Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oncogenic signaling inhibits c-FLIP expression and promotes cancer cell survival during ECM-detachment

Inhibition of programmed cell death pathways is frequently observed in cancer cells where it functions to facilitate tumor progression. However, some proteins involved in the regulation of cell death function dichotomously to both promote and inhibit cell death depending on the cellular context. As such, understanding how cell death proteins are regulated in a context-dependent fashion in cancer cells is of utmost importance. We have uncovered evidence that cellular FLICE-like Inhibitory Protein (c-FLIP), a well-known anti-apoptotic protein, is often downregulated in tumor tissue when compared to adjacent normal tissue. These data argue that c-FLIP may have activity distinct from its canonical role in antagonizing cell death. Interestingly, we have discovered that detachment from extracellular matrix (ECM) serves as a signal to elevate c-FLIP transcription and that oncogenic signaling blocks ECM-detachment-induced c-FLIP elevation. In addition, our data reveal that downregulation of c-FLIP promotes the survival of ECM-detached cells and that c-FLIP overexpression in cancer cells restricts the viability of cancer cells grown in anchorage-independent conditions. Taken together, our study reveals an unexpected role for c-FLIP in constraining the viability of cancer cells during ECM-detachment and raises the idea that c-FLIP may have context-dependent pro- and anti-cell death roles during tumorigenesis.
Nanoconfinement of microvilli alters gene expression and boosts T cell activation

Significance Microvilli are used by immune cells to sense the surface features of pathogens and antigen presenting cells. However, microvilli’s contribution in T cell signaling and activation is largely unknown. Here, we introduce a material-based platform for induction of microvilli formation in T cells, in which the dimensions of the microvilli can be controlled by tuning the dimensions of the nanotopographical features, such as pore depth, pore size, and interpore distance. We demonstrate the direct causality between microvilli formation and altered gene expression in T cells. We discover that the size of the microvilli critically influences T cell receptor agonistic independent signaling in T cells. The results provide a physical strategy for T cell activation and expansion for immunotherapy applications. T cells sense and respond to their local environment at the nanoscale by forming small actin-rich protrusions, called microvilli, which play critical roles in signaling and antigen recognition, particularly at the interface with the antigen presenting cells. However, the mechanism by which microvilli contribute to cell signaling and activation is largely unknown. Here, we present a tunable engineered system that promotes microvilli formation and T cell signaling via physical stimuli. We discovered that nanoporous surfaces favored microvilli formation and markedly altered gene expression in T cells and promoted their activation. Mechanistically, confinement of microvilli inside of nanopores leads to size-dependent sorting of membrane-anchored proteins, specifically segregating CD45 phosphatases and T cell receptors (TCR) from the tip of the protrusions when microvilli are confined in 200-nm pores but not in 400-nm pores. Consequently, formation of TCR nanoclustered hotspots within 200-nm pores allows sustained and augmented signaling that prompts T cell activation even in the absence of TCR agonists. The synergistic combination of mechanical and biochemical signals on porous surfaces presents a straightforward strategy to investigate the role of microvilli in T cell signaling as well as to boost T cell activation and expansion for application in the growing field of adoptive immunotherapy.
Normal development of the brain: a survey of joint structural–functional brain studies

Abstract Joint structural–functional (S-F) developmental studies present a novel approach to address the complex neuroscience questions on how the human brain works and how it matures. Joint S-F biomarkers have the inherent potential to model effectively the brain’s maturation, fill the information gap in temporal brain atlases, and demonstrate how the brain’s performance matures during the lifespan. This review presents the current state of knowledge on heterochronous and heterogeneous development of S-F links during the maturation period. The S-F relationship has been investigated in early-matured unimodal and prolonged-matured transmodal regions of the brain using a variety of structural and functional biomarkers and data acquisition modalities. Joint S-F unimodal studies have employed auditory and visual stimuli, while the main focus of joint S-F transmodal studies has been resting-state and cognitive experiments. However, nonsignificant associations between some structural and functional biomarkers and their maturation show that designing and developing effective S-F biomarkers is still a challenge in the field. Maturational characteristics of brain asymmetries have been poorly investigated by the joint S-F studies, and the results were partially inconsistent with previous nonjoint ones. The inherent complexity of the brain performance can be modeled using multifactorial and nonlinear techniques as promising methods to simulate the impact of age on S-F relations considering their analysis challenges.
Genome assembly of the popular Korean soybean cultivar Hwangkeum

Massive resequencing efforts have been undertaken to catalog allelic variants in major crop species including soybean, but the scope of the information for genetic variation often depends on short sequence reads mapped to the extant reference genome. Additional de novo assembled genome sequences provide a unique opportunity to explore a dispensable genome fraction in the pan-genome of a species. Here, we report the de novo assembly and annotation of Hwangkeum, a popular soybean cultivar in Korea. The assembly was constructed using PromethION nanopore sequencing data and two genetic maps, and was then error-corrected using Illumina short-reads and PacBio SMRT reads. The 933.12 Mb assembly was annotated 79,870 transcripts for 58,550 genes using RNA-Seq data and the public soybean annotation set. Comparison of the Hwangkeum assembly with the Williams 82 soybean reference genome sequence revealed 1.8 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms, 0.5 million indels, and 25 thousand putative structural variants. However, there was no natural megabase-scale chromosomal rearrangement. Incidentally, by adding two novel groups, we found that soybean contains four clearly separated groups of centromeric satellite repeats. Analyses of satellite repeats and gene content suggested that the Hwangkeum assembly is a high-quality assembly. This was further supported by comparison of the marker arrangement of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes and of gene arrangement at the Rsv3 locus. Therefore, the results indicate that the de novo assembly of Hwangkeum is a valuable additional reference genome resource for characterizing traits for the improvement of this important crop species.
Improved Deep Forest Mode for Detection of Fraudulent Online Transaction

As the rapid development of online transactions, transaction frauds have also emerged seriously. The fraud strategies are characterized by specialization, industrialization, concealment and scenes. Anti-fraud technologies face many challenges under the trend of new situations. In this paper, aiming at sample imbalance and strong concealment of online transactions, we enhance the original deep forest framework to propose a deep forest-based online transaction fraud detection model. Based on the BaggingBalance method we propose, we establish a global sample imbalance processing mechanism to deal with the problem of sample imbalance. In addition, the autoencoder model is introduced into the detection model to enhance the representation learning ability. Via the three-month real online trans-actions data of a China’s bank, the experimental results show that, evaluating by the metric of precision and recall rate, the proposed model has a beyond 10 % improvement compared to the random forest model, and a beyond 5 % improvement compared to the original deep forest model.
Collaborative Knowledge Construction Mediated by Technology

: Collaborative knowledge construction is a complex process and entails many forms of communicative and social interactions. This preliminary, qualitative case study attempts to understand collaborative knowledge construction processes when learners share both physical and virtual environments to create digital structures. The results show four techniques in which the participants engage to advance the digital creations. This study provides educators with insight of how to capitalize on opportunities to use technology and support collaboration.
Measuring the Computational in Computational Participation: Debugging Interactive Stories in Middle School Computer Science

: An equitable implementation of K-12 computer science must support inclusive literacy practices, but it must also develop concrete skills. This study analyzes the extent to which a computer science curriculum based on digital storytelling helped students become more effective at debugging. Prior research has developed digital storytelling as a medium for computational participation, but few studies have reported detailed results on growth in computer science skills. Meanwhile, research on debugging has tended not to address sociocultural factors. This study, conducted over four months of a middle-school computer science course using interactive storytelling, analyzed student reading, writing, and debugging practices based on approximately 1000 story edits and user behavior collected from the platform's logs. The results suggest that literacy-based computer science education using digital storytelling can be productive for developing skills such as debugging.
Taking the Patch Perspective: A Comparative Analysis of a Patch Based Participatory Simulation

: In this paper we explore the implementations of an activity designed to engage students in an embodied simulation of an artistically expressive Agent-based modeling environment. We compare how two facilitators implemented the same activity, analyzing how they co-developed differing substrates with their students. We argue that instructors facilitated different embodied agent-based perspectives, which led students to develop considerably different conceptualizations of how these agents interact and how to code in this environment.
The Affordable Touchy Feely Classroom: Textbooks Embedded with Manipulable Vectors and Lesson Plans Augment Imagination, Extend Teaching-Learning Practices

: Computational media for mathematics and science education have been around for forty years, but teaching and learning practices are still centered surrounding the textbooks in the developing world, mainly due to their affordability. Teachers thus organise their thinking, workflow and classroom interactions using textbooks. However, text media limit students' ability to imagine the dynamics embedded in mathematics and science formalisms, such as vectors. We outline an affordable design that augments textbooks, to: allow all students to imagine such dynamics; help teachers reorganize their thinking and workflow; make all classrooms highly collaborative. The design consists of a 'touchy-feely vector' system (smartphone-based manipulation of vectors), a 'virtual lesson plan' (manipulable simulations that extend textbook figures), and a 'mixed-media' textbook (QR codes pasted next to figures, linked to manipulable simulations). We discuss how this integrated design changed learning and teaching practices, based on an ethnographic study of experimental and control classrooms.
Perspective Taking in Participatory Simulation-based Collaborative Learning

: This experimental study examined participatory simulation-based collaborative learning in a teaching training setting. A virtual-reality (VR) supported, embodiment integrated learning system is constructed to enable collaborative and contextualized teaching practices by university teaching assistants. A total of 40 teaching assistants participated in a 4-hour teaching training session, during which they were randomly assigned to a VR-supported and a live simulation group. Participants reported significantly higher teaching self-efficacy after the training. The VR participatory simulation better promoted the post-session, lab-teaching knowledge test performance than the live simulation. ‘Bicentric’ perspective taking embedded in VR-based interactions facilitated both experiential and vicarious learning. Yet a concurrent hybrid presence framed by the virtual and physical collocation of participants exerted an over-reliance on individual autonomy in VR simulation-based collaborative learning.
Optimization of the Database Structure of a Distributed Corporate Information System Node Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

The relevance of the problem of optimizing the database structure of a node in corporate information systems (CIS) is due to the widespread use of information technologies of multi-level, geographically dispersed computer systems, including those with distributed databases. One of the research aims is to determine and build a mathematical model of the optimality criteria for the structure of a remote node of the distributed corporate information system database. The statistics of user SQL-queries activity is taken into account and presented in the form of a multidimensional database. Criteria of the model effectiveness are formulated, which are independence from the central node of the database, the size of the local database, and an indicator of the level of need for data synchronization. The problem of multicriteria optimization is solved by using of hierarchy analysis method. Among the using method’s features can be mentioned: different sets of optimality criteria for the evolving individuals; quantifying of the data representation marker value into 5 alternatives and automatically presetting the matrices of pairwise comparisons on the last level of the hierarchy. Solving the problem of multicriteria analysis and choosing the best alternative makes possible to determine the optimal level of the data representation marker. It makes possible to classify the attributes and tuples of DB relations according to their representation on the node of distributed CIS.
Neural network based prediction of less side effect causing cancer drug targets in the network of MAPK pathways

: Computational side-effect prediction tools assist in rational drug design to decrease the late-stage failure of the drugs. Irrational selection of cancer drug targets in the deregulated MAPK pathways causes side effects. Network centralities and biological features – Degree, Radiality, Eccentricity, Closeness, Bridging, Stress, Pagerank centralities, essentiality, pathway-specific proteins, disease-causing proteins, protein domains are exploited quantitatively. We train an artificial neural network (ANN) with 15 selected features for the binary classification of side effects causing and less side-effect causing drug targets among the non-targeted proteins. Top ranked proteins among the Degree, Eccentricity, betweenness centralities, possessing GO-based molecular function, involved in more than one Biocarta pathways, domain content are prone to cause a number of side effects than other centralities and functional features. We predicted the following 15 less side effect causing cancer drug targets – Shc, Rap 1a, Mos, Tpl-2, PAC1, 4EBP1, GAB1, LAD, MEF2, ZAK, GADD45, TAB2, TAB1, ELK1 and SRF.
Moderating Effect of Marital Status among Mindfulness, Procrastination and Job Performance of Employees

ARTICLE DETAILS ABSTRACT History: Accepted 13 March 2021 Available Online March 2021 Self-determination theory and job resource demand model is widely applied framework to understand mindfulness, procrastination and job performance of employees in organizational settings. The endeavor of the current research is to understand the moderating role of marital status among mindfulness, procrastination and job performance. Performance is behavior and is closely related to productivity in an organization. Although, job performance have several determinants where cognitive or mental ability is one of the determinants of job performance (Schmitt & Hunter, 2004). Purposive sampling technique was applied based on cross sectional approach. Mindfulness attention awareness scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) Tuckman’s procrastination scale (TPS; Tuckman, 1991) and job performance scale (JPS; Wright, Kacmar, Mcmahan & Deleeuw, 1995) were used on the sample of 400 employees working in telecom organizations. The correlation as well as moderation analysis were carried out to investigate the study data. Findings demonstrate the relationship of mindfulness, procrastination and job performance whereas marital status is performing moderating role among study variables. The results support the self-determination theory and job resource demand model.
A Framework for Lifecycle Management Based on IoT and RFID

: The Internet of Things (IoT) envisions a multitude of heterogeneous objects and interactions with the physical environment and in the same time requires software architectures that are able to deal with a large amount of information, queries and computation. This paper presents a semantic modelling approach for addressing the functionalities provided by these objects in an IoT framework. In particular, the paper focuses on RFID networks integration by using dedicated association mechanisms, and proposes solutions for solving important issues such as enabling high level semantic interoperability, developing RFID middleware for providing identification, authentication, validation, monitoring of IoT devices and of encapsulated “real-world services, ensuring compatibility with standards and managing specific applications. As a novelty, the paper brings in a framework for developing solutions for lifecycle management of assets, which includes a three-tier architecture using algorithms of artificial intelligence to facilitate the association of context-aware systems with intelligent IoT devices
Self-control and beliefs surrounding others’ cooperation predict own health-protective behaviors and support for COVID-19 government regulations: Evidence from two European countries

In the current pandemic, both self-regulated health-protective behavior and government-imposed regulations are needed for successful outbreak mitigation. Going forward, researchers and decision-makers must therefore understand the factors contributing to individuals’ engagement in health-protective behavior, and their support for government regulations. Integrating knowledge from the literatures on self-control and cooperation, we explore an informed selection of potential predictors of individuals’ health-protective behaviors as well as their support for government regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aiming for a conceptual replication in two European countries, we collected data in Switzerland (N = 352) and the UK before (N = 212) and during lockdown (n = 132) and conducted supervised machine learning for variable selection, followed by OLS regression, cross-sectionally and, in the UK sample, across time. Results showed that personal importance of outbreak mitigation and beliefs surrounding others’ cooperation are associated with both health-protective behavior and support for government regulations. Further, Swiss participants high in trait self-control engaged in health-protective behavior more often. Interestingly, perceived risk, age, and political orientation consistently displayed nonsignificant weak to zero associations with both health-protective behavior and support. Together, these findings highlight the contribution of self-control theories in explaining COVID-19-relevant outcomes, and underscore the importance of contextualizing self-control within the cooperative social context.
The Influence of E-WOM on Egyptian Private Airlines Ticket Purchasing Intention

With onset of the digital age, the airline industry has become increasingly influenced by online networks’ communications. The continuous growth of social networks is visible and obvious which extend the impact of electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) on different online travel platforms. This research aims to investigate the factors which influence eWOM on purchase intention of the passengers travelling onboard the Egyptian private airlines. Moreover, the research questionnaire survey technique uses in this research to assess the dimensions of eWOM and passengers’ purchase intention on airlines’ tickets. The sample of the study are the passengers whom travelling onboard the Egyptian private airlines. Beneficial sampling techniques used in this research and structural equation modeling use to test the research hypotheses. The results of the study confirm that the eWOM has direct influence on the Egyptian private airlines’ ticket purchasing intention. The most valuable result of the research is eWOM has significant importance which can be widely used by Egyptian private airlines’ marketing managers in their online marketing campaigns to attract and engage more customers.
Comparative studies on antioxidant properties of wild and cultured shrimps

The aim of the study was to compare the antioxidant potential on edible parts of wild Penaeus species ( P . semisulcatus , P . indicus , P . monodon and Metapenaeus monoceros ) and culture Penaeus species ( P. vannamei , P . monodon ). Antioxidant properties of the samples were assessed using 1, 1- diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl and hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging assays for ascorbic acid equivalents. Various concentrations of methanolic extract of the sample (4.0mL) were mixed with 1.0mL of methanolic solution containing DPPH radicals, resulting in the final concentration of DPPH being 0.1mM and IC 50 value was calculated. From the results, the culture species P.vannamei was recorded maximum inhibition 97.69% at 4000 µg /mL followed by P.monodon (culture) 96.62% with IC 50 value at low concentration 2500 µg /mL. On comparing wild Penaeus species, P. indicus shown the maximum inhibition of 92.68% at 4000 µg /mL with IC 50 at 2000 µg /mL and Metapenaeus monoceros shown 92.56% at 4000 µg /mL, IC 50 value 2500 µg /mL, respectively. Hence the study revealed that both wild and cultured shrimps are rich in antioxidant property observed by DPPH radical scavenging activity. Shrimp could be a unique source of the antioxidant and prevent the reduction of oxidative stress.