Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crystal Structure of Streptococcus pyogenes Sortase A

Sortases are a family of Gram-positive bacterial transpeptidases that anchor secreted proteins to bacterial cell surfaces. These include many proteins that play critical roles in the virulence of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens such that sortases are attractive targets for development of novel antimicrobial agents. All Gram-positive pathogens express a “housekeeping” sortase that recognizes the majority of secreted proteins containing an LPXTG wall-sorting motif and covalently attaches these to bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan. Many Gram-positive pathogens also express additional sortases that link a small number of proteins, often with variant wall-sorting motifs, to either other surface proteins or peptidoglycan. To better understand the mechanisms of catalysis and substrate recognition by the housekeeping sortase produced by the important human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes, the crystal structure of this protein has been solved and its transpeptidase activity established in vitro. The structure reveals a novel arrangement of key catalytic residues in the active site of a sortase, the first that is consistent with kinetic analysis. The structure also provides a complete description of residue positions surrounding the active site, overcoming the limitation of localized disorder in previous structures of sortase A-type proteins. Modification of the active site Cys through oxidation to its sulfenic acid form or by an alkylating reagent supports a role for a reactive thiol/thiolate in the catalytic mechanism. These new insights into sortase structure and function could have important consequences for inhibitor design.
Single-period inventory model with discrete stochastic demand based on prospect theory

This paper studies a single-period inventory (newsvendor) problem with discrete stochastic demand. In general, most of the previous works are based on the expected profit/cost criterion or expected utility criterion. We consider the effect of irrational factor under uncertainty and therefore incorporate prospect theory into inventory model. Our objective is to maximize the overall value of the prospect, which can be calculated by using the value function and the weighting function. For any given initial inventory level, it can be shown that a state-dependent order-up-to policy is optimal. Further, the optimal policy has a simple structure, and the retailer can easily decide whether to place an order or not. Moreover, the impacts of parameters on the optimal policy are illustrated through numerical experiments.
Phytochemistry and Medicinal Properties of Teucrium polium L. (Lamiaceae)

Teucrium polium L. (family Lamiaceae) is a wild‐growing flowering plant, found abundantly in South‐Western Asia, Europe and North Africa. Traditionally, T. polium has been used for different pathological conditions such as gastrointestinal disorders, inflammations, diabetes and rheumatism. In traditional Iranian medicine (TIM), the tea of T. polium is used for treating many diseases such as abdominal pain, indigestion, common cold and type 2 diabetes. Based on this background, many studies have been followed for scientific confirmation of the above‐mentioned properties. In this review, 100 articles published from 1970 to 2011 in the area of phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of extracts and compounds isolated from T. polium have been evaluated. During the past 40 years, different classes of compounds have been isolated from various parts of T. polium of which the main groups are terpenoids and flavonoids. It has been found that these compounds possess a broad spectrum of pharmacological effects including antioxidant, anticancer, antiinflammatory, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, antibacterial and antifungal. The results of data analyses on the chemical, pharmacological and toxicological characteristics of T. polium support the view that this plant has beneficial therapeutic properties. However, further studies to identify the active components and further verify their relevant pharmacological activities are warranted. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Risk Factor Analysis and Portfolio Immunization in the Italian Bond Market

relatively large number of small issues, which were typically placed in portfolios and held to maturi- ty. Trading in the secondary market was virtually non- existent. Because of the high rate of inflation, most of the securities were short-term and floating-rate. In the mid-eighties the government moved to reorganize the Italian bond market. This move was motivated by efforts toward closer economic integra- tion of Europe, and the interest of the Italian govern- ment in attracting foreign capital. Steps have been taken to create
Spoken word recognition in school-age children with SLI: semantic, phonological, and repetition priming.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to contribute to the current understanding of how children with specific language impairment (SLI) organize their mental lexicons. The study examined semantic and phonological priming in children with and without SLI. METHOD Thirteen children (7;0-11;3 [years;months]) with SLI and 13 age-matched children with typical language development participated in this study. Prime-target pairs (semantic, phonological, and repetition) were embedded within a running list of words so that the actual pairs were imperceptible. Reaction times to an animacy judgment (alive vs. not alive) were analyzed. The experiment featured 500-ms and 1,000-ms interstimulus intervals (ISIs) between primes and targets. RESULTS Children with SLI exhibited priming effects in the repetition condition at both ISIs; however, phonological and semantic effects were absent. Typically developing children exhibited effects in the repetition at both ISIs. Semantic and phonological effects were absent at 500 ms ISIs, but present at 1,000 ms ISIs. CONCLUSIONS Although children with SLI have priming mechanisms similar to those of their age-matched peers, the absence of semantic and phonological priming suggests that these connections are not strong enough by themselves to yield priming effects. These findings are discussed in the context of semantic and phonological priming, representation, and generalized slowing.
How relational capital and knowledge combination capability enhance the performance of work units in a high technology industry

The defense industry in Israel has long been considered a critical platform for the development of the high-technology sector. This study examines the importance of knowledge combination capability work units build through social relationships to enhance their performance. Specifically, we probe how both intraunit relational capital (within a unit) and interunit relational capital (across units) enable units to build knowledge combination capabilities and how such capabilities affect their performance. Data collected from senior managers in 122 knowledge units indicate that: (1) both intra- and interunit relational capital are positively related to knowledge combination capability; (2) knowledge combination capability is positively associated with enhanced unit performance; (3) knowledge combination capability fully mediates the relationship between interunit relational capital and unit performance; and (4) intraunit relational capital impacts both directly and indirectly (through knowledge combination capability) on unit performance. The findings suggest that interunit relational capital entails greater variation in knowledge stocks and thus may lead to more radical innovation than intra-relational capital that entails more similar knowledge bases and, thus, produces more incremental innovations. Copyright © 2009 Strategic Management Society.
Mental health service utilization by borderline personality disorder patients and Axis II comparison subjects followed prospectively for 6 years.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to describe the psychiatric treatment received by a well-defined sample of patients with borderline personality disorder and Axis II comparison subjects over 6 years of prospective follow-up. METHOD 362 inpatients were interviewed about their treatment histories during their index admission (1992-1995). 290 patients met both Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines and DSM-III-R criteria for borderline personality disorder and 72 met DSM-III-R criteria for at least 1 nonborderline Axis II disorder (and neither criteria set for borderline personality disorder). Over 94% of surviving patients were re-interviewed about their psychiatric treatment histories 2, 4, and 6 years later. RESULTS Only 33% of borderline patients were hospitalized during the final 2 years of the 6-year follow-up, a substantial decline from the 79% who had prior hospitalizations at baseline. Much the same pattern emerged for day and/or residential treatment (from 55% to 22%). In contrast, about three quarters of borderline patients were still in psychotherapy and taking psychotropic medications after 6 years of follow-up. Additionally, over 70% of borderline patients participating in these outpatient modalities did so for at least 75% of each follow-up period. While rates of intensive psychotherapy declined significantly over time (from 36% to 16%), rates of intensive polypharmacy remained relatively stable over time, with about 40% of borderline patients taking 3 or more concurrent standing medications during each follow-up period, about 20% taking 4 or more, and about 10% taking 5 or more. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that the majority of borderline patients continue to use outpatient treatment in a sustained manner through 6 years of follow-up, but only a declining minority use more restrictive and costly forms of treatment.
Conformism, peer pressure and adverse selection

To examine the effects of peer pressure in adverse selection problem, we define a peer pressure function that represents the psychological costs and incorporate it into the agent's utility function. Based on these assumptions, the efficient agent who has conformity preference produces less outputs than the first-best level, while the inefficient agent produces more than the second-best level of standard adverse selection output when the agents feel peer pressure among themselves. Although the production gap between the utility functions under peer pressure narrows, the gap of the ex post information rent goes wider as the information rent of efficient agents increases. Our theoretical results are consistent with some empirical/experimental findings.
A systematic review of interventions to improve outcomes for elders discharged from the emergency department.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the evidence for interventions designed to improve outcomes for elders discharged from the emergency department (ED). METHODS The study was a systematic review of English-language articles indexed in MEDLINE and CINAHL (1966-2005) with 1) key words "geriatric," "older adults," or "seniors," or 2) Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms "Geriatrics" or "Health Services for the Aged" AND key word "emergency," or 3) MeSH terms "Emergencies," "Emergency Service, Hospital," or "Emergency Treatment. " Bibliographies of the retrieved articles were reviewed for additional references, and the authors consulted with content experts to identify relevant unpublished work. Patients of interest were community-dwelling elder patients discharged home from the ED. Data were abstracted from selected articles by the authors. Studies with interventions limited to patients with a single presentation or diagnosis (falls, delirium, etc.) or delivered only to patients who would have otherwise been hospitalized were not included. RESULTS Of 669 citations, 27 studies (reported in 33 articles) met study criteria and were reviewed; six randomized controlled trials (RCTs), two nonrandomized clinical trials, and 19 observational studies or program descriptions. Three of four RCTs designed to measure functional outcomes showed a reduction in functional decline in the intervention group. The trials that resulted in functional benefits enrolled high-risk patients and included geriatric nursing assessment and home-based services as part of the intervention. Results of trials to decrease health service utilization rates following an ED visit were mixed. CONCLUSIONS A significant number of programs to improve outcomes for elders discharged from the ED exist, but few have been systematically examined. Development of interventions to improve the care of elder patients following ED visits requires further research into system and patient-centered factors that impact health care delivery in this situation.
Possible sites of action of the new calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonists

Migraine is considered a neurovascular disease affecting more than 10% of the general population. Currently available drugs for the acute treatment of migraine are vasoconstrictors, which have limitations in their therapeutic use. The calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has a key role in migraine, where levels of CGRP are increased during acute migraine attacks. CGRP is expressed throughout the central and peripheral nervous system, consistent with control of vasodilatation and transmission of nociceptive information. In migraine, CGRP is released from the trigeminal system. At peripheral synapses CGRP results in vasodilatation via receptors on the smooth muscle cells. At central synapses, CGRP acts postjunctionally on second-order neurons to transmit pain centrally via the brainstem and midbrain to higher cortical pain regions. The recently developed CGRP-receptor antagonists have demonstrated clinical efficacy in the treatment of acute migraine attacks. A remaining question is their site of action. The CGRP-receptor components (calcitonin receptor-like receptor, receptor activity modifying protein 1 and receptor component protein) are found to colocalize in the smooth muscle cells of intracranial arteries and in large-sized neurons in the trigeminal ganglion. The CGRP receptor has also been localized within parts of the brain and the brainstem. The aim of this paper is to review recent localization studies of CGRP and its receptor components within the nervous system and to discuss whether these sites could be possible targets for the CGRP-receptor antagonists.
Gender diversity and board performance: women's experiences and perspectives

Despite considerable progress that organizations have made during the past 20 years to increase the representation of women at board level, they still hold few board seats. Drawing on a qualitative study involving 30 companies with women directors in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ghana, we investigate how the relationship between gender in the boardroom and corporate governance operates. The findings indicate that the presence of a minority of women on the board has an insignificant effect on board performance. Yet the chairperson's role is vital in leading the change for recruiting and evaluating candidates and their commitment to the board with diversity and governance in mind. Our study also sheds light on the multifaceted reasons why women directors appear to be resisting the discourse of gender quotas.
Commonality in Liquidity

Traditionally and understandably, the microscope of market microstructure has focused on attributes of single assets. Little theoretical attention and virtually no empirical work has been devoted to common determinants of liquidity nor to their empirical manifestation, correlated movements in liquidity. But a wider-angle lens exposes an imposing image of commonality. Quoted spreads, quoted depth, and e! ective spreads co-move with market- and industry-wide liquidity. After controlling for wellknown individual liquidity determinants, such as volatility, volume, and price, common in#uences remain signi"cant and material. Recognizing the existence of commonality is a key to uncovering some suggestive evidence that inventory risks and asymmetric information both a! ect intertemporal changes in liquidity. ( 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
The disulfide oxidoreductase SdbA is active in Streptococcus gordonii using a single C‐terminal cysteine of the CXXC motif

Recently, we identified a novel disulfide oxidoreductase, SdbA, in the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii. Disulfide oxidoreductases form disulfide bonds in nascent proteins using a CXXC catalytic motif. Typically, the N‐terminal cysteine interacts with substrates, whereas the C‐terminal cysteine is buried and only reacts with the first cysteine of the motif. In this study, we investigated the SdbA C86P87D88C89 catalytic motif. In vitro, SdbA single cysteine variants at the N or C‐terminal position (SdbAC86P and SdbAC89A) were active but displayed different susceptibility to oxidation, and N‐terminal cysteine was prone to sulfenylation. In S. gordonii, mutants with a single N‐terminal cysteine were inactive and formed unstable disulfide adducts with other proteins. Activity was partially restored by inactivation of pyruvate oxidase, a hydrogen peroxide generator. Presence of the C‐terminal cysteine alone (in the SdbAC86P variant) could complement the ΔsdbA mutant and restore disulfide bond formation in recombinant and natural protein substrates. These results provide evidence that certain disulfide oxidoreductases can catalyze disulfide bond formation using a single cysteine of the CXXC motif, including the buried C‐terminal cysteine.
Competitive Tendering in the Welfare State: Perceptions and Preferences among Local Politicians

Competitive tendering for public services has triggered a heated academic debate. In political economy, competition is claimed to improve efficiency. If this is true, why are most governments faithful to the monopoly model? Political economists suggest that public sector employees and unions influence the preferences of the elected politicians. In new institutional theory, competition is claimed to undermine democratic governance. If this is true, why do some elected governments make use of competitive tendering? In this tradition, organisational solutions are seen as expressions of autonomous values and perceptions about the outcomes of organisational solutions – not as manifestations of vote–maximising politicians subject to self–interested interest groups. When governments use competition, it is due to misconceived management fads that have temporarily penetrated long–established perceptions and value systems. These propositions have not been subjected to proper empirical testing. We have analysed extensive data about Norwegian local politicians, and found support for the notion that the perceptions of elected politicians affect their preferences for tendering for residential care services for elderly people and hospital services. But we found support for the political economy propositions as well. Party affiliation, interest group background and economic situation influence the perceptions and organisational preferences of elected politicians. Reform may be a question of political values and perceived consequences, but these values, perceptions and policy preferences are influenced by political self–interest and can be changed by exogenous economic shocks.
Use of financial bootstrapping in new businesses: a question of last resort?

This study examines motives for using financial bootstrapping in new businesses. First, it identifies and labels groups of new business founders based on their motives for using bootstrapping. Second, it examines the relation between variables referring to the founder and the business and the motives. The data were collected in a questionnaire sent by post to 120 new business founders in Swedish business incubators. The results show that ‘lower costs’ is the most important motive, followed by ‘lack of capital’, and, surprisingly, ‘fun helping others and getting help from others’. On the basis of a cluster analysis three groups of founders were identified, based on differences in their motives for using bootstrapping. The groups were labeled cost-reducing bootstrappers, capital-constrained bootstrappers and risk-reducing bootstrappers. The relative experience of the founder is the most significant influence for using bootstrapping. As experience is gained the new business founder learns more about the advantages and motives for using bootstrapping. The resource acquisition behavior changes from initially focusing on reducing costs towards a proactive focus on reducing the risk in the business.
The natural history of psychosis and depression in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease: persistence and new cases over 1 year of follow-up.

BACKGROUND Few data are available regarding the natural course of psychiatric symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease. To acquire this information is essential to inform differential diagnosis and treatment decisions. METHOD The current study provides prospective data regarding a representative case-register cohort of patients with operationalized clinical diagnoses of dementia with Lewy bodies (N = 82) or Alzheimer's disease (N = 132), with verified accuracy of clinical diagnosis against postmortem examination. Psychosis (Columbia University Scale for Psychopathology in Alzheimer's Disease) and depression (Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia) were assessed at baseline and annual follow-up. RESULTS Visual hallucinations were significantly more likely to be persistent in patients suffering from dementia with Lewy bodies (chi2 = 19.1, df = 1, p < .0001). Although a number of other psychiatric symptoms were also more frequent at baseline in dementia with Lewy body patients, they were not significantly more likely to persist. Delusions and auditory hallucinations did, however, persist in more than 40% of patients across both diagnostic groups. Patients suffering from dementia with Lewy bodies were significantly more likely to develop new auditory hallucinations over the year of follow-up (chi2 = 14.4, df= 1, p < .0001). CONCLUSION These results confirm that, although a number of psychiatric symptoms are common in dementia with Lewy bodies, it is only visual hallucinations that are significantly more persistent, with important treatment implications.
Predictors of relationship quality and loyalty in the chain restaurant industry.

The focus of this research was the chain restaurant industry, and its purpose was to (1) determine which factors influence relationship quality and customer loyalty formation and (2) examine the connections between relationship quality and loyalty. Based on the literature review, five dimensions influence restaurant patrons’ behavior: food quality, service quality, price, location, and environment. Theoretical relationships between attributes influencing patrons’ behavior, relationship quality, and loyalty were derived from the literature review. Data analysis indicated that these five attributes influence loyalty formation, with impact mediated by relationship quality. They also influence customer satisfaction, with satisfaction influencing loyalty formation directly and indirectly via trust. Furthermore, service quality was the only attribute to directly and indirectly affect trust, and its effect is stronger than that of any other attribute. Managerial implications are discussed.