Faculty Perceptions Of Online Accounting Coursework

The perceptions of faculty members, who design and evaluate online accounting coursework content, are an important consideration in determining the quality inherent in such content. This study reports the results of a survey which examines accounting faculty members’ attitudes towards online education (measured as their willingness to accept transfer credit) and various contributing factors that may affect their attitudes.  The results indicate that faculty members harbor significant favoritism toward accepting credit from a student with a traditional, as opposed to an online or blended learning, educational background. Additional results suggest that faculty members’ previous experience with online teaching made no significant impact on their acceptance of transfer credit for the online student; however, faculty members with administrative experience were shown to be more accepting of online education. Furthermore, accounting faculty members generally consider the online educational environment to be less rigorous and less equipped to instill technical and soft skill sets than the traditional educational environment

International Students’ Awareness of U.S. Tax Filings

International students studying in the United States (U.S.) must follow many rules and regulations implemented by the federal government, including tax filing requirements. Generally, international students must file Form 8843 with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicating that they are nonresidents exempt from taxation on worldwide income during their first five years in the U.S. In addition, they must file Form 1040-NR if they earn any taxable income in the U.S. This exploratory study examines the level of tax filing knowledge international students possess, as well as the characteristics of both international students and their educational institutions to ascertain if they may have a bearing on the students’ knowledge of the U.S. tax filings that should be filed. Data suggest that governmental and educational institutions may wish to bolster the dissemination of educational tax materials; otherwise, perhaps a significant number of international students may not be compliant with current IRS regulations

Proto-oncogene Activity of Melanoma Antigen-A11 (MAGE-A11) Regulates Retinoblastoma-related p107 and E2F1 Proteins

Melanoma antigen-A11 (MAGE-A11) is a low-abundance, primate-specific steroid receptor coregulator in normal tissues of the human reproductive tract that is expressed at higher levels in prostate cancer. Increased expression of MAGE-A11 enhances androgen receptor transcriptional activity and promotes prostate cancer cell growth. Further investigation into the mechanisms of MAGE-A11 function in prostate cancer demonstrated interactions with the retinoblastoma-related protein p107 and Rb tumor suppressor but no interaction with p130 of the Rb family. MAGE-A11 interaction with p107 was associated with transcriptional repression in cells with low MAGE-A11 and transcriptional activation in cells with higher MAGE-A11. Selective interaction of MAGE-A11 with retinoblastoma family members suggested the regulation of E2F transcription factors. MAGE-A11 stabilized p107 by inhibition of ubiquitination and linked p107 to hypophosphorylated E2F1 in association with the stabilization and activation of E2F1. The androgen receptor and MAGE-A11 modulated endogenous expression of the E2F1-regulated cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1. The ability of MAGE-A11 to increase E2F1 transcriptional activity was similar to the activity of adenovirus early oncoprotein E1A and depended on MAGE-A11 interactions with p107 and p300. The immunoreactivity of p107 and MAGE-A11 was greater in advanced prostate cancer than in benign prostate, and knockdown with small inhibitory RNA showed that p107 is a transcriptional activator in prostate cancer cells. These results suggest that MAGE-A11 is a proto-oncogene whose increased expression in prostate cancer reverses retinoblastoma-related protein p107 from a transcriptional repressor to a transcriptional activator of the androgen receptor and E2F1

Primate-specific Melanoma Antigen-A11 Regulates Isoform-specific Human Progesterone Receptor-B Transactivation

Progesterone acting through the progesterone receptor (PR) and its coregulators prepares the human endometrium for receptivity to embryo implantation and maintains pregnancy. The menstrual cycle-dependent expression of melanoma antigen-A11 (MAGE-11) in the mid-secretory human endometrium suggested a novel function in human PR signaling. Here we show that MAGE-11 is an isoform-specific coregulator responsible for the greater transcriptional activity of human PR-B relative to PR-A. PR was recruited to progesterone response regions of progesterone-regulated FK506-binding protein 5 (FKBP5) immunophilin and small Ras family G protein cell growth inhibitor RASD1 genes. Expression of MAGE-11 lentivirus shRNA in human endometrial Ishikawa cells expressing PR-B showed that MAGE-11 is required for isoform-specific PR-B up-regulation of FKBP5. In contrast, MAGE-11 was not required for progesterone up-regulation of RASD1 in endometrial cells expressing the PR-A/B heterodimer. Target gene specificity of PR-B depended on the synergistic actions of MAGE-11 and p300 mediated by the unique PR-B NH2-terminal 110LLXXVLXXLL119 motif that interacts with the MAGE-11 F-box region in a phosphorylation- and ubiquitinylation-dependent manner. A progesterone-dependent mechanism is proposed in which MAGE-11 and p300 increase PR-B up-regulation of the FKBP5 gene. MAGE-11 down-regulates PR-B, similar to the effects of progesterone, and interacts with FKBP5 to stabilize a complex with PR-B. We conclude that the coregulator function of MAGE-11 extends to isoform-specific regulation of PR-B during the cyclic development of the human endometrium

Melanoma Antigen-A11 (MAGE-A11) Enhances Transcriptional Activity by Linking Androgen Receptor Dimers

Prostate cancer growth and progression depend on androgen receptor (AR) signaling through transcriptional mechanisms that require interactions with coregulatory proteins, one of which is the primate-specific steroid receptor coregulator melanoma antigen-A11 (MAGE-A11). In this report, we provide evidence how increased expression of MAGE-A11 during prostate cancer progression enhances AR signaling and prostate cancer growth. MAGE-A11 protein levels were highest in castration-recurrent prostate cancer. The cyclic AMP-induced increase in androgen-dependent and androgen-independent AR transcriptional activity correlated with an increase in MAGE-A11 and was inhibited by silencing MAGE-A11 expression. MAGE-A11 mediated synergistic AR transcriptional activity in LAPC-4 prostate cancer cells. The ability of MAGE-A11 to rescue transcriptional activity of complementary inactive AR mutants and promote coimmunoprecipitation between unlike forms of AR suggests that MAGE-A11 links transcriptionally active AR dimers. A model for the AR·MAGE-A11 multidimeric complex is proposed in which one AR FXXLF motif of the AR dimer engages in the androgen-dependent AR NH2- and carboxyl-terminal interaction, whereas the second FXXLF motif region of the AR dimer interacts with dimeric MAGE-A11. The AR·MAGE-A11 multidimeric complex accounts for the dual functions of the AR FXXLF motif in the androgen-dependent AR NH2- and carboxyl-terminal interaction and binding MAGE-A11 and for synergy between reported AR splice variants and full-length AR. We conclude that the increased expression of MAGE-A11 in castration-recurrent prostate cancer, which is enhanced by cyclic AMP signaling, increases AR-dependent growth of prostate cancer by MAGE-A11 forming a molecular bridge between transcriptionally active AR dimers

Time Use and Food Pattern Influences on Obesity

The rise of obesity in the United States over the past 25 years has resulted in an increase in the number of research studies published related to the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to the problem. Most would agree that obesity is a multi-dimensional problem that requires a range of solutions related to individual diet and activity, food and built environment, and public policy. Examination of complex relationships between food choice, time use patterns, sociodemographic characteristics and obesity has been limited by data availability and disciplinary focus. Using the theory of the production of health capital, this paper links empirical data from the Consumer Expenditure, Current Population, and American Time Use Surveys to provide estimates of the impacts of food expenditure and time use patterns on obesity in single female headed households of 31–50 years of age

Automated deep learning segmentation of high-resolution 7 T postmortem MRI for quantitative analysis of structure-pathology correlations in neurodegenerative diseases

Postmortem MRI allows brain anatomy to be examined at high resolution and to link pathology measures with morphometric measurements. However, automated segmentation methods for brain mapping in postmortem MRI are not well developed, primarily due to limited availability of labeled datasets, and heterogeneity in scanner hardware and acquisition protocols. In this work, we present a high resolution of 135 postmortem human brain tissue specimens imaged at 0.3 mm$^{3}$ isotropic using a T2w sequence on a 7T whole-body MRI scanner. We developed a deep learning pipeline to segment the cortical mantle by benchmarking the performance of nine deep neural architectures, followed by post-hoc topological correction. We then segment four subcortical structures (caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, and thalamus), white matter hyperintensities, and the normal appearing white matter. We show generalizing capabilities across whole brain hemispheres in different specimens, and also on unseen images acquired at 0.28 mm^3 and 0.16 mm^3 isotropic T2*w FLASH sequence at 7T. We then compute localized cortical thickness and volumetric measurements across key regions, and link them with semi-quantitative neuropathological ratings. Our code, Jupyter notebooks, and the containerized executables are publicly available at: https://pulkit-khandelwal.github.io/exvivo-brain-upennComment: Preprint submitted to NeuroImage Project website: https://pulkit-khandelwal.github.io/exvivo-brain-upen

Identification and Functional Validation of the Novel Antimalarial Resistance Locus PF10_0355 in Plasmodium falciparum

The Plasmodium falciparum parasite's ability to adapt to environmental pressures, such as the human immune system and antimalarial drugs, makes malaria an enduring burden to public health. Understanding the genetic basis of these adaptations is critical to intervening successfully against malaria. To that end, we created a high-density genotyping array that assays over 17,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (~1 SNP/kb), and applied it to 57 culture-adapted parasites from three continents. We characterized genome-wide genetic diversity within and between populations and identified numerous loci with signals of natural selection, suggesting their role in recent adaptation. In addition, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS), searching for loci correlated with resistance to thirteen antimalarials; we detected both known and novel resistance loci, including a new halofantrine resistance locus, PF10_0355. Through functional testing we demonstrated that PF10_0355 overexpression decreases sensitivity to halofantrine, mefloquine, and lumefantrine, but not to structurally unrelated antimalarials, and that increased gene copy number mediates resistance. Our GWAS and follow-on functional validation demonstrate the potential of genome-wide studies to elucidate functionally important loci in the malaria parasite genome.Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationEllison Medical FoundationExxon Mobil FoundationFogarty International CenterNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.)Burroughs Wellcome FundDavid & Lucile Packard FoundationNational Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research Fellowship Progra

Panel 7: otitis media:treatment and complications

Objective: We aimed to summarize key articles published between 2011 and 2015 on the treatment of (recurrent) acute otitis media, otitis media with effusion, tympanostomy tube otorrhea, chronic suppurative otitis media and complications of otitis media, and their implications for clinical practice. Data Sources: PubMed, Ovid Medline, the Cochrane Library, and Clinical Evidence (BMJ Publishing). Review Methods: All types of articles related to otitis media treatment and complications between June 2011 and March 2015 were identified. A total of 1122 potential related articles were reviewed by the panel members; 118 relevant articles were ultimately included in this summary. Conclusions: Recent literature and guidelines emphasize accurate diagnosis of acute otitis media and optimal management of ear pain. Watchful waiting is optional in mild to moderate acute otitis media; antibiotics do shorten symptoms and duration of middle ear effusion. The additive benefit of adenoidectomy to tympanostomy tubes in recurrent acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion is controversial and age dependent. Topical antibiotic is the treatment of choice in acute tube otorrhea. Symptomatic hearing loss due to persistent otitis media with effusion is best treated with tympanostomy tubes. Novel molecular and biomaterial treatments as adjuvants to surgical closure of eardrum perforations seem promising. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of complementary and alternative treatments. Implications for Practice: Emphasis on accurate diagnosis of otitis media, in its various forms, is important to reduce overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and antibiotic resistance. Children at risk for otitis media and its complications deserve special attention