Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tetrahydropyrazolo[1,5-a]Pyrimidine-3-Carboxamide and N-Benzyl-6′,7′-Dihydrospiro[Piperidine-4,4′-Thieno[3,2-c]Pyran] Analogues with Bactericidal Efficacy against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Targeting MmpL3

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a major human pathogen and the causative agent for the pulmonary disease, tuberculosis (TB). Current treatment programs to combat TB are under threat due to the emergence of multi-drug and extensively-drug resistant TB. As part of our efforts towards the discovery of new anti-tubercular leads, a number of potent tetrahydropyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamide (THPP) and N-benzyl-6′,7′-dihydrospiro[piperidine-4,4′-thieno[3,2-c]pyran] (Spiro) analogues were recently identified against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG through a high-throughput whole-cell screening campaign. Herein, we describe the attractive in vitro and in vivo anti-tubercular profiles of both lead series. The generation of M. tuberculosis spontaneous mutants and subsequent whole genome sequencing of several resistant mutants identified single mutations in the essential mmpL3 gene. This ‘genetic phenotype’ was further confirmed by a ‘chemical phenotype’, whereby M. bovis BCG treated with both the THPP and Spiro series resulted in the accumulation of trehalose monomycolate. In vivo efficacy evaluation of two optimized THPP and Spiro leads showed how the compounds were able to reduce >2 logs bacterial cfu counts in the lungs of infected mice.
Globular cluster systems as distance indicators: metallicity effects on the luminosity function

We investigate the universality of the globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) and the use of this function as an extragalactic distance indicator. Previous studies have found an offset between GCLF distances and those obtained with other techniques. We show that this offset can be understood in terms of a metallicity effect. Specifically, the globular cluster systems used in distance scale studies have traditionally been those around elliptical galaxies. These systems have higher mean metallicities than the Milky Way globular cluster system. Consequently, the peak of the GCLF in the systems around ellipticals is significantly fainter in $B$ and $V$ than the GCLF peak in the Milky Way. We calculate the shift in the peak of the GCLF relative to the Milky Way globulars in $B$, $V$, $R$, $I$ and $J$ for a range of globular cluster metallicities. Applying these corrections, we find good agreement between GCLF distances and those obtained using the surface brightness fluctuations method. The similarity between metallicity-corrected GCLFs suggests that the underlying mass function of globular cluster systems is remarkably constant from one galaxy to another. Our results allow the GCLF to be employed as an improved distance indicator.
Work Release : Recidivism and Corrections Costs in Washington State

Discussed in this Brief: Two NIJsponsored evaluations of Washington State’s work release program, conducted between 1991 and 1994. The first study analyzed a cohort of 2,452 males released from Washington prisons in 1990, nearly 40 percent of whom spent a part of their sentences on work release, to describe how work release operates and how successfully inmates perform in the program. The second compared the recidivism of 218 offenders; approximately half participated in work release and half completed their sentences in prison.
DR AF T Back to the future . Interfacing the history of the organisation

This position paper outlines a model of shared information in organisations, and proposes an interface to access and manipulate its elements. The model views the organisation’s information resources through the relations between the people in it. Thus, it is a framework to describe the distribution of work across people, artefacts, space, time, and tasks. An integrated architecture for organisational memory and collaborative computing can build on this model. I intend it as an alternative to traditional knowledge engineering and workflow approaches, and argue that these popular approaches can inspire design of systems with reduced transparency of the organisation’s information resources and inflexible work support. The proposed model embeds the media and tools to support cooperation in a general software architecture and integrates them with the tools that people use in their work, thus yielding a flexible and transparent access to the shared information space.
The California Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate: A Study of the Policy Process, 1990-2004

The Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, one of the most daring environmental policies related to transportation, was implemented in September, 1990, by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). It originally required that, starting in 1998, 2% of the in-state new light duty vehicle sales of major automakers had no emissions of criteria pollutants.The required ZEV percentage would be increased to 5% in 2001 and to 10% in 2003. CARB organized biennial reviews of the programs, to elicit stakeholder participation and monitor evolution of the program. Through this review schedule, the program underwent several revisions resulting from intense policy debates. This dissertation research is concerned with the study of the policy process over the ZEV mandate, from its conception, through its inception, and the biennial reviews, until 2004. The study is structured as three core chapters. The first chapter studies the origin of the ZEV mandate, trying to understand the conditions that favored and the factors that resulted in its implementation. To guide the study in this chapter, I use the Multiple Streams theoretical framework. The second chapter presents an empirical study of the policy process during the biennial reviews. This study aims at understanding the dynamics of policy change and coalition stability, identifying the policy dimensions that dominated the debate over time. I use the Advocacy Coalition Framework to frame the study in this chapter theoretically. The third core chapter presents a theoretical study of the strategic policy behavior of the main actors in the policy process. I develop a game-theoretical model of an environmental regulator (CARB) that needs to set emission standards in the presence of multiple industry players (automakers), who in turn need to decide on their level of compliance in the presence of a competitor. The model presented improves over previous published work in the subject. The results of these studies yield numerous conclusions with both theoretical and practical implications. I find that Multiple Streams is useful to understand the origin of the ZEV mandate, while I identify and/or confirm arguments by other scholars about significant limitations in the framework. Through the analysis of the public testimonies given by stakeholders at the biennial reviews, I identify the policy areas of major concern at different points in time along the policy process. I also identify the policy positions of each stakeholder and obtain estimates of the groups of stakeholders with similar policy beliefs (belief coalitions.) I find that these belief coalitions show some stability over time, though less than what was found by previous studies. One of the major conclusions from the model of strategic behavior is that the competitiveness of the auto industry tends to preclude collusion. The regulator may use this industry competitiveness to its advantage and achieve higher social benefits.
DEVELOPMENT OF A LIMITED AREA FINE-MESH PREDICTION MODEL

Abstract A limited area, fine-mesh, primitive equation barotropic model has been integrated using data observed at 500 mb. The lateral boundary conditions used in the model required that no change occur on the boundary during the 24-hr forecast. The predictions compare favorably with those obtained with the barotropic and baroclinic models in operational use at the National Meteorological Center.
A Survival Analysis of Bank Failures in Turkey: Incorporating Unobserved Heterogeneity in Continuous Time Parametric Models -

This study aims to predict bank failures in Turkey between years 1990 and 2013 by utilizing continuous time parametric survival models and controlling for the unobserved heterogeneity at the bank level, i.e. shared frailty in survival models. In order to examine the determinants of a bank failure, a range of financial ratios of 79 banks along with some macroeconomic variables are obtained. Two parametric distributions, the Exponential and the Gompertz, are employed for the models with and without shared frailty. Based on test statistics, unobserved heterogeneity exists at the bank level in almost all models. According to the estimation results, the most important financial ratios belong to the groups of capital ratios, profitability, asset quality and branch ratios. Macroeconomic variables and crisis dummy variable are also significant in all models. Prediction accuracies of the exponential models improve when the models are estimated with shared frailty while for the Gompertz distribution model, shared frailty improves the predictions only when the macroeconomic variables are included. However, shared frailty (and without shared frailty) models excluding macroeconomic variables have better prediction results than the same models with macroeconomic variables.
Comparative Transcriptome Profiling of the Maize Primary, Crown and Seminal Root in Response to Salinity Stress

Soil salinity is a major constraint to crop growth and yield. The primary and lateral roots of Arabidopsis thaliana are known to respond differentially to a number of environmental stresses, including salinity. Although the maize root system as a whole is known to be sensitive to salinity, whether or not different structural root systems show differential growth responses to salinity stress has not yet been investigated. The maize primary root (PR) was more tolerant of salinity stress than either the crown root (CR) or the seminal root (SR). To understand the molecular mechanism of these differential growth responses, RNA-Seq analysis was conducted on cDNA prepared from the PR, CR and SR of plants either non-stressed or exposed to 100 mM NaCl for 24 h. A set of 444 genes were shown to be regulated by salinity stress, and the transcription pattern of a number of genes associated with the plant salinity stress response differed markedly between the various types of root. The pattern of transcription of the salinity-regulated genes was shown to be very diverse in the various root types. The differential transcription of these genes such as transcription factors, and the accumulation of compatible solutes such as soluble sugars probably underlie the differential growth responses to salinity stress of the three types of roots in maize.
The Leucine Zipper of NRL Interacts with the CRX Homeodomain

Photoreceptor-specific expression of rhodopsin is mediated by multiple cis-acting elements in the proximal promoter region. NRL (neural retina leucine zipper) and CRX (cone rod homeobox) proteins bind to the adjacent NRE and Ret-4 sites, respectively, within this region. Although NRL and CRX are each individually able to induce rhodopsin promoter activity, when expressed together they exhibit transcriptional synergy in rhodopsin promoter activation. Using the yeast two-hybrid method and glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays, we demonstrate that the leucine zipper of NRL can physically interact with CRX. Deletion analysis revealed that the CRX homeodomain (CRX-HD) plays an important role in the interaction with the NRL leucine zipper. Although binding with the CRX-HD alone was weak, a strong interaction was detected when flanking regions including the glutamine-rich and the basic regions that follow the HD were included. A reciprocal deletion analysis showed that the leucine zipper of NRL is required for interaction with CRX-HD. Two disease-causing mutations in CRX-HD (R41W and R90W) that exhibit reduced DNA binding and transcriptional synergy also decrease its interaction with NRL. These studies suggest novel possibilities for protein-protein interaction between two conserved DNA-binding motifs and imply that cross-talk among distinct regulatory pathways contributes to the establishment and maintenance of photoreceptor function.
Risk management in commodity markets : from shipping to agriculturals and energy

Commodities represent today the fastest growing markets worldwide. Historically misunderstood, generally under– studied and under– valued, certainly under– represented in the literature, commodities are suddenly receiving the attention they deserve. Bringing together some of the best authors in the field, this book focuses on the risk management issues associated with both soft and hard commodities: energy, weather, agriculturals, metals and shipping. Taking the reader through every part of the commodities markets, the authors discuss the intricacies of modelling spot and forward prices, as well as the design of new Futures markets. The book also looks at the use of options and other derivative contract forms for hedging purposes, as well as supply management in commodity markets. It looks at the implications for climate policy and climate research and analyzes the various freight derivatives markets and products used to manage shipping and freight risk in a global commodity world. It is required reading for energy and mining companies, utilities’ practitioners, commodity and cash derivatives traders in investment banks, CTA’s and hedge funds .
Global Population Growth, Technology, and Malthusian Constraints: A Quantitative Growth Theoretic Perspective

We structurally estimate a two-sector Schumpeterian growth model with endogenous population and finite land reserves to study the long-run evolution of global population, technological progress and the demand for food. The estimated model closely replicates trajectories for world population, GDP, sectoral productivity growth and crop land area from 1960 to 2010. Projections from 2010 onwards show a slowdown of technological progress, and, because it is a key determinant of fertility costs, significant population growth. By 2100 global population reaches 12.4 billion and agricultural production doubles, but the land constraint does not bind because of capital investment and technological progress.
IL-12 Enhances CTL Synapse Formation and Induces Self-Reactivity1

Immunological synapse formation between T cells and target cells can affect the functional outcome of TCR ligation by a given MHC-peptide complex. Although synapse formation is usually induced by TCR signaling, it is not clear whether other factors can affect the efficiency of synapse formation. Here, we tested whether cytokines could influence synapse formation between murine CTLs and target cells. We found that IL-12 enhanced synapse formation, whereas TGFβ decreased synapse formation. The enhanced synapse formation induced by IL-12 appeared to be functional, given that IL-12-treated cells could respond to weak peptides, including self-peptides, to which the T cells were normally unresponsive. These responses correlated with expression of functionally higher avidity LFA-1 on IL-12-treated CTLs. These findings have implications for the function of IL-12 in T cell-mediated autoimmunity.
Sharing the sacra : the politics and pragmatics of intercommunal relations around holy places

Acknowledgements List of Figures and Tables Introduction: Sharing the Sacra Glenn Bowman Chapter 1. Combining practices and beliefs: Muslim pilgrims at Marian shrines Dionigi Albera Chapter 2. Everybody's Baba: Making Space for the Other Anna Bigelow Chapter 3. Chthonian Spirits and Shared Shrines: The Dynamics of Place among Christians and Muslims in Anatolia Maria Couroucli Chapter 4. The work of mending: How Pharping people manage an exclusivist response to the procession of Vajrayogini Will Tuladhar-Douglas Chapter 5. Efficacy, not Confessionality: On Ritual Polytropy in China Adam Yuet Chau Chapter 6. Saints, Sites and Religious Accommodation in Sri Lanka Rohan Bastin Chapter 7. The Ghriba in the Island of Jerba (or Djerba)or the re-invention of a shared shrine as a metonym for a multicultural Tunisia Dora Carpenter-Latiri Chapter 8. "Sacred Week": Re-Experiencing Jewish-Muslim Co-existence in Urban Moroccan Space Aomar Boum Chapter 9. New Ancestral Shrines after the Cold War Heonik Kwon Contributors
How Many Jobs is 23,510, Really? Recasting the Mining Job Loss Debate

It is commonplace in Australian policy debate for groups presumed to be adversely affected by proposed policies to provide estimates of the undesirable consequences of change. A fashionable form relates to predictions of job losses for the group affected, usually accompanied by counter-claims made by the government of the day or other groups in favour of the policy. A highly public example of the above is the claim by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), based on work done in 2009 by Concept Economics (2009) that the then-planned Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) would result in 23,510 fewer jobs in Australian mining than would otherwise be the case. Our research reports on findings using three different data series and methods to put into context the supposed jobs loss figure. Our results should not be taken to mean that economic policy reform is costless to all employees who might be affected by sectoral changes in the labour market, and there remain clear roles for government to minimise the personal costs for those so disadvantaged. As well, the details of this research cannot be translated into precise analyses of the employment effects of the carbon price policy being developed by the current government. But the essential points concerning the size and meaning of mining sector employment effects should not be in dispute; the alleged "jobs losses" aspect of the climate change policy debate is not in any sense important to the overall discourse.
Motoneurons Express Heteromeric TWIK-Related Acid-Sensitive K+ (TASK) Channels Containing TASK-1 (KCNK3) and TASK-3 (KCNK9) Subunits

Background potassium currents carried by the KCNK family of two-pore-domain K+ channels are important determinants of resting membrane potential and cellular excitability. TWIK-related acid-sensitive K+ 1 (TASK-1, KCNK3) and TASK-3 (KCNK9) are pH-sensitive subunits of the KCNK family that are closely related and coexpressed in many brain regions. There is accumulating evidence that these two subunits can form heterodimeric channels, but this evidence remains controversial. In addition, a substantial contribution of heterodimeric TASK channels to native currents has not been unequivocally established. In a heterologous expression system, we verified formation of heterodimeric TASK channels and characterized their properties; TASK-1 and TASK-3 were coimmunoprecipitated from membranes of mammalian cells transfected with the channel subunits, and a dominant negative TASK-1(Y191F) construct strongly diminished TASK-3 currents. Tandem-linked heterodimeric TASK channel constructs displayed a pH sensitivity (pK ∼7.3) in the physiological range closer to that of TASK-1 (pK ∼7.5) than TASK-3 (pK ∼6.8). On the other hand, heteromeric TASK channels were like TASK-3 insofar as they were activated by high concentrations of isoflurane (0.8 mm), whereas TASK-1 channels were inhibited. The pH and isoflurane sensitivities of native TASK-like currents in hypoglossal motoneurons, which strongly express TASK-1 and TASK-3 mRNA, were best represented by TASK heterodimeric channels. Moreover, after blocking homomeric TASK-3 channels with ruthenium red, we found a major component of motoneuronal isoflurane-sensitive TASK-like current that could be attributed to heteromeric TASK channels. Together, these data indicate that TASK-1 and TASK-3 subunits coassociate in functional channels, and heteromeric TASK channels provide a substantial component of background K+ current in motoneurons with distinct modulatory properties.
Drop breakup and fragment size distribution in shear flow

We report a study on the deformation and breakup of drops in an impulsively started shear flow under Stokes flow conditions using boundary-integral simulations and video-microscopy experiments. Two independent techniques are used for determining the physical parameters of the system from the combined use of numerical simulations and experiments. Accurate breakup criteria (critical capillary numbers) are presented for a range of viscosity ratios. The time required for breakup events has a broad minimum corresponding to moderate shear rates. The size distribution of droplets produced by breakup events is shown to scale with the critical size drop for breakup in shear. A simplified model, based on this finding, is developed for the size distribution in a sheared emulsion. According to the model, the drop size distribution in a given emulsion depends only on the average initial drop size and the shear rate.
Accounting for Impact at Imperial College London: A Report on the Activities and Outputs by Imperial Academics Relevant for Economic and Social Impact

We report findings of a study of academic engagement and commercialisation at Imperial College London. We detail the extent of collaboration with industry, consulting, patenting and entrepreneurship by Imperial academics, as well as individuals’ motivations and perceived barriers to engagement. The data stems from archival records held by the College, complemented by external databases, and a survey conducted among all academic staff in 2013.
Gesture recognition for virtual reality applications using data gloves and neural networks

Explores the use of hand gestures as a means of human-computer interactions for virtual reality applications. For the application, specific hand gestures, such as "fist", "index finger" and "victory sign", have been defined. Most existing approaches use various camera-based recognition systems, which are rather costly and very sensitive to environmental changes. In contrast, this paper explores a data glove as the input device, which provides 18 measurement values for the angles of different finger joints. The paper compares the performance of different neural network models, such as backpropagation and radial-basis functions, which are used by the recognition system to recognize the actual gesture. Some network models achieve a recognition rate (training as well a generalization) of up to 100% over a number of test subjects. Due to its good performance, this recognition system is the first step towards virtual reality applications in which program execution is controlled by a sign language.
Firm's R & D Behavior Under Rational Expectations

This paper reports results from a forecasting study for inflation, industrial output and exchange rates for India. We cannot reject the null hypothesis for linearity for all series used except for the growth rate of the foreign exchange series and our analysis is based on linear models, ARIMA and bivariate transfer functions and restricted VAR. Forecasting performance is evaluated using the models’ root mean-squared error differences and Theil’s inequality coefficients from recursive origin static, fixed origin dynamic and rolling origin dynamic forecasts. For models based on weekly data, based on RMSEs, we find that the bivariate models improve upon the forecasts of the ARIMA model while for models based on monthly data the ARIMA model has almost always better performance. In choosing between the two bivariate models on the basis of RMSEs, our overall results tend to support the use of a restricted VAR, as this model had the best forecasting performance more frequently than the transfer function model.