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA replication in a transient-transfection assay (G. S. Pari and D. G. Anders, J. Virol. 67:6979-6988, 1993). Six of these loci encode known or candidate replication fork proteins, as judged by sequence and biochemical similarities to herpes simplex virus homologs of known function; three encode known immediate early regulatory proteins (UL36-38, IRS1/TRS1, and the major immediate early region spanning UL122-123); and two encode early, nucleus-localized proteins of unknown functions (UL84 and UL112-113). We speculated that proteins of the latter five loci might cooperate to promote and regulate expression of the six replication fork proteins. To test this hypothesis we made luciferase reporter plasmids for each of the replication fork gene promoters and measured their activation by the candidate effectors, expressed under the control of their respective native promoters, using a transient-cooperativity assay in which the candidate effectors were subtracted individually from a transfection mixture containing all five loci. The combination of UL36-38, UL112-113, IRS1, or TRS1 and the major immediate early region produced as much as 100-fold-higher expression than the major immediate early region alone; omitting any one of these four loci from complementing mixtures produced a significant reduction in expression. In contrast, omitting UL84 had insignificant (less than twofold), promoter-dependent effects on reporter activity, and these data do not implicate UL84 in regulating HCMV early-gene expression. Most of the effector interactions showed significant positive cooperativity, producing synergistic enhancement of expression. Similar responses to these effectors were observed for the each of the promoters controlling expression of replication fork proteins. However, subtracting UL112-113 had little if any effect on expression by the UL112-113 promoter or by the simian virus 40 promoter-enhancer under the same conditions. Several lines of evidence argue that the cooperative interactions observed in our transient-transfection assays are important to viral replication in permissive cells. Therefore, the data suggest a model in which coordinate expression of multiple essential replication proteins during permissive infection is vitally dependent upon the cooperative regulatory interactions of proteins encoded by multiple loci and thus have broad implications for our understanding of HCMV biology.
Looking to the Future

Participants of the Residency Review and Redesign (R3P) Project have created a challenging strategic plan for pediatric residency education. In place of a list of prescriptions for immediate change, the R3P Committee recommends an ongoing project of goal-directed change, a quality improvement approach to resident education. It argues for changes based on evidence of important education outcomes that improve the health of children, adolescents, and young adults. Creation and maintenance of a process of ongoing, adaptive change will depend on the combined efforts of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors, the Association of Medical School Department Chairs, the American Board of Pediatrics, the Resident Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Review Committee for Pediatrics.
Impact of Travel Distance and Urban‐Rural Status on the Multidisciplinary Management of Rectal Cancer

OBJECTIVES Optimal treatment of rectal cancer (RC) requires multidisciplinary care. We examined whether distance to treatment center or community size impacts access to multimodality care and population-based outcomes in RC. METHODS Patients diagnosed with stage II/III RC from 1999 to 2009 and treated at 1 of 6 regional cancer centers in British Columbia were reviewed. Distance to treatment center was determined for each patient. Communities were classified as rural, small, medium, and large population centers. Logistic and Cox regression models assessed associations of distance and community size with treatment received as well as cancer-specific (CSS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS Of 3,158 patients, 93.6% underwent surgery, 86.3% received radiotherapy, and 51.3% were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy (AC). Median time from diagnosis to oncologic consultation was longer for those >100 km from a treatment center or residing in medium/rural communities. Logistic regression demonstrated no correlation between distance or community size and receipt of treatment modality. Univariate analysis showed similar CSS (P = .18, .88) and OS (P = .36, .47) based on community size and distance, respectively. In multivariate analysis, distance >100 km had inferior CSS (Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.39, 95% CI: 1.03-1.88; P = .031). There was no consistent trend between decreasing community size and outcomes; however, living in a small center was associated with improved OS (HR 0.58, 95% CI: 0.38-0.88; P = .011) and CSS (HR 0.42, 95% CI: 0.25-0.70; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS In this population-based study, there were no urban-rural differences in access to multidisciplinary care, but increased distance may be associated with worse cancer-specific outcomes.
The effect of emotional stress on involuntary and voluntary conscious memories

Clinical theories of post-traumatic stress disorder often claim that intrusive (involuntary) memories favour emotionally stressful material and that these memories come with more sensory imagery and emotional reliving compared to voluntary memories. However, these assumptions have not been verified experimentally. Here we obtained recordings of emotional reactions to aversive pictures at the time of encoding, as well as records of involuntary and voluntary memories of these pictures in a subsequent diary study. A comparison of individual ratings, obtained during encoding, of pictures recalled involuntarily and voluntarily showed that emotional stress at encoding increased overall accessibility, independent of whether recall was voluntary or involuntary. However at the time of recall, voluntary memories scored higher on narrative content and on measures of imagery. The findings are compatible with research on emotion and memory in general, but challenge clinical claims of differential involuntary versus voluntary access to emotionally stressful events.
Central role of interferon regulatory factor‐1 (IRF‐1) in controlling retinoic acid inducible gene‐I (RIG‐I) expression

Retinoic acid inducible gene‐I (RIG‐I) functions as the first line of defense against viral infection by sensing dsRNA and inducing type I interferon (IFN) production. The expression of RIG‐I itself is induced by IFN‐α/β and dsRNA. To comprehend the molecular mechanism of expression regulation, we cloned the RIG‐I promoter and analyzed its activity upon IFN‐β and dsRNA treatment. Under basal condition, RIG‐I mRNA level and promoter activity were significantly higher in normal cells versus their tumor counterparts. In both normal and cancer cells, RIG‐I expression was induced by IFN‐β and dsRNA. A single IRF‐1 binding site in the proximal promoter functioned as a crucial regulator of basal, IFN‐β‐ and dsRNA‐mediated induction of the RIG‐I promoter. IFN‐β and dsRNA treatment increased IRF‐1 binding to the RIG‐I promoter. IRF‐1 expression was also higher in normal cells than in cancer cells and it was induced by IFN‐β with similar kinetics as RIG‐I. These results confirm that by controlling RIG‐I expression, IRF‐1 plays an essential role in anti‐viral immunity. IRF‐1 is a tumor suppressor and the expression profile of RIG‐I together with its regulation by IRF‐1 and the presence of a caspase‐recruitment domain in RIG‐I suggest that RIG‐I might also possess tumor suppressor properties. J. Cell. Physiol. 213: 502–510, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Possible Involvement of bcl-2 Suppression in Wild-Type p53 Gene-Dependent Cell Growth Repression in Rat Osteosarcoma Cells

We recently obtained 3 cloned cell lines demonstrating the p53 mutation from a lung metastatic nodule of a rat transplantable osteosarcoma. In this study, we applied wild-type p53 gene transfer to the rat osteosarcoma cells by lipofection to investigate the effects on cell growth, expression of genes such as waf1/p21, bcl-2, and bax, and nucleosomal DNA fragmentation due to apoptosis. Reconstitution of the p53 gene inhibits cellular growth, and this growth-suppressive effect is partly due to apoptosis involving bcl-2 gene suppression in this tumor type. This rat osteosarcoma model is similar in biologic behavior to human cases and thus is very suitable for further investigation of tumorigenesis and gene therapy for osteosarcoma.
Initial Slip Detection and Its Application in Biomimetic Robotic Hands

The detection of initial slip is very important for biomimetic robotic hands to adjust the grasping force in time and achieve a stable grasp when environmental disturbances are exerted on the grasped objects and the grasping force is insufficient. An initial slip detection method is proposed in this paper. First, a dynamical model of initial slip is built based on the theory of friction-induced vibration at near-zero slip velocity. Then, the responses for typical disturbances are derived analytically. Theoretical analyses show that the grasping force is oscillating and discontinuous when a disturbance is exerted on the grasped object, resulting in slip at near-zero velocity. Finally, the high-frequency component of the grasping force signals, which corresponds to the time of initial slip, is extracted by wavelet transform, and the sudden change of wavelet coefficients can be used to detect the onset of slip in time. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed slip detection method is effective and feasible for improving the grasping stability of biomimetic robotic hands.
Anti-CD73 antibody therapy inhibits breast tumor growth and metastasis

Extracellular adenosine is a potent immunosuppressor that accumulates during tumor growth. We performed proof-of-concept studies investigating the therapeutic potential and mechanism of action of monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapy against CD73, an ecto-enzyme overexpressed on breast-cancer cells that catalyzes the dephosphorylation of adenosine monophosphates into adenosine. We showed that anti-CD73 mAb therapy significantly delayed primary 4T1.2 and E0771 tumor growth in immune-competent mice and significantly inhibited the development of spontaneous 4T1.2 lung metastases. Notably, anti-CD73 mAb therapy was essentially dependent on the induction of adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. Knockdown of CD73 in 4T1.2 tumor cells confirmed the tumor-promoting effects of CD73. In addition to its immunosuppressive effect, CD73 enhanced tumor-cell chemotaxis, suggesting a role for CD73-derived adenosine in tumor metastasis. Accordingly, administration of adenosine-5′-N-ethylcarboxamide to tumor-bearing mice significantly enhanced spontaneous 4T1.2 lung metastasis. Using selective adenosine-receptor antagonists, we showed that activation of A2B adenosine receptors promoted 4T1.2 tumor-cell chemotaxis in vitro and metastasis in vivo. In conclusion, our study identified tumor-derived CD73 as a mechanism of tumor immune escape and tumor metastasis, and it also established the proof of concept that targeted therapy against CD73 can trigger adaptive anti-tumor immunity and inhibit metastasis of breast cancer.
Imigrantes valadarenses: experiência migratória, legalização e status ocupacional no mercado de trabalho norte-americano

Este trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar o desempenho ocupacional dos imigrantes de Governador Valadares MG no mercado de trabalho dos EUA, considerando como parâmetros o tempo de permanência no país e a legalização – aquisição do Green Card. Os imigrantes são desagregados entre “ausentes no exterior” (permaneciam nos EUA até o término da pesquisa ) e “retornados” (desistiram da experiência migratória após certo período). Essa avaliação possui um caráter dinâmico, considerando não apenas o status ocupacional de entrada no mercado de trabalho norte-americano, como as possibilidades de melhoria por parte dos imigrantes, conforme permanecem mais tempo no país ou conseguem se legalizar. Por fim, a desagregação da amostra entre dois perfis de imigrante, tem por intuito verificar se os retornados tiveram um pior desempenho ao longo de sua estadia, a ponto de justificar o seu retorno à cidade de origem. A migração de valadarenses para os EUA já é bastante conhecida no Brasil, tanto pela antigüidade desse fluxo migratório quanto por sua proeminência: cerca de 7% da população da cidade já viveu uma experiência migratória, o que representa 18% dos domicílios da sede municipal (CEMI: 1997). Em termos relativos, é a cidade brasileira que mais “exportou” trabalhadores para os EUA, e para qual a migração internacional é mais representativa, o que justifica sua escolha para a realização de uma pesquisa sobre brasileiros nos EUA.
Surfactant Protein D Is Present in Human Tear Fluid and the Cornea and Inhibits Epithelial Cell Invasion by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACT We have previously shown that human tear fluid protects corneal epithelial cells against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro and in vivo and that protection does not depend upon tear bacteriostatic activity. We sought to identify the responsible tear component(s). The hypothesis tested was that collectins (collagenous calcium-dependent lectins) were involved. Reflex tear fluid was collected from healthy human subjects and examined for collectin content by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot with antibody against surfactant protein D (SP-D), SP-A, or mannose-binding lectin (MBL). SP-D, but not SP-A or MBL, was detected by ELISA of human reflex tear fluid. Western blot analysis of whole tears and of high-performance liquid chromatography tear fractions confirmed the presence of SP-D, most of which eluted in the same fraction as immunoglobulin A. SP-D tear concentrations were calculated at ∼2 to 5 μg/ml. Depletion of SP-D with mannan-conjugated Sepharose or anti-SP-D antibody reduced the protective effect of tears against P. aeruginosa invasion. Recombinant human or mouse SP-D used alone reduced P. aeruginosa invasion of epithelial cells without detectable bacteriostatic activity or bacterial aggregation. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed SP-D antibody labeling throughout the corneal epithelium of normal, but not gene-targeted SP-D knockout mice. SP-D was also detected in vitro in cultured human and mouse corneal epithelial cells. In conclusion, SP-D is present in human tear fluid and in human and mouse corneal epithelia. SP-D is involved in human tear fluid protection against P. aeruginosa invasion. Whether SP-D plays other roles in the regulation of other innate or adaptive immune responses at the ocular surface, as it does in the airways, remains to be explored.
A real time immunoassay in alumina membranes

To date, photonic biosensing with porous membranes has produced slow responses and long sensing times, due to the narrow (less than 100 nm) closed end pores of the membranes used. Recently, polarimetry was used to demonstrate analyte flow through, and real time biosensing in, free-standing porous alumina membranes. Here, we demonstrate how an improved functionalization technology, has for the first time enabled a real-time immunoassay within a porous membrane with a total assay time below one hour. With the new approach, we show a noise floor for individual biosensing measurements of 3.7 ng/ml (25 pM), and a bulk refractive index detection limit of 5×10-6 RIU, with a standard deviation of less than 5%. The membranes, with their 200 nm pore diameter enabling targeted delivering of analytes to bioreceptors immobilized on the pore walls, therefore provide a route towards rapid and low cost real-time opto-fluidic biosensors for small sample volumes.
High capacity and rate capability of amorphous phosphorus for sodium ion batteries.

Turning on your P/C: An amorphous phosphorus/carbon (a-P/C) composite was synthesized using simple mechanical ball milling of red phosphorus and conductive carbon powders. This material gave an extraordinarily high sodium ion storage capacity of 1764 mA h g(-1) (see graph) with a very high rate capability, showing great promise as a high capacity and high rate anode material for sodium ion batteries.
Genomics, biogeography, and the diversification of placental mammals

Previous molecular analyses of mammalian evolutionary relationships involving a wide range of placental mammalian taxa have been restricted in size from one to two dozen gene loci and have not decisively resolved the basal branching order within Placentalia. Here, on extracting from thousands of gene loci both their coding nucleotide sequences and translated amino acid sequences, we attempt to resolve key uncertainties about the ancient branching pattern of crown placental mammals. Focusing on ≈1,700 conserved gene loci, those that have the more slowly evolving coding sequences, and using maximum-likelihood, Bayesian inference, maximum parsimony, and neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic tree reconstruction methods, we find from almost all results that a clade (the southern Atlantogenata) composed of Afrotheria and Xenarthra is the sister group of all other (the northern Boreoeutheria) crown placental mammals, among boreoeutherians Rodentia groups with Lagomorpha, and the resultant Glires is close to Primates. Only the NJ tree for nucleotide sequences separates Rodentia (murids) first and then Lagomorpha (rabbit) from the other placental mammals. However, this nucleotide NJ tree still depicts Atlantogenata and Boreoeutheria but minus Rodentia and Lagomorpha. Moreover, the NJ tree for amino acid sequences does depict the basal separation to be between Atlantogenata and a Boreoeutheria that includes Rodentia and Lagomorpha. Crown placental mammalian diversification appears to be largely the result of ancient plate tectonic events that allowed time for convergent phenotypes to evolve in the descendant clades.
Notice of RetractionMolecular Cloning and Sequence Analysis of the Gene Encoding Interleukin-18 of the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a novel proinflammatory cytokine with potent interferon (IFN)-γ inducing activity that plays a crucial biological role in the enhancement of the activity of natural killer cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. In the present study, the cloning and sequence analysis of interleukin-18 (IL-18) from the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) were described. The results showed that the cloned giant panda IL-18 gene was 582 bp in length, encoding a polypeptide of 192 amino acids. Homology analyses indicated that the identity levels of nucleotide and deduced that amino and acid sequences of IL-18 between the giant panda and other species of mammals ranges from 98.6% to 82.5% and from 96.4% to 73.2%, respectively. The functionally important domains and sites that have previously been recognized in other mammals were all observed in the IL-18 sequence of the giant panda. These result proves that the cDNA fragment cloned is indeed the IL-18 molecule with biological activity and can be used in immunological studies of the giant panda.
Impact of the introduction of A/Sydney/5/97 H3N2 influenza virus into South Africa

In 1998 South Africa experienced a major influenza epidemic that was characterized by extensive illness and an unusually early season. The impact of the epidemic was charted by measuring proxy indexes of influenza activity such as school absenteeism and excess mortality in persons older than 65 years. Viruses isolated from patients of all age groups were analyzed both antigenically and at the molecular level to determine the characteristics of the influenza strain responsible for the outbreaks. The study revealed that influenza activity was detected as early as the middle of April and peaked toward the end of May and early June. School absenteeism correlated with a sharp rise in virus isolation during this period. Consumption of influenza‐related pharmaceuticals, as well as mortality figures, also corresponded to the increased absenteeism and virus isolation. Characterization of the viruses isolated during 1997 and 1998 showed clearly that the epidemic was caused by the introduction of the A/Sydney/5/97‐like H3N2 influenza strain into South Africa in 1998. With no prior exposure to this virus strain, which is antigenically distinct from the viruses that had been present in this country in 1997, the population was highly susceptible, resulting in an early, rapid spread of influenza. This epidemic has highlighted the importance of having an influenza vaccine specifically formulated for the Southern Hemisphere. If the 1998 vaccine had not contained the A/Sydney/5/97 strain, the widespread outbreaks in South Africa would have been far worse in terms of morbidity, mortality, and economic loss. This, in turn, emphasizes the need for increased influenza surveillance and international cooperation. J. Med. Virol. 59:561–568, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.