Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
African Swine Fever Virus Undergoes Outer Envelope Disruption, Capsid Disassembly and Inner Envelope Fusion before Core Release from Multivesicular Endosomes

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus (NCLDV) that causes a highly lethal disease in domestic pigs. As other NCLDVs, the extracellular form of ASFV possesses a multilayered structure consisting of a genome-containing nucleoid successively wrapped by a thick protein core shell, an inner lipid membrane, an icosahedral protein capsid and an outer lipid envelope. This structural complexity suggests an intricate mechanism of internalization in order to deliver the virus genome into the cytoplasm. By using flow cytometry in combination with pharmacological entry inhibitors, as well as fluorescence and electron microscopy approaches, we have dissected the entry and uncoating pathway used by ASFV to infect the macrophage, its natural host cell. We found that purified extracellular ASFV is internalized by both constitutive macropinocytosis and clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Once inside the cell, ASFV particles move from early endosomes or macropinosomes to late, multivesicular endosomes where they become uncoated. Virus uncoating requires acidic pH and involves the disruption of the outer membrane as well as of the protein capsid. As a consequence, the inner viral membrane becomes exposed and fuses with the limiting endosomal membrane to release the viral core into the cytosol. Interestingly, virus fusion is dependent on virus protein pE248R, a transmembrane polypeptide of the inner envelope that shares sequence similarity with some members of the poxviral entry/fusion complex. Collective evidence supports an entry model for ASFV that might also explain the uncoating of other multienveloped icosahedral NCLDVs.
Investigating the Influence of Magnesium Ions on p53–DNA Binding Using Atomic Force Microscopy

p53 is a tumor suppressor protein that plays a significant role in apoptosis and senescence, preserving genomic stability, and preventing oncogene expression. Metal ions, such as magnesium and zinc ions, have important influences on p53–DNA interactions for stabilizing the structure of the protein and enhancing its affinity to DNA. In the present study, we systematically investigated the interaction of full length human protein p53 with DNA in metal ion solution by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The p53–DNA complexes at various p53 concentrations were scanned by AFM and their images are used to measure the dissociation constant of p53–DNA binding by a statistical method. We found that the dissociation constant of p53 binding DNA is 328.02 nmol/L in physiological buffer conditions. The influence of magnesium ions on p53–DNA binding was studied by AFM at various ion strengths through visualization. We found that magnesium ions significantly stimulate the binding of the protein to DNA in a sequence-independent manner, different from that stimulated by zinc. Furthermore, the high concentrations of magnesium ions can promote p53 aggregation and even lead to the formation of self-assembly networks of DNA and p53 proteins. We propose an aggregation and self-assembly model based on the present observation and discuss its biological meaning.
Environmental Justice and the Political Process: Movements, Corporations, and the State

I explore two questions in this article: (1) How has the role of the U.S. state in the political process changed vis-à-vis corporations? (2) What tactical repertoires have movements devised to confront this changing political process? Through the lens of the U.S. environmental movement, I find that (1) the state's policy-making authority has weakened as corporations have become both policy makers and the new targets of challengers, (2) the environmental movement has devised organizing strategies—such as corporate-community compacts or good neighbor agreements—to respond to and influence this new political process, and (3) those segments of the movement that ignore the political economic process are likely to meet with failure. These changes in the political economy constitute a challenge for the political process model. I therefore propose a “political economic process” perspective to extend the political process model and more accurately capture these dynamics. The political economic process perspective evaluates four state-centric assumptions of the political process model (the state as the primary movement target or vehicle of reform, the state policy-making monopoly, capital as just another interest group, and the primacy of the nation-state level of analysis) and demonstrates that the political economic process has changed in dramatic ways.
Biogeography-based optimization with ensemble of migration models for global numerical optimization

Biogeography-based optimization (BBO) is a new evolutionary algorithm inspired by biogeography. BBO has demonstrated good performance on various benchmark functions and real-world optimization problems. However, the performance of BBO is sensitive to the migration model which provides the most important control parameters, immigration rate and emigration rate. According to no free lunch theorem, it is impossible for BBO with a single migration model to obtain always good performance. In this paper, BBO with an ensemble of migration models (BBO-EMM) is introduced and is realized using in three parallel populations. The performance is tested on a set of 25 benchmark functions of CEC 2005 and compared with variant versions of BBO with a single migration model with respect to optimization ability and running time. Results show that the proposed BBO-EMM is better than other BBO algorithms for the problems that we studied in this paper.
Personal ideals and socially desirable responding

The effect of personal ideals on socially desirable responding (impression management or IM, and self‐deception or SDE) was examined in a study of 428 undergraduate students. The subjects indicated their endorsement of 56 values and filled in Paulhus's (1991) Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Three IM types, viz. ingratiators, exemplificators, and intimidators, were defined from the subjects’ personal ideals. We hypothesized that both ingratiators and exemplificators score high and that intimidators score low on IM items. These hypotheses were confirmed, but the result for intimidators was only marginally reliable. Furthermore, it turned out that high IM scorers strove for collective values but high SDE scorers strove for individual values. The results are discussed as an expression of a self‐construction process, which is based on personal, rather than social, ideals. In addition, the implications of the results for controlling the effect of socially desirable responding are discussed.
A switched beam antenna for hemispherical coverage

A hemispherical switched antenna array operating at 1.5 GHz is described. Nine dual-linearly polarized radiator elements are distributed over the surface of a hemisphere. A switching network can address serially all radiators, separately as well as by connecting in-phase to two neighboring radiators. This way, 15 switched beams are realized. The radiator element chosen is a crossed-dipole structure featuring about 7.5 dBi gain and an impedance bandwidth of 13%. The antenna has a diameter of about 1.75 wavelengths. Measurements of directivity distribution and polarization distribution are presented.
‘He was a Real Baby with Baby Things’

This article explores the ways members of pregnancy loss support groups in the US use material culture to deal with the ‘realness problem’ of miscarriage, stillbirth, and early infant death. I examine goods purchased or made for the child-to-be during pregnancy; goods given from the child-to-be during the pregnancy; goods given to, or in the memory of, the ‘baby’ after its death; and things acquired to memorialize the child within the family. Through the buying, giving, and preserving of things, women and their social networks actively construct their babies-to-be and would-have-been babies as ‘real babies’ and themselves as ‘real mothers’, worthy of the social recognition this role entails.
The Effect of Police Personnel Levels on Crime Clearance Rates: A Cross-National Analysis

A recent upsurge in governmental concern about police efficiency has produced a plethora of evaluative studies. Most of these studies have assumed a relationship between police activity and crime that has been, during the past eight years, seriously questioned. The present study investigates this relationship by employing a cross-national sample to resolve past methodological problems. Based on previous literature, the social conflict, economic, and political factors that confound the relationship between police personnel levels and crime clearance effects are identified and then controlled through regression analysis. The findings indicate that the number of police has a negative effect on clearance rates. However, its effect is minimal. In addition, the social structural characteristics of nations explain more variance in clearance rates than do the levels of police, as well as attenuate the observed relationship between the police personnel and crimes cleared by arrest. Of special interest is the findi.
Determination of the Horny Layer Profile by Tape Stripping in Combination with Optical Spectroscopy in the Visible Range as a Prerequisite to Quantify Percutaneous Absorption

A new method was developed to determine the horny layer profile of volunteers using tape stripping in combination with UV/visible spectroscopy. The optical absorbance and the weight of corneocyte aggregates were compared as parameters for the determination of the mass of the horny layer particles fixed to the individual tapes. It was shown that the potential disturbances influencing both parameters must be considered critically before calculating the correlation factor, found as R2mean = 0.93 ± 0.05. It was proven that the absorbance in the visible range is better suited than the weight to quantify the amount of corneocyte aggregates removed by a single strip. The new method allows an exact anatomical localization of the individual tapes and all data obtained within the depth profile of the stratum corneum. This was exemplified by the determination of the penetration of chemical and physical UV filters into the horny layer.
Changes in Work Centrality and Other Life Areas in Israel

This unique longitudinal study examines the state of work centrality and other life areas (family, leisure, community and religion) in Israel among the same individuals (n=407) over a 12-year period. A new representative sample (serving as a control group) of the Israeli labour force in 1992–93 (n=942) assists us in exploring whether the changes occurred by cohort, life course or period effect. The restudied sample maturation led to a decrease in the importance of leisure, while the importance of work, family, community and religion remained stable. The increase of work centrality between the 1980s and the 1990s was found to be influenced by period effect; there was no evidence of a life course or cohort effect on work centrality, while life course effect was found on the importance of community. In contrast to findings from other countries showing that young people attributed relatively high importance to leisure and relatively less importance to work, cohort effect regarding the latter was not observed in Israel. There, young people in the 1990s tended to view work and leisure as important as their predecessors did in the 1980s. Compared with research findings from the United States, Germany and Japan, work centrality in Israel was higher and more stable.
Emotional and interpersonal consequences of self-disclosure in a lived, online interaction.

Self-disclosure is a powerful precipitant and enhancer of interpersonal relationships, but its contingents and mechanisms are still poorly understood. To address this gap, we examined the emotional and interpersonal consequences of self-disclosure online with a particular focus on the real dynamic nature of the interaction. In two large-scale experiments, 234 dyads of undergraduates participated in an online chat. The dyads' self-disclosure (positive vs. negative vs. no self-disclosure), anonymity (present vs. absent), and role (initiator vs. exposed) were manipulated. Participants' personality factors (self-criticism, experiential avoidance, openness to experience) were assessed prior to the interaction. Positive and negative affect were assessed prior and subsequent to the interaction, and willingness to interact again was measured as an outcome interaction. Positive disclosure resulted in an increase in positive affect and negative disclosure resulted in an increase in negative affect for both initiato.
Thermodynamic characterization of RNA duplexes containing naturally occurring 1 x 2 nucleotide internal loops.

Thermodynamic data for RNA 1 x 2 nucleotide internal loops are lacking. Thermodynamic data that are available for 1 x 2 loops, however, are for loops that rarely occur in nature. In order to identify the most frequently occurring 1 x 2 nucleotide internal loops, a database of 955 RNA secondary structures was compiled and searched. Twenty-four RNA duplexes containing the most common 1 x 2 nucleotide loops were optically melted, and the thermodynamic parameters DeltaH degrees , DeltaS degrees , DeltaG degrees 37, and TM for each duplex were determined. This data set more than doubles the number of 1 x 2 nucleotide loops previously studied. A table of experimental free energy contributions for frequently occurring 1 x 2 nucleotide loops (as opposed to a predictive model) is likely to result in better prediction of RNA secondary structure from sequence. In order to improve free energy calculations for duplexes containing 1 x 2 nucleotide loops that do not have experimental free energy contributions, the data collected here were combined with data from 21 previously studied 1 x 2 loops. Using linear regression, the entire dataset was used to derive nearest neighbor parameters that can be used to predict the thermodynamics of previously unmeasured 1 x 2 nucleotide loops. The DeltaG degrees 37,loop and DeltaH degrees loop nearest neighbor parameters derived here were compared to values that were published previously for 1 x 2 nucleotide loops but were derived from either a significantly smaller dataset of 1 x 2 nucleotide loops or from internal loops of various sizes [Lu, Z. J., Turner, D. H. , and Mathews, D. H. (2006) Nucleic Acids Res. 34, 4912-4924]. Most of these values were found to be within experimental error, suggesting that previous approximations and assumptions associated with the derivation of those nearest neighbor parameters were valid. DeltaS degrees loop nearest neighbor parameters are also reported for 1 x 2 nucleotide loops. Both the experimental thermodynamics and the nearest neighbor parameters reported here can be used to improve secondary structure prediction from sequence.
Entry deterrence in durable goods monopoly

Some industries support Schumpeter's notion of creative destruction through innovative entrants. Others exhibit a single, persistent technological leadership. This paper explores a durable-goods monopolist threatened by entry via a new generation of the durable good. It is shown that the durability of the good either acts as an entry barrier itself or creates an opportunity for the incumbent firm to deter entry by limit pricing. As a consequence, the industry tends to remain monopolized, with successive generations of the durable good being introduced by the incumbent monopolist. We show that entry deterrence by limit pricing can lead to underinvestment in innovation.
Learning, memory and exploratory similarities in genetically identical cloned dogs

Somatic cell nuclear transfer allows generation of genetically identical animals using donor cells derived from animals with particular traits. To date, few studies have investigated whether or not these cloned dogs will show identical behavior patterns. To address this question, learning, memory and exploratory patterns were examined using six cloned dogs with identical nuclear genomes. The variance of total incorrect choice number in the Y-maze test among cloned dogs was significantly lower than that of the control dogs. There was also a significant decrease in variance in the level of exploratory activity in the open fields test compared to age-matched control dogs. These results indicate that cloned dogs show similar cognitive and exploratory patterns, suggesting that these behavioral phenotypes are related to the genotypes of the individuals.
Dental health status and caries pattern of preschool children in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess dental caries and its relation to plaque, tooth brushing habit and past dental attendance, and to determine the caries pattern in primary dentition of preschool children. METHODS One hundred and three, 5-year-old children, from preschool nurseries in Al-Kharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were studied in 1994. The World Health Organization criteria was used to determine caries. RESULTS Only 16.5% were caries free. The mean decayed missing filled teeth (dmft) was 7.1, and by excluding caries free children it was 8.5. The decay component of dmft was predominant (82%). Almost 90% of the children had plaque present on their teeth and one-third never brushed their teeth while two-thirds had never been to a dentist. All children who never brushed their teeth had plaque and caries. Molars were the teeth, which were most frequently carious, and caries among all teeth was always bilateral. CONCLUSION There was high prevalence of untreated caries and high dental needs with concomitant poor dental health among these preschool children.
Systemic NMDA Receptor Antagonist CGP-40116 Does Not Impair Memory Acquisition but Protects against NMDA Neurotoxicity in Rhesus Monkeys

A widely accepted hypothesis is that long-term potentiation (LTP) is a synaptic mechanism of memory. NMDA receptors are critically involved in induction but not maintenance of LTP; therefore, their blockade should impair memory acquisition but not retrieval. In Experiment 1, we investigated the effect of a systemic NMDA receptor antagonist, CGP-40116 [d-isomer of CGP-37849: (E)-2-amino-4-methyl-5-phosphono-3-pentenoic acid (6 mg/kg, i.m.) 60 min before the testing session] on memory acquisition and retrieval by monkeys in the “object-in-place” visual memory task, an analog of human episodic memory. Only a small increase in error rate was produced (<3%), and this increase was observed in both retention and acquisition tests. This deficit is substantially smaller than the previously reported deficit after fornix transection in the same task, and is not specific to memory acquisition. In Experiment 2, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of CGP-40116. NMDA (68 nmol) was injected into the right hippocampus, then CGP-40116 (6 mg/kg) was given intramuscularly, and then NMDA was injected into the left hippocampus. The area of cell loss in CA1 and CA3 fields was smaller in both hemispheres compared with unprotected monkeys (without CGP-40116). Thus, CGP-40116 provides both retrograde and anterograde protection against NMDA neurotoxicity. These data (1) demonstrate that acquisition of episodic memories remains almost intact when an NMDA receptor antagonist is given in a dose sufficient to block NMDA receptors in the hippocampus, and (2) indirectly oppose the hypothesis that NMDA receptor-dependent LTP plays the key role in memory.
The Effect of the Inclusion of Selfassessment with Peer Assessment of Contributions to a Group Project: A quantitative study of secret and agreed assessments

This paper presents the results of an experiment which compared secret and agreed peer and self-assessment of contributions to a group project. Students undertook a group assignment and assessed their own and each other's contributions both in secret and in open agreement within the group. The secret assessments led to a higher spread of individual marks within the group than the agreed assessments. There was a tendency for students towards the top end of the group to under-assess themselves in comparison with the assessment by their peers and for students towards the bottom end of the group to over-assess themselves. This trend was more marked for the secret assessments than for the agreed ones. The paper argues that the fairest way to conduct such assessments is to perform the peer assessments in secret and to ignore the self-assessment element in any final summative assessment. However, it is also argued that an open discussion between students about each other's contributions should take place before such secret assessments are undertaken.
Glutamate-Mediated Primary Somatosensory Cortex Excitability Correlated with Circulating Copper and Ceruloplasmin

Objective. To verify whether markers of metal homeostasis are related to a magnetoencephalographic index representative of glutamate-mediated excitability of the primary somatosensory cortex. The index is identified as the source strength of the earliest component (M20) of the somatosensory magnetic fields (SEFs) evoked by right median nerve stimulation at wrist. Method. Thirty healthy right-handed subjects (51 ± 22 years) were enrolled in the study. A source reconstruction algorithm was applied to assess the amount of synchronously activated neurons subtending the M20 and the following SEF component (M30), which is generated by two independent contributions of gabaergic and glutamatergic transmission. Serum copper, ceruloplasmin, iron, transferrin, transferrin saturation, and zinc levels were measured. Results. Total copper and ceruloplasmin negatively correlated with the M20 source strength. Conclusion. This pilot study suggests that higher level of body copper reserve, as marked by ceruloplasmin variations, parallels lower cortical glutamatergic responsiveness.
The “Building Blocks” of Stellar Halos

The stellar halos of galaxies encode their accretion histories. In particular, the median metallicity of a halo is determined primarily by the mass of the most massive accreted object. We use hydrodynamical cosmological simulations from the apostle project to study the connection between the stellar mass, the metallicity distribution, and the stellar age distribution of a halo and the identity of its most massive progenitor. We find that the stellar populations in an accreted halo typically resemble the old stellar populations in a present-day dwarf galaxy with a stellar mass ∼0.2–0.5 dex greater than that of the stellar halo. This suggests that had they not been accreted, the primary progenitors of stellar halos would have evolved to resemble typical nearby dwarf irregulars.
The Shortened lndividualism-Collectivism Scale: Its Relationship to Demographic and Work-Related Variables

Abstract The internal structure of the INDividualism-COLlectivism (INDCOL) Scale, which was first developed for the American and Chinese population, was examined. Confirmatory factor analyses raised doubts about the original six-factor model of the Scale. Subsequent principal component analyses extracted five factors which could be further grouped under two second-order factors. On the basis of the factor analytic results, the INDCOL Scale was shortened. Individualism-collectivism (IC) as measured by the revised INDCOL Scale was shown to be related to age, gender, job satisfaction, and work goals.