gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Success and Failure Factors of Foreign Direct Investment in Transnational Education (2017)

This study identifies the success and failure factors of foreign direct investment in transnational education. With western tertiary education markets becoming more saturated, it becomes essential for higher education institutions (HEI) to pursue new and lucrative opportunities internationally. One approach to internationalisation is the establishment of international branch campuses (IBC). This method provides the highest level of control but incurs the most risk, and failure can result in irrecoverable damage to reputation and substantial loss of resources. A review of the literature shows that numerous facets should be considered when establishing an IBC, but there are limited studies that holistically address what makes them successful or how success can be measured. Three research questions were devised to address the gaps in the extant literature. A three-stage exploratory mixed methodology is implemented consisting of expert surveys, case studies and a quantitative survey. The results show five factors that contribute to the success of an IBC. Additionally, eight classifications of success measures and a framework for establishing an IBC were identified. A key finding is the importance of the HEI factor; the remaining factors should be considered once it has been established that the HEI is able to open and operate an IBC efficiently. Furthermore, this study is one of few that presents a holistic view of how to operate an IBC successfully. The results of this thesis present HEI managers with the key considerations when developing an IBC and academicians with scope to further understand what makes IBCs successful.
Plag1 and Plagl2 are oncogenes that induce acute myeloid leukemia in cooperation with Cbfb-MYH11 (2004)

Recurrent chromosomal rearrangements are associated with the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The frequent inversion of chromosome 16 creates the CBFB-MYH11 fusion gene that encodes the fusion protein CBFbeta-SMMHC. This fusion protein inhibits the core-binding factor (CBF), resulting in a block of hematopoietic differentiation, and induces leukemia upon the acquisition of additional mutations. A recent genetic screen identified Plag1 and Plagl2 as CBF beta-SMMHC candidate cooperating proteins. In this study, we demonstrate that Plag1 and Plagl2 independently cooperate with CBF beta-SMMHC in vivo to efficiently trigger leukemia with short latency in the mouse. In addition, Plag1 and Plagl2 increased proliferation by inducing G1 to S transition that resulted in the expansion of hematopoietic progenitors and increased cell renewal in vitro. Finally, PLAG1 and PLAGL2 expression was increased in 20% of human AML samples. Interestingly, PLAGL2 was preferentially increased in samples with chromosome 16 inversion, suggesting that PLAG1 and PLAGL2 may also contribute to human AML. Overall, this study shows that Plag1 and Plagl2 are novel leukemia oncogenes that act by expanding hematopoietic progenitors expressing CbF beta-SMMHC.
Antisense treatment directed against mutated Ki-ras in human colorectal adenocarcinoma (2001)

Successful targeting of the clinically relevant Ki-ras point mutation with antisense oligonucleotides is difficult because of RNA structure at the mutated site and is inefficient compared with other sites on the Ki-ras mRNA.
Mucosal Tolerance to Prevent Type 1 Diabetes: Can the Outcome Be Improved in Humans? (2004)

The results of trials in which autoantigens have been fed to individuals affected by autoimmune diseases - multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes - have been disappointing in terms of clinical improvement. This is in striking contrast to the results in experimental rodent models of these diseases. The outcome of the recent DPT-1 trial testing oral insulin in individuals at risk of type 1 diabetes was also disappointing, in contrast to the effects of oral insulin in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of type 1 diabetes. However, it is premature to conclude that mucosal tolerance works only in in-bred rodents and not in humans with autoimmune disease. Except for oral insulin in DPT-1, the human trials were performed in individuals with end-stage disease when this form of immune regulation might not be expected to be effective. Importantly, in no trial was an immune response to the autoantigen documented, to demonstrate that the dose was at least bioavailable. Furthermore, mucosal autoantigen administration is a 'double-edged sword' and in rodents can lead not only to regulatory and protective immunity but also to pathogenic, tissue-destructive immunity and exacerbation of autoimmune disease. When suppression of autoimmune disease is observed it may be because autoantigen was administered under conditions which minimize induction of pathogenic immunity. Thus, clinical protocols for mucosal autoantigen administration may need to be modified to favor induction of regulatory immunity. In this short review, we discuss recent studies in autoimmune diabetes-prone NOD mice indicating that with novel modifications mucosal autoantigen administration could be harnessed to prevent type 1 diabetes in humans.
Motor imagery and direct brain-computer communication (2001)

Motor imagery can modify the neuronal activity in the primary sensorimotor areas in a very similar way as observable with a real executed movement. One part of EEG-based brain-computer interfaces (BCI) is based on the recording and classification of circumscribed and transient EEG changes during different types of motor imagery such as, e.g., imagination of left-hand, right-hand, or foot movement. Features such as, e.g., band power or adaptive autoregressive parameters are either extracted in bipolar EEG recordings overlaying sensorimotor areas or from an array of electrodes located over central and neighboring areas. For the classification of the features, linear discrimination analysis and neural networks are used. Characteristic for the Graz BCI is that a classifier is set up in a learning session and updated after one or more sessions with online feedback using the procedure of "rapid prototyping." As a result, a discrimination of two brain states (e.g., leftversus right-hand movement imagination) can be reached within only a few days of training. At this time, a tetraplegic patient is able to operate an EEG-based control of a hand orthosis with nearly 100% classification accuracy by mental imagination of specific motor commands.
N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR)-mediated biological actions involve retinoid receptor-independent pathways in human breast carcinoma (1995)

Retinoid response pathways involve retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors. N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4-HPR), a derivative of all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) is currently in clinical trials as a chemopreventive agent for breast cancer. The issue whether 4-HPR mediates its biological actions via classical retinoid receptor pathways remains to be investigated. In this study, we provide several lines of evidence that 4-HPR mediates its biological actions via a novel pathway(s) that does not involve the classical retinoid receptor pathways. For example, 4-HPR was more potent than RA as an antiproliferative agent and inhibited growth of otherwise RA-resistant human breast carcinoma cells. Exposure to 4-HPR resulted in the generation of DNA fragmentation with subsequent cell death in both RA-positive estrogen receptor (ER)-positive as well as RA-refractory ER-negative breast carcinoma cell lines. N-(4-Methoxyphenyl)retinamide (4-MPR), which is the major 4-HPR metabolite in circulation, was biologically inert in this system. 4-HPR and 4-MPR bound poorly to the RAR alpha, beta and gamma in vitro and only minimally activated the retinoic acid receptor element (RARE) and retinoid X receptor response elements (RXREs) in human breast carcinoma cells. Neither 4-HPR nor 4-MPR are metabolized to any of the known conventional retinoids. In addition, 4-HPR or 4-MPR transactivation of RAREs or RXREs transfected into MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells was not noted at 48 h. Nevertheless 4-HPR-mediated cell death was observed at 48 h, further suggesting that neither 4-HPR nor 4-MPR are metabolized to retinoids which activate the RAREs or RXREs in breast carcinoma cells. Furthermore, unlike RA, which exhibited anti-AP1 activity, 4-HPR inhibition of growth did not involve anti-AP1 activity. These results suggest that 4-HPR acts by a unique pathway that is not mediated by retinoid receptors.
Oxalobacter formigenes and Its Potential Role in Human Health (2002)

Oxalate degradation by the anaerobic bacterium Oxalobacter formigenes is important for human health, helping to prevent hyperoxaluria and disorders such as the development of kidney stones. Oxalate-degrading activity cannot be detected in the gut flora of some individuals, possibly because Oxalobacter is susceptible to commonly used antimicrobials. Here, clarithromycin, doxycycline, and some other antibiotics inhibited oxalate degradation by two human strains of O. formigenes. These strains varied in their response to gut environmental factors, including exposure to gastric acidity and bile salts. O. formigenes strains established oxalate breakdown in fermentors which were preinoculated with fecal bacteria from individuals lacking oxalate-degrading activity. Reducing the concentration of oxalate in the medium reduced the numbers of O. formigenes bacteria. Oxalate degradation was established and maintained at dilution rates comparable to colonic transit times in healthy individuals. A single oral ingestion of O. formigenes by adult volunteers was, for the first time, shown to result in (i) reduced urinary oxalate excretion following administration of an oxalate load, (ii) the recovery of oxalate-degrading activity in feces, and (iii) prolonged retention of colonization.
Advances of CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells in refractory/relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (2017)

Refractory/relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia remains to be a significant cause of cancer-associated morbidity and mortality for children and adults. Developing novel and effective molecular-targeted approaches is thus a major priority. Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cell (CAR-T) therapy, as one of the most promising targeted immunotherapies, has drawn extensive attention and resulted in multiple applications. According to published studies, CD19-directed CAR-T cells (CD19 CAR-T) can reach a complete remission rate of 94% in both children and adults with refractory/relapsed ALL, much higher than that of chemotherapy. However, the encouraging outcomes are often associated with complications such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), serious neurotoxicity, and on-target off-tumor effect, which seriously impeded further clinical application of CAR-T cells. Moreover, CAR-T therapy is typically associated with high relapse rate. This article briefly reviews the manufacture technologies, the conditioning regimens, the cell infusion doses, as well as the prevention and treatment strategies of complications for CAR-T cell therapy.
Does Calponin Interact with Caldesmon? (1997)

The roles of calponin and caldesmon and their interaction in regulation of smooth muscle contraction are controversial. Recently, strong binding between these two proteins has been reported (Graceffa, P., Adam, L. P., and Morgan, K. G. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 30336-30339). Results in this paper fail to confirm their data and are consistent with the concept of independent functions for calponin and caldesmon. To examine the ability of duck gizzard caldesmon to interact with calponin, three caldesmon derivatives, each containing a different sulfhydryl-specific reporter probe (6-acryloyl-2-dimethylaminonaphtalene, N-(1-pyrenyl)iodoacetamide, and N-iodoacetyl-N'-(5-sulfo-1-naphtylo)ethylenediamine) attached to a single cysteine located in the C-terminal domain, were synthesized. Addition of calponin to labeled caldesmon at both low and physiological salt concentrations did not induce any changes in fluorescence intensity or maximum shift. Under the same conditions, calmodulin and tropomyosin (known to bind to the C terminus of caldesmon) produced substantial changes in these spectral parameters. Gel filtration of an equimolar caldesmon-calponin mixture on a fast protein liquid chromatography Superose-12 column revealed two base-line-separated peaks, the first containing only caldesmon and the second only calponin, thus confirming the lack of any interaction between these two proteins. Also, the addition of calponin did not change the fluorescence parameters of labeled caldesmon in complexes with F-actin and F-actin-tropomyosin.
Comparative study of dip-angle domain Gaussian beam migration and Kirchhoff migration in diffraction separation (2014)

Summary It is of great significance on studying diffractions which contains valuable information of the discontinuous objects in subsurface. In dip-angle domain, seismic responses of reflection and diffraction are different, which provide a good opportunity for separating and making use of diffraction wavefield. Acquiring dip-angle gathers of high quality is one of the key steps for diffraction separation in dip-angle domain. In this paper, two methods of extracting dip-angle gather based on Kirchhoff depth migration and Gaussian beam migration are presented. Meanwhile, we apply these two methods to sigsbee2a numerical model respectively for diffraction separation. As a result, comparisons between full wavefield image, scattering angle gathers, dip-angle gathers and diffraction image demonstrate that Gaussian beam migration is of obvious advantage in boosting imaging accuracy of diffraction targets for complex structure areas.
APPLICATION OF GENE THERAPY TO ACUTE INFLAMMATORY DISEASES (1999)

The application of gene therapy to acute inflammation has not received as much research attention as has the treatment of genetically-based diseases, cancer, and viral infections. However, gene therapy as a drug delivery system offers several theoretical and practical advantages over current protein delivery systems. These include the ability to target therapies to individual tissues or cell types, to locally produce proteins that can act intracellularly or in an autocrine, juxtacrine, or paracrine fashion, and to sustain new protein synthesis for periods up to several weeks after a single administration. Although retrovirus, herpes simplex, and adeno-associated virus have been proposed for gene therapy in cancer and in genetic diseases, nonviral and adenovirus approaches appear most applicable as drug delivery systems due to their rapid onset and short duration of transgene expression. The relative modest transduction efficiencies obtained at present with nonviral approaches, and the inherent inflammatory properties of first-generation adenovirus constructs, however, have limited their usefulness to date. The present review discusses the theoretical and practical benefits of specific gene therapy approaches for the treatment of acute inflammatory diseases, as well as our experiences with liposome:plasmid DNA and adenovirus-based approaches. Although a number of technical and theoretical hurdles remain before it can be evaluated in humans with acute inflammation, gene therapy offers a novel approach for the treatment of acute inflammation, and will likely enter the armamentarium of critical care physicians in the near future.
Nuclear transplantation: reprogramming of transplanted nuclei (1999)

Recent results in animal cloning have demonstrated that the events of cell differentiation can be reversed. This reversal necessarily requires genetic reprogramming of the transplanted nucleus. It has emerged from review articles that synthesis of nuclear and ribosomal RNA is blocked after fusion independently of cell cycle stage of the transferred nucleus, and that the cytoplasm condition of the cytoplast controls the speed of this inhibition. Transcription of the embryonic genome in nuclear transplant embryos begins either at the same stage as in normal development or even earlier. Expression analysis of individual genes showed up differences between nuclear transplant and normal embryos at the blastocyst stage. A certain degree of nuclear reprogramming after fusion is necessary, but exact timing and the qualitative sequence of the processes are probably not necessary for the successful embryonic development of the cloned embryo. In the future, observation of the expression of individual genes will bring more exact information about nucleus reprogramming.
Tissue Temperature‐Controlled Radiofrequency Ablation (2003)

During radiofrequency energy delivery, the catheter tip temperature can be significantly lower than the tissue temperature. The authors performed tissue temperature-controlled radiofrequency ablation in vitro and evaluated the effects of cooling, electrode to tissue contact, and target tissue temperature on lesion size. Pieces of porcine ventricle were immersed in a bath of isotonic saline solution at 37 degrees C. Radiofrequency energy was controlled by the tissue temperature as measured with a thermocouple needle placed 2 mm beneath the ablation electrode. Radiofrequency power was delivered for 30 seconds and limited to 50 W. A total of 81 radiofrequency ablations was performed with different electrode to tissue contact forces (0.04 N, 0.36 N, and 0.67 N) and target tissue temperatures (50 degrees C, 60 degrees C, and 70 degrees C) using an irrigated (27 ablations, 20 mL/min irrigation flow rate) or a nonirrigated ablation catheter. Twenty-seven nonirrigated applications were performed with fluid flow maintained by the pump of the thermostat and another 27 applications without flow. Every combination was applied three times and the average values were used for evaluation. For tissue target temperatures of 50 degrees C, 60 degrees C, and 70 degrees C, the lesion volume for nonirrigated ablations was on average 21 +/- 8 mm3, 45 +/- 23 mm3, and 109 +/- 45 mm3, respectively, and for irrigated ablations 12 +/- 7 mm3, 37 +/- 20 mm3, and 92 +/- 30 mm3, respectively. In both application groups the lesion size did not correlate with the electrode to tissue contact force. In the nonirrigated ablation group there was no difference in lesion size between the group with fluid flow and those without. Lesion size during tissue temperature-controlled radiofrequency delivery increases with increasing target tissue temperature and becomes independent of flow and electrode to tissue contact.
Structures of Bisphosphonate Metal Complexes:  Zinc and Cadmium Complexes of Clodronate and Its Partial Ester Derivatives (2005)

Four new zinc and cadmium bisphosphonates [{NaZn(Cl2CP2O6H)(H2O)5}]n (1), [{Cd2(Cl2CP2O6)(H2O)4}.H2O]n (2), [{Zn(Cl2CP2O6Pri2)(H2O)3}.H2O]n (3), and [{Cd2(Cl2CP2O6Pri2)2(MeOH)2(H2O)2}.H2O]2 (4) have been prepared and their crystal structures determined by single-crystal X-ray diffractometry. Two bisphosphonate ligands were used: clodronate, (dichloromethylene)bis(phosphonate) and its symmetrical P,P'-diisopropyl ester derivative. The structure of the Zn complex 1 is three-dimensional, consisting of one-dimensional Zn-clodronate chains connected to the three-dimensional network by Na+ ions. The structure of Cd complex 2 consists of double layers, and a unique bond was found between the Cd2+ cation and a Cl atom of clodronate. Zn complex 3 consists of one-dimensional chains, but the binding of the bisphosphonate ligands is unique: in 3 the bisphosphonate ligand is only bidentate. Compound 4 is a tetramer, and hydrogen bonds hold the tetramers together, forming a layered structure.
Template boundary definition in Tetrahymena telomerase (2002)

Telomerase elongates chromosome ends by addition of telomeric DNA repeats. The telomerase ribonucleoprotein can copy only a short template sequence within the telomerase RNA subunit. Here, we identify a region of telomerase RNA that is necessary for both correct 5' template boundary definition and high affinity telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) interaction. We also demonstrate that TERT mutants in the RNA binding domain compromise both 5' boundary definition and RNA binding. Our results indicate that sequence-specific interaction of a telomerase RNA element with the TERT RNA binding domain, not the active site motifs, defines the template boundary.
What Where Wi: An Analysis of Millions of Wi-Fi Access Points (2007)

With the growing demand for wireless Internet access and increasing maturity of IEEE 802.11 technologies, wireless networks have sprung up by the millions throughout the world as a popular means for Internet access. An increasingly popular use of Wi-Fi networking equipment is to provide wireless 'hotspots' as the wireless access points (APs) to the Internet. These APs are installed and managed by individuals and businesses in an unregulated manner -allowing anyone to install and operate one of these devices using unlicensed radio spectrum. This has allowed literally millions of these APs to become available and 'visible' to any interested party who happens to be within range of the radio waves emitted from the device. As the density of these APs increases, these 'beacons' can be put into multiple uses. From home networking to wireless positioning to mesh networks, there are more alternative ways for connecting wirelessly as newer, longer-range technologies come to market. This paper reports an initial study that examines a database of over 5 million wireless access points collected through systematic wardriving by Skyhook Wireless. By performing the analytical study of this data including the default naming behavior, movement of access points over time, and density of access points, we found that the AP data, coupled with location information, can provide a fertile ground for understanding the "what, where and why" of Wi-Fi access points. More importantly, the analysis and mining of this vast and growing collection of AP data can yield important technological, social and economical results.
Elevated Il-8 And Mcp-1 In The Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Of Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis And Pulmonary Sarcoidosis (1994)

The potential for interleukin-8 (IL-8) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) to induce neutrophil and mononuclear phagocyte accumulation in the lungs of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was investigated. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids from 12 patients with IPF and 15 with sarcoidosis were concentrated by reversed-phase chromatography, and their IL-8 and MCP-1 concentrations assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), chemotaxis, and enzyme-releasing assays with monocytes and neutrophils. ELISA revealed significantly elevated concentrations of MCP-1 (20.1 ng/mg albumin) in the BAL fluids of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis and those with IPF (41.8 ng/mg) in comparison to 11 normal individuals (4.24 ng/mg) and 15 patients with chronic bronchitis (CB) (5.16 ng/mg). Similarly, the chemotactic activity for monocytes (MCP-1 equivalent) was strongly increased in patients with sarcoidosis (86.03 ng/mg) as well as in those with IPF (54.47 ng/mg). The chemoattractant activity of normal individuals and CB patients was 7- or 3-fold lower, respectively. Patients with IPF and sarcoidosis also had elevated IL-8 levels (15.5 and 26.0 ng/mg, respectively; normals: 2.14 ng/mg; and CB patients: 4.23 ng/mg) and greater neutrophil chemotaxis (60.25 and 49.68 ng/mg, respectively; normals: 0.35 ng/mg; and CB patients: 11.06 ng/mg). These data suggest that increased levels of both MCP-1 and IL-8 may be characteristic for sarcoidosis or IPF. It appears likely that both of these chemoattractants contribute to the influx of monocytes and neutrophils into the pulmonary alveolus and interstitium in these diseases.