Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural Changes in the RNA Polymerase II Transcription Complex during Transition from Initiation to Elongation

ABSTRACT We obtained exonuclease III (exoIII) footprints for a series of RNA polymerase II transcription complexes stalled between positions +20 to +51. Downstream advance of the exoIII footprint is normally tightly coordinated with RNA synthesis. However, arrested RNA polymerases slide back along the template, as indicated by exoIII footprints in which the last transcribed base is abnormally close to the downstream edge of the footprint. None of the polymerase II complexes stalled between +20 and +51 were arrested. Nevertheless, the exoIII footprints of complexes with 20-, 23-, or 25-nucleotide RNAs resembled those of arrested complexes, with the last transcribed base very close to the footprint’s front edge. The exoIII footprint of the +27 complex was displaced downstream by 17 bp compared to the footprint of the +25 complex. Many complexes between +27 and +42 also showed evidence of sliding back along the template. We compared the effects of template sequence and transcript length by constructing a new template in which the initial transcribed sequence was duplicated beginning at +98. The exoIII footprints of transcription complexes stalled between +122 to +130 on this DNA did not resemble those of arrested complexes, in contrast to the footprints of analogous complexes stalled over the same DNA sequences early in transcription. Our results indicate that the RNA polymerase II transcription complex passes through a major, sequence-independent structural transition about 25 bases downstream of the starting point of transcription. The fully mature form of the elongation complex may not appear until more than 40 bonds have been made.
Use of the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) to Predict Iranian Women’s Intention for Vaginal Delivery

Purpose: To explicate whether knowledge, perception of health threat, efficacy, and personal beliefs act as predictors for women’s intention to have a normal vaginal birth. Design: The study uses a mixed approach. Simultaneously, 290 pregnant women who visited prenatal clinics completed the study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire based on Witte’s extended parallel process model and four focus groups, respectively. Results: Women perceived lower risk but higher levels of efficacy. Perceived self-efficacy, severity, and response efficacy were identified as significant predictors of intention to experience vaginal birth. Participants’ insufficient knowledge and misconceptions about birth methods were dominant. Two major themes were identified and divided into negative and positive beliefs about vaginal birth. Discussion: The extended parallel process model provides a useful framework to assess women’s intention to have a vaginal birth, especially when it is combined with a qualitative approach. Within Iranian women, self-confident mothers are more likely to intend to deliver vaginally. Implication for Further Practice: Prenatal care provides an opportunity for nurses and midwives to explore mothers’ beliefs and intended childbirth method prior to offering medical intervention.
Profitable Robot Strategies in Pari‐Mutuel Betting

We have collected odds and results from 7 474 horse races in Norway and Sweden for a period of approximately 1.5 years. Based on the odds from the win game, we construct a profitable betting strategy for the corresponding triple game. Given a 30% track take, the existence of a profitable strategy is surprising. A robot is typically needed to identify and exploit underrated bets. We argue that the existence of heterogeneous beliefs between players in the market might form a basis for profitable betting strategies. We did expect that bigger pools (more liquidity) would remove this anomaly. That is not the case. More players, and thereby bigger pools, increases the profitability of the system.
Brief Report: Methotrexate Prevents Wear Particle–Induced Inflammatory Osteolysis in Mice Via Activation of Adenosine A2A Receptor

Adenosine, acting at the A2A receptor, mediates the antiinflammatory effects of methotrexate (MTX) in models of inflammation. We previously reported that A2A receptor ligation diminishes wear particle–driven osteolysis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether MTX treatment could prevent bone resorption caused by inflammatory osteolysis.
The NASA-ISRO SAR mission - An international space partnership for science and societal benefit

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have embarked on the formulation of a proposed Earth-orbiting science and applications mission that would exploit synthetic aperture radar to map Earth's surface every 12 days. The mission's primary objectives would be to study Earth land and ice deformation, and ecosystems, in areas of common interest to the US and Indian science communities. To meet demanding coverage, sampling, and accuracy requirements, the system would require a swath of over 240 km at fine resolution, using full polarimetry where needed. To address the broad range of disciplines and scientific study areas of the mission, a dual-frequency system was conceived, at L-band (24 cm wavelength) and S-band (10 cm wavelength). To achieve these observational characteristics, a reflector-feed system is considered, whereby the feed aperture elements are individually sampled to allow a scan-on-receive (“SweepSAR”) capability at both L-band and S-band. In the partnership, NASA would provide the instrument structure for both L- and S-band electronics, the L-band electronics, the reflector and associated boom, and an avionics payload to interface with the radar that would include a solid state recorder, high-rate Ka-band telecommunication link, and a GPS receiver. ISRO would provide the spacecraft and launch vehicle, and the S-band radar electronics.
Effects of a 3-mo Consumption of Short-Chain Fructo-Oligosaccharides on Parameters of Colorectal Carcinogenesis in Patients With or Without Small or Large Colorectal Adenomas

Abstract: Intervention studies of colorectal adenoma recurrence have demonstrated the need for surrogate markers of the cancer risk. Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (sc-FOS) have protective actions on colon carcinogenesis in animal models. We investigated differences in biological markers between adenoma and adenoma-free subjects, before and after 3 mo of daily intake of 10 g sc-FOS, within a multicenter study. After a full colonoscopy, 3 groups were studied at baseline and after 3 mo: 26 subjects with small colorectal adenoma(s), 18 with large adenoma(s), and 30 with no adenoma. At baseline, the mean fecal butyrate concentration was significantly lower in the adenoma groups than in the adenoma-free group (12.01 ± 5.08 vs. 17.28 ± 7.34 mmol/g dry weight) but was significantly increased in that group after 3-mo ingestion of sc-FOS (15.7 ± 8.0 mmol/g; P = 0.02). In subjects without adenoma, sc-FOS ingestion was associated with a decrease in fecal lithocholic acid (P = 0.02) and an increase in cholic acid (P = 0.02), chenodeoxycholic acid (P = 0.04), total primary bile acids (P = 0.03), and ursodeoxycholic acid (P = 0.05). Fecal pH, blood parameters, and crypt cell proliferation were not significantly modified by sc-FOS ingestion in either group. In subjects with and without adenoma, sc-FOS affects some aspects of the colonic environment, which may be involved in prevention of colorectal neoplasia.
The Study of Consumer Trust in C2C e-Commerce Based on Reputation Score, Information Disclosure, Online Consumer Review Quality

Trust has been empirically established as one of the key attributes in C2C e-commerce. In this paper, we focus on the factors that influence trust in e sellers. By using an experimental method, we confirm that seller's reputation, information disclosure and online consumer reviews have positive impact on consumer trust. Meanwhile, we found that quality of online consumer reviews (OCR) and information disclosure moderate the relation of seller's reputation and consumer trust. The effect of seller's reputation on consumer trust is greater in information disclosure cases than in no disclosure cases. Compared with lowquality online review cases, the relationship between seller's reputation and consumer is more significant in high-quality online review cases.
The effect of accounting information systems on the performance of Mexican micro, small and medium-sized family firms

This study analyses how the implementation of accounting and financial information and management control systems affect the performance of family and non-family micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the hospitality sector in Quintana Roo State (Mexico). The authors carried out a cross-sectional study with a sample of 122 family and non-family tourism MSMEs (composed of 72 family and 50 non-family firms). A survey was used to collect the data. The results show that managers of family firms in the hospitality sector use less accounting and financial information in their decisions than those of non-family firms. The findings also imply that hospitality family firms maintain less formalized management control systems than non-family firms in terms of the timeliness, aggregation and integration of economic and financial information in the decision-making process.
Selection of canonical images of travel attractions using image clustering and aesthetics analysis

The popularity of smart phones and development of 3G mobile networks have dramatically increased the sharing of photos on social platforms. However, the huge numbers of images depicting tourist attractions uploaded to photo-sharing websites vary in terms of subjective photographic intent and contain considerable environmental noise. We propose an approach for finding canonical images of travel attractions from online social platforms, and apply aesthetics analysis to rank the results. This approach can provide travel websites with a mechanism for automatic image selection and help travellers browse travel spots. The methods used include face detection to filter attractions images containing people, feature extraction, and feature classification to filter out background features. We then calculate the similarity among images, and apply an affinity propagation algorithm for clustering and find canonical images. Finally, the clustered images are ranked by aesthetics scores. Experimental results show that the proposed approach obtains representative and aesthetically-pleasing images for attractions that include artificial landmarks.
Optimum number of secondary users and optimum fusion rule in cooperative spectrum sensing to maximize channel throughput

In cognitive radio networks, secondary users can be coordinated to perform cooperative spectrum sensing to achieve higher detection accuracy. However, when the number of cooperative users increases, more overhead traffic of decision transmission introduced to network and throughput of cognitive radio network decreases. Furthermore, the performance of cooperative spectrum sensing is limited by the probability of reporting errors. In this paper, first we study optimal number of secondary users in cooperative spectrum sensing to maximize the achievable throughput for the secondary network under the constraint that the primary users are sufficiently protected. We formulate the optimization problem mathematically for cognitive radio networks over Rayleigh fading channels, which affects on decision reporting error. Then, we investigate the effect of fusion rule parameter on the throughput performance and develop the optimization model to increase the maximum achievable throughput. Numerical and simulation results will prove that the final optimization problem yields the highest throughput for the secondary network.
Low-Molecular-Weight Thiols and Thioredoxins Are Important Players in Hg(II) Resistance in Thermus thermophilus HB27

ABSTRACT Mercury (Hg), one of the most toxic and widely distributed heavy metals, has a high affinity for thiol groups. Thiol groups reduce and sequester Hg. Therefore, low-molecular-weight (LMW) and protein thiols may be important cell components used in Hg resistance. To date, the role of low-molecular-weight thiols in Hg detoxification remains understudied. The mercury resistance (mer) operon of Thermus thermophilus suggests an evolutionary link between Hg(II) resistance and low-molecular-weight thiol metabolism. The mer operon encodes an enzyme involved in methionine biosynthesis, Oah. Challenge with Hg(II) resulted in increased expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis of multiple low-molecular-weight thiols (cysteine, homocysteine, and bacillithiol), as well as the thioredoxin system. Phenotypic analysis of gene replacement mutants indicated that Oah contributes to Hg resistance under sulfur-limiting conditions, and strains lacking bacillithiol and/or thioredoxins are more sensitive to Hg(II) than the wild type. Growth in the presence of either a thiol-oxidizing agent or a thiol-alkylating agent increased sensitivity to Hg(II). Furthermore, exposure to 3 μM Hg(II) consumed all intracellular reduced bacillithiol and cysteine. Database searches indicate that oah2 is present in all Thermus sp. mer operons. The presence of a thiol-related gene was also detected in some alphaproteobacterial mer operons, in which a glutathione reductase gene was present, supporting the role of thiols in Hg(II) detoxification. These results have led to a working model in which LMW thiols act as Hg(II)-buffering agents while Hg is reduced by MerA. IMPORTANCE The survival of microorganisms in the presence of toxic metals is central to life's sustainability. The affinity of thiol groups for toxic heavy metals drives microbe-metal interactions and modulates metal toxicity. Mercury detoxification (mer) genes likely originated early in microbial evolution in geothermal environments. Little is known about how mer systems interact with cellular thiol systems. Thermus spp. possess a simple mer operon in which a low-molecular-weight thiol biosynthesis gene is present, along with merR and merA. In this study, we present experimental evidence for the role of thiol systems in mercury resistance. Our data suggest that, in T. thermophilus, thiolated compounds may function side by side with mer genes to detoxify mercury. Thus, thiol systems function in consort with mer-mediated resistance to mercury, suggesting exciting new questions for future research.
Investigating the Influence of Psychological Ownership and Resistance on Usage Intention among Physicians

Rising health care costs are compelling many medical organizations to invest in new health information technologies (HIT). Physician adoption of such technologies is a common concern, and this concern has motivated many project teams to experiment with approaches that engage users early in the deployment process. In this study, we examine the roles of psychological ownership, perceived threat, perceived risk, and resistance to change within a large North American Hospital. We integrate previous promising work to develop a new model of physician acceptance. Our analysis indicates that contextual factors brought on by user engagement in the design process may have significant positive effect on the development of psychological ownership, and this attachment can be a significant influence on user acceptance, particularly in counteracting the effects of resistance to change brought out by the physicians perception of threat, and risk.
Stability of Plant Defense Proteins in the Gut of Insect Herbivores1[C][W][OA]

Plant defense against insect herbivores is mediated in part by enzymes that impair digestive processes in the insect gut. Little is known about the evolutionary origins of these enzymes, their distribution in the plant kingdom, or the mechanisms by which they act in the protease-rich environment of the animal digestive tract. One example of such an enzyme is threonine (Thr) deaminase (TD), which in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) serves a dual role in isoleucine (Ile) biosynthesis in planta and Thr degradation in the insect midgut. Here, we report that tomato uses different TD isozymes to perform these functions. Whereas the constitutively expressed TD1 has a housekeeping role in Ile biosynthesis, expression of TD2 in leaves is activated by the jasmonate signaling pathway in response to herbivore attack. Ingestion of tomato foliage by specialist (Manduca sexta) and generalist (Trichoplusia ni) insect herbivores triggered proteolytic removal of TD2's C-terminal regulatory domain, resulting in an enzyme that degrades Thr without being inhibited through feedback by Ile. This processed form (pTD2) of TD2 accumulated to high levels in the insect midgut and feces (frass). Purified pTD2 exhibited biochemical properties that are consistent with a postingestive role in defense. Shotgun proteomic analysis of frass from tomato-reared M. sexta identified pTD2 as one of the most abundant proteins in the excrement. Among the other tomato proteins identified were several jasmonate-inducible proteins that have a known or proposed role in anti-insect defense. Subtilisin-like proteases and other pathogenesis-related proteins, as well as proteins of unknown function, were also cataloged. We conclude that proteomic analysis of frass from insect herbivores provides a robust experimental approach to identify hyperstable plant proteins that serve important roles in defense.
Lunch‐time food source is associated with school hour and school day diet quality among Canadian children

BACKGROUND There is limited research on the dietary behaviours of Canadian children at school, including where students obtain food from during school hours or whether lunch-time food source influences diet quality. METHODS Nationally representative cross-sectional data from 24-h dietary recalls were analysed from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey (n = 4589). Dietary outcomes included school hour and school day dietary intakes and School Healthy Eating Index (S-HEI) scores. Survey-weighted covariate-adjusted linear regression models examined differences in dietary outcomes across lunch-time food source groups. RESULTS The majority of children (72.8%) reported bringing lunch from home, whereas fewer students obtained lunch from off-campus locations (11.6%), schools (9.6%) or skipped lunch (5.9%). Compared to off-campus lunches, home-packed lunches were significantly higher in fibre, vitamins A, D and C, thiamin, magnesium, iron, grains, vegetables and fruit, but lower in total calories, fat and calories from minimally nutritious foods. Average school hour diet quality required improvement for all age groups, although S-HEI scores did not differ significantly by lunch-time food source among 6-8-year-old children. However, for children age 9-17 years, bringing a home-packed lunch was associated with significantly higher S-HEI scores compared to students obtaining lunch from off-campus locations. After adjusting for age and sex, lunch-time food source was also significantly associated with whole day dietary quality. CONCLUSIONS Although the nutritional quality of off-campus lunches was lower than home-packed lunches, the quality of foods was suboptimal, regardless of food source. Strategies are needed to enhance access to nutritious foods on campus and improve the nutritional quality of packed lunches, which supply the majority of lunch-time foods consumed by Canadian children.
Epidemiology and survival outcome of breast cancer in a nationwide study

Breast cancer is among the most prevalent cancers in Taiwan. The National Health Insurance database was used to identify patients with breast cancer and estimate the yearly prevalence and incidence of breast cancer between 1997 and 2013. Joinpoint regression analysis was used for the annual percentage change of incidence, prevalence, and survival outcome. Among 12,181,919 female beneficiaries in 2013, the prevalence was 834.37 per 100,000 persons (95% confidence interval, 829.28–839.45) and the incidence was 93.00 per 100,000 person-year (95% confidence interval, 91.27–94.73). The average annual percentage change of the age-standardized breast cancer incidence was 3.5 per 100,000 person-years (3.1–3.8; P < 0.05), suggesting an increase in breast cancer incidence over the study period. The 5-year mortality rate was 4.5% in 1997 and 4.4% in 2008. The 5-year mortality rate among patients with Charlson comorbidity index > 1 was 39.1% (19.2%–59.1%) in 1997 and 21.1% (15.7%-32.0%) in 2008, with an annual percentage change of –0.8 (–1.3 to 2.9), suggesting that the mortality rate was gradually decreasing in patients with comorbidities. In conclusion, 1 in 120 women in Taiwan has breast cancer and the incidence is rising, while the annual percentage change of breast cancer prevalence is decreasing. The mortality rate of breast cancer was essentially stable, but the 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year mortality rates in people with Charlson comorbidity index > 1 were declined.
Kruppel-Like Factor 2 Is Required for Trafficking but Not Quiescence in Postactivated T Cells

The transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) was proposed to regulate genes involved in cell cycle entry and T cell trafficking; however, the physiological role of its expression in postactivated T cells is not well defined. Previous studies suggested that the cytokines IL-2 and IL-15 differentially regulate KLF2 re-expression in postactivation T cells and that these cytokines also influence effector versus memory T cell differentiation. Using conditional and inducible KLF2-knockout model systems, we tested the specific role of KLF2 expression in activated CD8+ T cells cultured with these cytokines. KLF2 was required for effective transcription of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-1 (S1P1) and CD62L in postactivation T cells. However, although different cytokines dramatically altered the expression of cell-cycle–related genes, endogenous KLF2 had a minimal impact. Correspondingly, KLF2-deficient T cells showed dysregulated trafficking but not altered proliferative characteristics following in vivo responses to Ag. Thus, our data help to define KLF2-dependent and -independent aspects of activatedCD8+ T cell differentiation and argue against a physiological role in cell cycle regulation.
IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF P57 IN PLACENTAL VASCULAR PROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OF PRETERM AND TERM PLACENTAS

P57 protein is implicated in some human imprinting disorders such as hydatiform mole and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), both characterized by mesenchymal and vascular placental abnormalities. We investigated p57 immunohistochemical expression in placental vascular proliferative disorders of preterm and term placentas, including chorangiosis (n = 5), chorangiomatosis (n = 2), chorangiomas (n = 7), umbilical cord angioma (n = 1), and placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD) (n = 7). P57 was expressed in decidua, cytotrophoblast, intermediate trophoblast and stromal cells of normal terminal, intermediate and stem villi, umbilical cord, chorangiosis, chorangiomatosis, and chorangiomas. In contrast, there was a loss of p57 expression in stromal cells of dysplastic stem villi in all cases of PMD regardless of whether associated with BWS or not. P57 seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of a subset of placental vascular proliferative disorders in preterm and term placentas, such as PMD. The loss of p57 expression in PMD could be of diagnostic value in helping to distinguish this rare placental lesion from its mimickers.