Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of DNA Binding and Transcriptional Activation by the LysR-Type Transcriptional Regulator CbbR of Xanthobacter flavus

ABSTRACT The LysR-type transcriptional regulator CbbR controls the expression of the cbb and gap-pgk operons in Xanthobacter flavus, which encode the majority of the enzymes of the Calvin cycle required for autotrophic CO2 fixation. The cbb operon promoter of this chemoautotrophic bacterium contains three potential CbbR binding sites, two of which partially overlap. Site-directed mutagenesis and subsequent analysis of DNA binding by CbbR and cbb promoter activity were used to show that the potential CbbR binding sequences are functional. Inverted repeat IR1 is a high-affinity CbbR binding site. The main function of this repeat is to recruit CbbR to the cbb operon promoter. In addition, it is required for negative autoregulation of cbbR expression. IR3 represents the main low-affinity binding site of CbbR. Binding to IR3 occurs in a cooperative manner, since mutations preventing the binding of CbbR to IR1 also prevent binding to the low-affinity site. Although mutations in IR3 have a negative effect on the binding of CbbR to this site, they result in an increased promoter activity. This is most likely due to steric hindrance of RNA polymerase by CbbR since IR3 partially overlaps with the −35 region of the cbb operon promoter. Mutations in IR2 do not affect the DNA binding of CbbR in vitro but have a severe negative effect on the activity of the cbb operon promoter. This IR2 binding site is therefore critical for transcriptional activation by CbbR.
Method of Minimizing Energy Consumption for RIS Assisted UAV Mobile Edge Computing System

In urban settings, the highly complex communication environment leads to a frequent occurrence blockage in the link between ground users and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which renders the quality of communication poor. To address this issue, an UAV edge computing system based on reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is proposed in this paper. The goal of this system is to minimize energy consumption by considering various factors such as user transmission power, intelligent reflector phase shift matrix, UAV trajectory, computational resource allocation and the stability of task queues. By applying the Lyapunov optimization theory, the original non-convex problem is decomposed into a series of optimization-related sub-problems. Additionally, it is possible to obtain the closed solution to the original problem through Lagrange dual, Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions, and mixed differential genetic evolution algorithm (MDGEA). As indicated by the simulation results, the proposed RIS-assisted UAV edge computing system is more effective in reducing energy consumption for the system than traditional UAV mobile edge computing on the basis of maintaining queue stability.
Consequences of propagating torsion in connection-dynamic theories of gravity.

We discuss the possibility of constraining theories of gravity in which the connection is a fundamental variable by searching for observational consequences of the torsion degrees of freedom. In a wide class of models, the only modes of the torsion tensor which interact with matter are either a massive scalar or a massive spin-1 boson. Focusing on the scalar version, we study constraints on the two-dimensional parameter space characterizing the theory. For reasonable choices of these parameters the torsion decays quickly into matter fields, and no long-range fields are generated which could be discovered by ground-based or astrophysical experiments.
Fractional Carbon Dioxide, Long Pulse Nd:YAG and Pulsed Dye Laser in the Management of Keloids

Background: Keloids are abnormal wound responses characterised by excessive deposition of collagen and glycoprotein. They are both aesthetically and symptomatically distressing for most of the patients. There are reports of keloid management with pulsed dye laser (PDL), fractional carbon dioxide (CO2) laser and neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) laser individually and also in combination of CO2 with PDL and CO2 with Nd:YAG. Here, we discuss a combination of all the 3 lasers as a therapy for keloids. Aim: This study aims to assess the efficacy of fractional CO2 laser, long pulse Nd:YAG laser and PDL in the management of keloids. Materials and Methods: Fifteen patients with keloids were treated by fractional CO2 laser, followed by PDL and long pulse Nd:YAG laser at monthly intervals. Four patients discontinued the study and were lost for follow-up. Photographs were taken at the beginning of the treatment and at the end of five sessions. Clinical improvement was analysed based on a visual analogue scale graded by three blinded observers after assessing the clinical photographs for the improvement in size, colour and aesthetic impression. Results: Of the 11 patients, one patient had excellent improvement, one patient had good improvement, four patients had moderate improvement, two patients had mild improvement and three had no improvement. Conclusion: Lasers may have a synergistic effect when combined with other modalities of treatment but cannot be used as monotherapy in the treatment of keloids.
Asymptotic throughput analysis for channel-aware scheduling

In this paper, we provide an asymptotic performance analysis of channel-aware packet scheduling based on the extreme value theory. We first address the average throughput of systems with a homogeneous average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and obtain its asymptotic expression. Compared with the exact throughput expression, the asymptotic one, which is applicable to a broader range of fading channels, is more concise and easier from which to get insights. Furthermore, we confirm the accuracy of the asymptotic results by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. For a system with heterogeneous SNRs, normalized-SNR-based scheduling needs to be used for fairness. We also investigate the asymptotic average throughput of the normalized-SNR-based scheduling, and prove that the average throughput in this case is less than that in the homogeneous case with a power constraint
Anti-Clostridium difficile bovine immunoglobulin concentrate inhibits cytotoxicity and enterotoxicity of C. difficile toxins

Clostridium difficile diarrhea and colitis result from the actions of bacterial exotoxins on the colonic mucosa. This study examined the ability of hyperimmune bovine colostral antibodies to neutralize the biological effects of these toxins. Anti-C. difficile bovine immunoglobulin concentrate was prepared from the colostral milk of Holstein cows previously immunized with C. difficile toxoids. The anti-C. difficile bovine immunoglobulin concentrate contained high levels of bovine immunoglobulin G specific for C. difficile toxins A and B, as evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Anti-C. difficile bovine immunoglobulin concentrate neutralized the cytotoxic effects of purified toxin A and toxin B on cultured human fibroblasts, whereas control bovine immunoglobulin concentrate had little toxin-neutralizing activity. Anti-C. difficile bovine immunoglobulin concentrate also blocked the binding of toxin A to its enterocyte receptor and inhibited the enterotoxic effects of C. difficile toxins on the rat ileum, as measured by an increased rat ileal loop weight/length ratio (63% inhibition; P < 0.01), increased mannitol permeability (92% inhibition; P < 0.01), and histologic grading of enteritis (P < 0.01 versus nonimmune bovine immunoglobulin concentrate). Thus, anti-C. difficile bovine immunoglobulin concentrate neutralizes the cytotoxic effects of C. difficile toxins in vitro and inhibits their enterotoxic effects in vivo. This agent may be clinically useful in the prevention and treatment of C. difficile diarrhea and colitis.
A Novel Replication-Competent Vaccinia Vector MVTT Is Superior to MVA for Inducing High Levels of Neutralizing Antibody via Mucosal Vaccination

Mucosal vaccination offers great advantage for inducing protective immune response to prevent viral transmission and dissemination. Here, we report our findings of a head-to-head comparison of two viral vectors modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) and a novel replication-competent modified vaccinia Tian Tan (MVTT) for inducing neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) via intramuscular and mucosal vaccinations in mice. MVTT is an attenuated variant of the wild-type VTT, which was historically used as a smallpox vaccine for millions of Chinese people. The spike glycoprotein (S) of SARS-CoV was used as the test antigen after the S gene was constructed in the identical genomic location of two vectors to generate vaccine candidates MVTT-S and MVA-S. Using identical doses, MVTT-S induced lower levels (∼2-3-fold) of anti- SARS-CoV neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) than MVA-S through intramuscular inoculation. MVTT-S, however, was capable of inducing consistently 20-to-100-fold higher levels of Nabs than MVA-S when inoculated via either intranasal or intraoral routes. These levels of MVTT-S-induced Nab responses were substantially (∼10-fold) higher than that induced via the intramuscular route in the same experiments. Moreover, pre-exposure to the wild-type VTT via intranasal or intraoral route impaired the Nab response via the same routes of MVTT-S vaccination probably due to the pre-existing anti-VTT Nab response. The efficacy of intranasal or intraoral vaccination, however, was still 20-to-50-fold better than intramuscular inoculation despite the subcutaneous pre-exposure to wild-type VTT. Our data have implications for people who maintain low levels of anti-VTT Nabs after historical smallpox vaccination. MVTT is therefore an attractive live viral vector for mucosal vaccination.
Wolbachia as populations within individual insects: causes and consequences of density variation in natural populations

The population-level dynamics of maternally transmitted endosymbionts, including reproductive parasites, depends primarily on the fitness effects and transmission fidelity of these infections. Although experimental laboratory studies have shown that within-host endosymbiont density can affect both of these factors, the existence of such effects in natural populations has not yet been documented. Using quantitative PCR, we survey the density of male-killing Wolbachia in natural populations of Drosophila innubila females from the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. We find that there is substantial (20 000-fold) variation in Wolbachia density among wild flies and that within-host Wolbachia density is positively correlated with both the efficacy of male killing and maternal transmission fidelity. Mean Wolbachia density increases three- to five-fold from early to late in the season. This pattern suggests that Wolbachia density declines with fly age, a conclusion corroborated by a laboratory study of Wolbachia density as a function of age. Finally, we suggest three alternative hypotheses to account for the approximately lognormal distribution of Wolbachia density among wild flies.
Do Customer Dissatisfaction and Variety Seeking Really Affect the Product Brand Switching? A Lesson from the Biggest Southeast Asia Mobile Telecommunication Market

As the 21st century world would be a cellular age going by the phenomenal increase in cell phones worldwide, the Southeast Asia's market is experiencing a tremendous growth of mobile penetrations in the context of a region for developing countries with large population concentration. The mobile revolution has triumphed in Southeast Asia and become the key hub of the world’s mobile & telecom market in terms of penetration and innovation, and promoted the best of mobile-based implementations in the region Asia. Therefore, as the competition becomes more intensified, it is important to any companies to anticipate any changes in its customers’ preferences, especially all variables related to the customer dissatisfaction and varieties seeking that are much revealed in prior studies. This study has two objectives; firstly, it aims to examine the effect of consumer dissatisfaction, variety seeking, and sales promotions simultaneously on brand switching. Secondly, it will explore a further relationship, which is rarely investigated in prior studies, between consumer dissatisfaction and brand switching, which is moderated by the variety seeking. By using 240 respondents in the 2010-GSM prepaid cards' market situation, we used logistic regression to analyze the data. The results reveal that consumer dissatisfaction and sales promotion are significantly positive related to brand switching. The variety seeking moderates the effect of consumer dissatisfaction on brand switching, and as the moderating variable, the variety seeking has weakened the effect of consumer dissatisfaction on brand switching. Keyword: Consumer Dissatisfaction, Variety Seeking, Sales Promotions, Brand Switching. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cloning and analysis of a Toxoplasma gondii histone acetyltransferase: a novel chromatin remodelling factor in Apicomplexan parasites.

The yeast transcriptional adaptor GCN5 functions as a histone acetyltransferase, directly linking chromatin modification to transcriptional regulation. Homologues of yeast GCN5 have been found in Tetrahymena, Drosophila, Arabidopsis and human, suggesting that this pathway of chromatin remodelling is evolutionarily conserved. Consistent with this view, we have identified the Toxoplasma gondii homologue, referred to here as TgGCN5. The gene codes for a protein of 474 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 53 kDa. The protein reveals two regions of close similarity with the GCN5 family members, the HAT domain and the bromodomain. Tg GCN5 occurs in a single copy in the T.gondii genome. The introduction of a second copy of TgGCN5 in T.gondii tachyzoites is toxic unless the HAT activity is disrupted by a single point mutation. Full TgGCN5 does not complement the growth defect in a yeast gcn5 (-)mutant strain, but a chimera comprising the T.gondii HAT domain fused to the remainder of yGCN5 does. These data show that T.gondii GNC5 is a histone acetyltransferase attesting to the significance of chromatin remodelling in gene regulation of Apicomplexa.
THE EFFECT OF AUDIT QUALITY AND GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE TOWARDS DIVIDEND POLICY IN PUBLIC COMPANIES IN INDONESIA

Abstract - The purpose of this study is to find the relationship between audit quality and good corporate governance (GCG) on dividend policy. Where the supervision provided by the company's independent auditors and independent board of commissioners has an impact on the returns received by investors in the form of dividends. The study was conducted using purposive sampling technique, taking 141 samples of non-financial public companies in Indonesia from the period of 2017-2019. The data were processed using the STATA program. The results of this study show evidence that the audit quality variable with the proxy of the Big 4 public accounting firm has a positive and significant effect on dividend policy. Which may be resulted from a better quality of supervision thus reducing agency conflicts. However, for the GCG variable, there is no evidence of an influence on dividend policy which may be resulted from different proxy variables. Keywords: Audit Quality; Good Corporate Governance; Dividend Policy; Independent Commissioner
Effect of Production Phase on Growth, Enzyme Activities and Feed Selection of Broilers Raised on Vegetable Protein Diet

This study consisted of two experiments, conducted to assess the impact of phase at which vegetable protein (VP) diets are introduced to broiler chicks, and preference of birds for diets based on soybean or canola meal (CM). Two hundred and ten day-old Cobb 500 chicks were randomly distributed into five dietary groups in the main experiment. One group was fed on animal protein (AP) diet all through to 21 days of age; two other groups were started on AP diet for 7 days and then switched to diets containing soybean meal (AP-SBM) or AP-CM, while two other diets (SBM-AP and CM-AP) were started on one of the VP diets for 7 days and then switched to AP diet. A sub-experiment on thirty birds raised on a commercial diet to 7 days was used in a feed selection test to quantify the preference of birds for the diets containing mainly CM or SBM. Chicks were reared under similar care and management conditions and the diets were iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous. Results of the main experiment showed that chicks on CM-AP diet ate more (p<0.05) than those on the other diets up to day 7. Body weight gain was highest (p<0.001) on the AP-SBM diet while birds on the CM-AP diet weighed the least at 7 d. Feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, mortality, bone growth, visceral organ development, and activities of digestive enzymes were similar between the groups from hatch to 21 days of age. Results of the second sub-experiment showed that chicks preferred the CM-based diets to the SBM-based diets at 8 to 14 d (p<0.001) and 15 to 21 d (p<0.01) when given a choice. Overall, the birds were not affected by the nature of the starter diet although they tended to prefer the canola to soybean diets.
Satisfying Stakeholders' Needs - Balancing Agile and Formal Usability Test Results

This paper deals with a case study of testing with a usability testing package (UTUM), which is also a tool for quality assurance, developed in cooperation between industry and research. It shows that within the studied company, there is a need to balance agility and formalism when producing and presenting results of usability testing to groups who we have called Designers and Product Owners. We have found that these groups have different needs, which can be placed on opposite sides of a scale, based on the agile manifesto. This becomes a Designer and a Product Owner Manifesto. The test package is seen as a successful hybrid method combining agility with formalism, satisfying organisational needs, and fulfilling the desire to create a closer relation between industry and research.
Novel class-relativity non-local means with principal component analysis for multitemporal SAR image change detection

ABSTRACT One of the main problems for change detection in multitemporal synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is the presence of speckle noise, since it degrades the image quality significantly and may hide important details in the image. In this article, we investigate a novel class-relativity non-local means (CRNLM) algorithm that reduces the effect of speckle noise in the principal component analysis (PCA) feature space for SAR image change detection. Note that the non-local means averaging process is particularly true when the assumed noise model is additive. Thus, we adopt the difference image produced by the ratio image expressed in logarithmic scale and then transform it onto PCA space. This is done so that its signal energy is concentrated, and the noise spreads over the whole PCA space and is additive. A task-dependent CRNLM algorithm is applied to the PCA transformed data set so as to combine local and non-local geometries and capture the robustness to noise. The idea is based on the assumption that non-local similar patches have similar class structures. Visual and quantitative results obtained on real multitemporal SAR image data sets confirm the effectiveness of this method as compared with several state-of-the-art techniques.
Formal mentoring programmes for medical students and doctors – a review of the Medline literature

Mentoring programmes have been implemented as a specific career-advancement tool in the training and further education of various groups in the medical profession. The main focus of our investigation was to examine what types of structured mentoring programmes exist for doctors as well as for medical students, what short- and long-term goals these projects pursue, and whether statements can be made on the effectiveness and efficiency of these programmes. A literature-search strategy was applied to Medline for 1966–2002 using the keyword combinations: (a) mentor* [AND] program* [AND] medical students, and (b) mentor* [AND] program* [AND] physicians. Although a total of 162 publications were identified, only 16 papers (nine for medical students and seven for doctors) met the selected methodological criteria. The majority of the programmes lack a concrete structure as well as a short- and long-term evaluation. Main goals are to increase professional competence in research and in further specialization and to build up a professional network for the mentees; no statements are to be found on the advantages for the mentors. Programme evaluation is for the most part presented descriptively in terms of great interest and high level of satisfaction. No publication contains statements on the effectiveness or the efficiency of the programme. Although the results of mentoring are promising, more formal programmes with clear setup goals and a short- and long-term evaluation of the individual successes of the participants as well as the cost-benefit analysis are needed.
2010 2nd International Conference on Industrial and Information Systems Switching Rule Design for Asymptotic Stability of Switched Hamiltonian Systems with Multiple Equilibrium Points

This paper designs switching rules for asymp­ totic stability of switched Hamiltonian systems with multiple equilibrium points. For the case that each subsystem has a unique equilibrium point and all equilibrium points are different from each other, we design a kind of switching rules under which the system is asymptotically stable with respect to a desirable equilibrium point. Study of an example and numerical simulations shows that the design method of switching rule for asymptotic stability of switched Hamilto­ nian systems with multiple equilibria is very effective.
Patterns of and controls over nitrogen inputs by green alder (Alnus viridis ssp. fruticosa) to a secondary successional chronosequence in interior Alaska

Patterns of and controls over N2 fixation by green alder (A. viridis) were studied in post-fire, mid-succession, and white spruce upland forests in interior Alaska during 1997-2000, focusing on the hypothesis that ecosystem-level nitrogen (N) inputs decrease with successional development. Across all stands, alder created islands of elevated soil N and carbon, depleted soil phosphorus (P), and more acidic soils, effects which translated to the stand-level in response to greater alder stem density. Rates of N2 fixation (measured by acetylene reduction = ARA) closely tracked plant phenology during the 1997 (a drought year) and 1998 (a year of normal precipitation) growing seasons. During 1998, stands with higher maximum ARA had higher %N in the O, A, and C soil horizons. N2-fixation rates were influenced by soil P, as evidenced by the findings that maximum ARA was positively correlated with foliar N:P ratios, and with subcanopy %P in the O and A soil horizons. During the drought year, alder leaf %P and leaf N resorption were lower and leaves were thinner when compared to 1998. Drought effects were most pronounced in mid-succession where alder exhibited reduced ARA (-76%), leaf %P (14%), leaf thickness (-40%), and lower leaf resorption of P (-66%) and N (-78%). Although ARA and nodule biomass did not differ among stand types, increases in alder densities with successional time translated to increasing ecosystem-level N inputs across the chronosequence. These results contradict established theory predicting a decline in N2-fixation rates and N2-fixer abundance during successional stand development.