HOXD8 exerts a tumor-suppressing role in colorectal cancer as an apoptotic inducer

Homeobox (HOX) genes are conserved transcription factors which determine the anterior-posterior body axis patterning. HOXD8 is a member of HOX genes deregulated in several tumors such as lung carcinoma, neuroblastoma, glioma and colorectal cancer (CRC) in a context-dependent manner. In CRC, HOXD8 is downregulated in cancer tissues and metastatic foci as compared to normal tissues. Whether HOXD8 acts as a tumor suppressor of malignant progression and metastasis is still unclear. Also, the underlying mechanism of its function including the downstream targets is totally unknown. Here, we clarified the lower expression of HOXD8 in clinical colorectal cancer vs. normal colon tissues. Also, we showed that stable expression of HOXD8 in colorectal cancer cells significantly reduced the cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth and invasion. Further, using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we identified the genes associated with HOXD8 in order to demonstrate its function as a suppressor or a promoter of colorectal carcinoma. Among inversely related genes, apoptotic inhibitors like STK38 kinase and MYC were shown to be negatively associated with HOXD8. We demonstrated the ability of HOXD8 to upregulate executioner caspases 6 & 7 and cleaved PARP, thus inducing the apoptotic events in colorectal cancer cells

SATB2 suppresses the progression of colorectal cancer cells via inactivation of MEK5/ERK5 signaling

名古屋大学Nagoya University博士(医学)doctoral thesi

Examining gender differences toward the adoption of online learning and predicting the readiness of faculty members in a Middle-Eastern recently established public university

This quantitative study examined the gender-based difference toward the adoption of online learning based on constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). It is also aimed to predict the Behavioral Intention of the adoption of online learning based on the predicting variables of the TPB, Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioral Control toward the adoption of online learning. The gender was used to examine the moderating effect on the relationship between the three predictors (Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioral Control) and outcome (Behavioral Intention). The study included 162 participants, including both males and females. All participants were faculty members working at a Middle Eastern recently-established university. The results showed no statistical differences between male and female faculty members in all variables of the TPB (Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioral Control, and Behavioral Intention). The predictor variable Subjective Norm appeared to be a statistically significant predictor, and Attitude and Perceived Control appeared to be statistically nonsignificant predictors. Finally, gender appeared to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between the predictor Perceived Behavioral Control and Behavioral Intention

A NEW STATISTICAL MODEL FOR THE ESTIMATION OF AUTOCLAVE EXPANSION OF PORTLAND CEMENT

This paper presents the predictive functional control of an autoclave expansion of Portland cement, using non-linear regression equation. This is in order to save time and expense also for quality control assurance for produced cement (in cement factories). The autoclave expansion test (ASTM C151- 05) is one of the internationally used tests in detecting the unsoundness of Portland cement. The factors affecting test results were reviewed. A statistical analysis was built and based on 50 different cement samples taken from 8 different Iraqi cement factories. Thirty three of the samples were ordinary Portland cement while the other seventeen samples were sulfate resisting Portland cement. The model examines different variables such as; chemical composition (phase composition and oxides percentages), and physical properties such as fineness. Regression analysis was performed to establish a mathematical formula. According to the analysis the model provide good estimation of autoclave expansion and yielded good correlations with the data used in this study. It was found that the multiple linear regressions are very suitable for predicting the autoclave expansion of Portland cement. Study results indicate that the correlation coefficient may reach 0.9797, indicating that the proposed method has referential value. The model was tested with collected new raw data and the predictions were highly correlation to the experimental results (R2=0.9535)

The effects of ionizing radiation on the face fly, Musca autumnalis DeGeer, irradiated in nitrogen

Six day old face fly pupae, one day before emergence, were irradiated in a nitrogenous atmosphere using gamma radiation from a cobalt 60 source. Six levels of gamma radiation were used: 0, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500 rads. The effects of gamma radiation on eclosion, reproduction, and male longevity and competitiveness were determined. Female mating habits under laboratory conditions were also examined;Irradiation under anoxic conditions did not adversely affect adult eclosion, female fecundity or male competitiveness. Sterility in treated males and females increased as radiation dosage increased. A dose of 2500 rads reduced fertility of males to less than 1% and produced similar results in the females. Longevity of treated males was not affected by increasing radiation dose up to 2000 rads. However, males receiving 2500 rads died sooner than unirradiated males. Studies on the mating habit of the female face fly showed that most of the females mated only once; however, few of them mated a second time;The results of this study indicate that face fly males treated as six-day old pupae with 2500 rads in a nitrogenous atmosphere would apparently be satisfactory for use in a sterile male release program

Development of amine-functionalized mesoporous alumina for radioiodine removal from water

“Radioactive materials have spread due to careless disposal and nuclear disasters. Some radionuclides can exist in an aqueous media, like radioactive iodine. As a result, in this work amine-functionalized mesoporous alumina was developed to adsorb radioactive iodine from the liquid phase. Bismuth was incorporated, using a wet impregnation method, to test it as a possible silver replacement. Amine grafting was used to functionalize the surface of the mesoporous alumina. All materials prepared in this work were characterized by N2 physisorption, FTIR and TGA to determine the textural properties, surface functionality, and amine loading. The synthesized materials were tested for iodine adsorption in batch experiments. The effect of initial iodine concentration, temperature, contact time, bismuth loading, amine chain, and amine loading were studied in this work. The iodine adsorption capacities were obtained, and it was found that Bi15/Al-DMAPS had the highest iodine adsorption capacity of 215 mg/g in the first paper; whereas, Al-DMAPS had the highest iodine adsorption capacity of 241 mg/g in the second paper. BET surface areas were also obtained and found to be 176 and 191 m2/g for Bi15/Al-DMAPS and Al-DMAPS, respectively”--Abstract, page iv

A Real Time Distributed Network Monitoring Platform (RTDNM)

Perkembangan geografi dan peningkatan saiz dalam rangkaian-rangkaian komputer menjadikan keperluan pemantauan terhadapnya menjadi semakin penting. As computer networks increase in size and expand geographically, the necessity to monitor them becomes increasingly important

Knowledge Transfer: A Critical Review of Research Approaches

Knowledge transfer occurs when individuals in the organization share knowledge, skills, recommendations, and ideas pertinent to the organization. Individuals, members of one group, or members of different groups communicate. Direct commitment between the broadcaster and receiver is necessary to ensure that knowledge sharing is successful. Knowledge transfer considers sharing information throughout the organization's divisions and employees. There has been tremendous growth in the amount of study done on knowledge generation and transfer. The latter is caused by knowledge development and transfer, both of which increase an organization's competitiveness. Since the beginning of knowledge management research in the middle of the 1990s, the theoretical development of knowledge transfer has continued to grow. The researcher conducted a critical review of the literature to evaluate the various research approaches utilized by past studies. The paper tries to review and summarize the different approaches which will guide future research studies in knowledge transfer

UUM's Library Reminder System

According to the 9th and 10th rules in the Sultanah Bahiyah Library, students are responsible for the returning or books borrowed on/before the due date; fines will be imposed on late return of materials borrowed. The delay of return will also affect the well balanced flow of the books. In order to solve the problem, a UUM's Library reminder system is proposed in this research to remind the students to return books on time. The proposed system will follow the General Methodology of Design Research introduced by Vaishnavi and Kuechler. Following this methodology, the awareness of problem and suggestion is made first, after the development of the system, evaluation is conducted and finally conclusion is made. This system is hoped to make the library's daily operation more efficient and help the students to avoid punishment of delay to return books

The pattern of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in Saudi Arabia: a descriptive epidemiological analysis of data from the Saudi Ministry of Health

Purpose: This study describes the epidemiology of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia. Patients and methods: Epidemiological analysis was performed on data from all MERS-CoV cases recorded by the Saudi Ministry of Health between June 6, 2013 and May 14, 2014. The frequency of cases and deaths was calculated and adjusted by month, sex, age group, and region. The average monthly temperature and humidity of infected regions throughout the year was also calculated. Results: A total of 425 cases were recorded over the study period. The highest number of cases and deaths occurred between April and May 2014. Disease occurrence among men (260 cases [62%]) was higher than in women (162 cases [38%]), and the case fatality rate was higher for men (52%) than for women (23%). In addition, those in the 45–59 years and ≥60 years age groups were most likely to be infected, and the case fatality rate for these people was higher than for other groups. The highest number of cases and deaths were reported in Riyadh (169 cases; 43 deaths), followed by Jeddah (156 cases; 36 deaths) and the Eastern Region (24 cases; 22 deaths). The highest case fatality rate was in the Eastern Region (92%), followed by Medinah (36%) and Najran (33%). MERS-CoV infection actively causes disease in environments with low relative humidity (<20%) and high temperature (15°C–35°C). Conclusion: MERS-CoV is considered an epidemic in Saudi Arabia. The frequency of cases and deaths is higher among men than women, and those above 45 years of age are most affected. Low relative humidity and high temperature can enhance the spread of this disease in the entire population. Further analytical studies are required to determine the source and mode of infection in Saudi Arabia