Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural Studies of NediV-IRES-Mediated Translation Initiation

Structural Determination of NediV-IRES-mediated Translation Initiation Clara Gilda Altomare Viruses require a host cell to replicate and proliferate; upon infection they appropriate host resources and molecular machines. Specifically, viruses use ribosomes of the host to translate the information in their genome. Some viruses with single-stranded RNA genomes contain highly structured non-coding regions of RNA called internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs) which are used to hijack the host’s ribosomes through a non-canonical cap-independent initiation pathway. Canonical translation initiation is a highly complex and regulated process: at least a dozen translation factors are necessary, and it is the rate-limiting step in eukaryotic translation. Viruses containing an IRES forgo canonical eukaryotic translation initiation factors and bypass some steps of canonical translation initiation by mimicking part of the host’s initiation machinery. The simplest among these IRESs are found in the intergenic region (IGR) of viruses in the family Dicistroviridae. These type IV IRESs from dicistroviruses have been structurally characterized in great detail in using the cricket paralysis virus (CrPV) and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV). To better understand how structure affects the function of these type IV IRESs, using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), we have characterized a recently discovered IRES found in the IGR of the genome of Nedicistrovirus (NediV). Four complexes that represent each step in the alternative translation initiation mechanism were prepared and analyzed to solve the 3D structure and characterize the mechanism by which the NediV-IRES captures host ribosomes. With this, we were able to understand how the shorter stem-loop V (SL-V) of NediV-IRES impacts the well-characterized interaction of SL-V with eukaryotic small subunit ribosomal protein 25 (eS25) (Landry et al., 2009), which is important for the IRES:40S complex formation. This shortened stem-loop has been shown to fold in a way that does not support stable binding to the small ribosomal subunit (40S) and subsequent recruitment of the large ribosomal subunit (60S). NediV-IRES, rather, relies on direct recruitment of the 80S ribosome, which has been seen more commonly at low concentrations of Mg for CrPV-IRES (Petrov et al., 2016). Solved structures also suggest that upon loading, NediV-IRES skips the first eEF2-dependent pseudo-translocation step necessary to bind to the ribosomal P site without the need of eEF2. Because of their simplicity, these type IV IRESs represent a robust potential tool for cell-free and vector-driven translation. Due to these structural and mechanistic differences observed, we propose that NediVIRES, along with the NediV-like Antarctic picorna-like virus 1 (APLV-1)-IRES (Lu, 2019), represents a novel type IV IRES subclass.
Effects of antihypertensive agents on the quality of life in diabetic hypertensive patients: A prospective study

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic noncommunicable disease, and hypertension (HT) is the most common comorbidity which affects their quality of life (QoL). Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the effects of antihypertensive agents (viz., amlodipine, ramipril, telmisartan, and ramipril with telmisartan) on the blood pressure (BP) and QoL. Methodology: It was an open-labeled prospective intention-to-treat study done in diabetic hypertensive patients (CTRI/2016/10/007340). Patients were randomly assigned antihypertensive agents, namely, amlodipine, ramipril, telmisartan, and a combination of ramipril with telmisartan (RT) in four groups. They were evaluated for BP, blood sugar level, and QoL at baseline and 24th week. Results: After 24 weeks of therapy, systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) were significantly reduced in all groups. In amlodipine, there was a mean percentage fall of SBP by 15.85% (confidence interval [CI]: 21.38–28.13) and DBP by 11.22% (CI: 8.41–12.70); in ramipril – 14.4% (CI: 18.61–25.15) and 12.4% (CI 8.88–13.99); telmisartan – 18.4% (CI: 24.89–10.79) and 14.6% (CI 10.79–16.24); and in RT group, SBP 17.7% (CI: 23.38–29.18) and DBP 12.4% (CI: 9.05–13.02). QoL score increased by 30.56% (CI: 14.30–10.90), 30.94% (CI: 14.21–10.68), 28.07% (CI: 14.89–11.20), and 28.84% (CI: 15.49–11.77), in respective groups (P < 0.0001, each). However, they were nonsignificant between the study groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Amlodipine, ramipril, telmisartan, and a combination of RT are equally effective to improve BP and QoL among diabetic hypertensive patients. However, amlodipine and telmisartan lacked in dry cough and more tolerable than the ramipril and RT therapy. Henceforth, amlodipine and telmisartan are better choice to control HT among DM patients.
Serum levels of visfatin, sirtuin-1, and interleukin-6 in stable and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Visfatin is an adipokine that increased under inflammatory conditions. Moreover, sirtuin-1 possesses regulatory effects on inflammatory factors. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the serum level of visfatin in patients with stable and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD). Materials and Methods: In a case–control study, thirty patients with stable COPD (S-COPD), thirty patients with AE-COPD, and thirty control subjects were enrolled. Pulmonary function tests and blood sampling were performed on all participants. Serum visfatin, sirtuin-1, and interleukin (IL)-6 levels were measured using the sandwich ELISA method and assessed their association with study parameters. Results: The findings of the current study revealed that serum levels of visfatin in AE-COPD patients were higher than those of healthy controls and S-COPD (for healthy control; standardized mean difference [SMD] = 2.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.31–2.83, P < 0.001, and for S-COPD; SMD = 1.53, 95% CI = 0.21–2.85, P < 0.05). On the other hand, the serum levels of sirtuin-1 were higher in healthy controls compared to the S-COPD and AE-COPD patients (for S-COPD; SMD = 1.56, 95% CI = 0.018–3.11, P < 0.05, for AE-COPD; SMD = 1.50, 95% CI = 0.048–3.04, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Elevated visfatin and IL-6 levels demonstrated their pro-inflammatory effects in patients with COPD, especially in AE-COPD patients. In addition, the negative association found between serum visfatin and sirtuin-1 levels suggested the pathophysiologic and therapeutic roles of these factors in COPD patients.
The influence of family board involvement on earnings management

How to cite this paper: Franzoi, F. , Mietzner, M. , & Thelemann, F. (2021). The influence of family board involvement on earnings management. Corporate Ownership & Control, 18(2), 106-123. http://doi.org/10.22495/cocv18i2art8 Copyright © 2021 The Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
Probiotic Viability and Physicochemical Properties of Set-Yoghurt Made of Indigenous and Exotic Cow Milk

The current study was performed to assess the viability of probiotic bacteria and physicochemical properties of setyoghurt made of milk obtained from two indigenous cattle types [Thamankaduwa white (TW) and Lankan cattle] and two exotic cattle breeds [Jersey and Friesian] rearing in Sri Lanka. Milk samples (n = 180) were collected from individual cattle representing 15 cows per each cattle breed/type. Milk composition of each cattle breed/type was analyzed and setyoghurts were prepared using composite milk samples from each cattle breed/type. Starter culture composed of Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis (BB-12) was used. Total viable counts of yoghurt bacteria and probiotic bacteria, titratable acidity, pH and syneresis were measured to evaluate the quality attributes of set-yoghurt throughout the storage period of 21 days at 4°C. Cattle breed/type had an evident effect on milk composition in relation to milk fat and total solids content. Friesian cattle had the lowest (p<0.05) fat content while TW cattle and Lankan cattle showed significantly higher total solids contents compared to Friesian and Jersey. Yoghurt made of two indigenous cattle types showed the highest (p<0.05) viability for yoghurt bacteria and probiotic bacteria and all set-yoghurts consisted of minimum therapeutic level of probiotic bacteria throughout the entire storage period of 21 days at 4°C. Significantly lower (p<0.05) syneresis was observed in the set-yoghurt produced using TW and Lankan cattle milk while the highest syneresis was observed in the set-yoghurt produced with Friesian milk. Superior milk composition, higher probiotic viability and better technological properties of setyoghurt made of indigenous cow milk suggest the potential use of indigenous cow milk in development of probiotic dairy products supporting the Sri Lankan dairy industry and conservation of valuable local cattle gene pool of the country.
Association between serum gamma-glutamyltransferase levels and hyperuricemia

Aim: Although the the contribution of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) to hyperuricemia (hUA) has been previously shown in literature, there is not any study showing the contribution of GGT to hUA in a Turkish population. The aim of this study was to investigate both the association between GGT and uric acid (UA) and the contribution of GGT to hUA in the Turkish population. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in Antalya, Turkey. A total of 14049 subjects (5521 males and 8528 females) aged > 40 years were recruited and divided into four subgroups according to serum GGT quartiles. Patient demographic data and laboratory results of biochemical parameters were obtained from electronic medical records. Linear regression analysis was applied to GGT quartiles with UA and binary logistic regression analysis was applied to GGT quartiles with hUA. Results: Firstly, serum UA levels were increased across GGT quartiles (p < 0.001). Linear regression models showed GGT in the fourth quartile was strong associated with a 0.22 mmol/L (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.16-0.29, p = 0.001) increase in UA after adjustment. Logistic regression analysis revealed that compared with subjects in the lowest GGT quartile, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for hyperuricemia in the fourth quartile was 2.62 (95% CI 2.27-3.01, p = 0.001) after adjustment for age, sex, creatinine, total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Conclusions: Serum GGT is closely associated with serum UA and might contributes greatly to hUA .
Characterisation of liquid food colour from digital images

ABSTRACT The characteristic colour of translucent liquid foods is defined as the colour values at infinite depth, where the liquid depth and the background effects are surpassed. A measurement cell with variable depth was built, and the L*a*b* colour was measured from digital images. Colour versus depth was fitted to an exponential equation, from which the characteristic colour was obtained. Thirteen different liquids were tested with this methodology and compared with spectrophotometer measurements. The average total colour difference between approaches was 50.85 ± 18.89. Image analysis led to more realistic predictions, and a high correlation between Hue angle values was obtained for most samples, with the exception of only one.
Study on Different Vegetable based Intercrops in Cabbage for Assessing Growth, Yield and Economic Viability

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) commonly known as white cabbage or headed cabbage belongs to the family Brassicaceae with chromosome number 2n=2x=18. Primarily it is regarded as one of the most economically important member of the genus Brassica. It is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean region through evolution of a wild diploid ancestor i.e Brassica oleracea var. sylvestris; a leafy kale like plant commonly known as Coleworts. It is one of the most important cole crops grown in India and throughout the world. In India it is not clearly known when it was introduced but it is accepted that it was probably introduced during the Portuguese rule and became a popular crop during the British period (Swarup, 2006). Arable lands are under pressure to produce food for human consumption, especially in developing countries in Asia and Africa where growers have own small plots of land (Awal et al., 2007). Moreover farmers are constantly looking for ways to increase their production and income through various means and practices such as the use of F1 hybrids, improved varieties, intercultural operations, plant protection and application of plant growth regulators. In this regard, Intercropping is an important agronomic International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 10 Number 01 (2021) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Scenario Optimisation and Sensitivity Analysis for Safe Automated Driving Using Gaussian Processes

Assuring the safety of automated vehicles is essential for their timely introduction and acceptance by policymakers and the public. To assess their safe design and robust decision making in response to all possible scenarios, new methods that use a scenario-based testing approach are needed, as testing on public roads in normal traffic would require driving millions of kilometres. We make use of the scenario-based testing approach and propose a method to model simulated scenarios using Gaussian Process based models to predict untested scenario outcomes. This enables us to efficiently determine the performance boundary, where the safe and unsafe scenarios can be evidently distinguished from each other. We present an iterative method that optimises the parameter space of a logical scenario towards the most critical scenarios on this performance boundary. Additionally, we conduct a novel probabilistic sensitivity analysis by efficiently computing several variance-based sensitivity indices using the Gaussian Process models and evaluate the relative importance of the scenario input parameters on the scenario outcome. We critically evaluate and investigate the usefulness of the proposed Gaussian Process based approach as a very efficient surrogate model, which can model the logical scenarios effectively in the presence of uncertainty. The proposed approach is applied on an exemplary logical scenario and shows viability in finding concrete critical scenarios. The reported results, derived from the proposed approach, could pave the way to more efficient testing of automated vehicles and instruct further physical tests on the determined critical scenarios.
To be a TikToker in COVID-19 Era: An Experience of Social Influence

Social networks are able to interface technological innovation and communication with socialitythus redesigning the forms, practices, purposes of access and its relationship with everyday lifeespecially at a time when technology becomes the only way to feel part of a social group, like the COVID-19 period The general objective of the research is to understand the experience ofruition of the social network Tiktok in the sample of participants, heterogeneous and representative of the reference population The aim is to assess how the user or the entire sociagroup lives the experience of the social because it is assumed that the result of the above experience can become a new form of social influence The study aims to answer the following research questions: 1 How do people experience this new social media? 2 Is fun the new form of social influence? The methodology used is quantum-qualitative It is, in fact, proposed first a Netnographic Analysis of observation and description of the social, and then use an automatiContent Analysis supported by Diatextual Analysis (the qualitative part) The results allow to theorize a different form of social influence, or “fun”, which becomes characteristic of the socianetwork and the period © 2021 by authors;licensee OJCMT
A fast and quantitative measurement of shear wave speed and attenuation using (cross) modal assurance criterion for acoustic radiation force elasticity imaging

The measurement of shear wave speed (SWS) or attenuation in soft materials, especially in biological tissues, plays a crucial role in acoustic radiation force elasticity imaging which provides a quantitative measurement of elastic properties. In this study, with the first attempt to apply modal analysis theory to acoustic radiation force elasticity imaging, we propose a fast tracking algorithm based on the modal assurance criterion (MAC) including 2D SWS-MAC for SWS measurement and the signed cross modal assurance criterion (CrossMAC) for shear wave attenuation measurement. These approaches achieved high speedup with a framework of high-level parallelism. The FEM simulation results proved the accuracy of these two approaches. Phantom experiments showed that the 2D SWS-MAC approach had good consistency in SWS estimation compared to existing approaches and could accurately preserve the boundary contour of the inclusion with narrowed assurance intervals (quarter-width assurance intervals). An excised porcine liver experiment verified the effectiveness of shear wave attenuation estimation with Signed CrossMAC. These results demonstrate that the MAC based approaches improved both the shear wave motion measurement precision and the speedup rate of the measurement compared to conventional time domain cross-correlation or time-to-peak methods.
Corporate governance mechanism as income smoothing suppressor

Income smoothing is an act of accounting engineering by exploiting gaps in accounting standards. This study aims to determine the motives for income-shifting management. Based on agency theory, this study tested three hypotheses on two income-smoothing objects: operating income and net income. This research is a quantitative study with data in Indonesian public manufacturing companies’ financial statements dated December 31, 2009 - 2018 obtained from the Indonesian Capital Market Directory. Hypothesis testing uses a binary logistic regression approach. The practice of income smoothing exists in manufacturing companies in Indonesia. Management shift income with object engineering is gross profit by 30.2% and net income by 21.7%. Hypothesis testing confirms that the commissionaire board size is not a mechanism of supervision effectiveness. The independent commissioners’ size was able to suppress income smoothing in manufacturing companies. Audit tenure has a negative effect on income smoothing. The audit period is directly proportional to the auditor’s ability to limit income smoothing. These results contribute to the formulation of policies, especially in improving the quality of corporate governance. Even the public and investors can understand the indications of income smoothing practices. New evidence suggests that income smoothing is less likely to be desired by corporate governance mechanisms. The motive for income smoothing is considered opportunistic. Audit tenure improves the quality of oversight of accounting engineering actions, contrary to the previous opinion that tenure reduces auditor independence.
The Impact of Financial Distress on Cash Holdings in Indonesia: Does Business Group Affiliation Matter?

This study aims to investigate the impact of financial distress on the cash holding of non-financial companies in Indonesia as the largest emerging economy among ASEAN countries. Furthermore, the sub-sample business group to be investigated were divided into two, groups namely affiliated and non-affiliated groups. This was carried out to ascertain the difference in the impact of financial distress on cash holding between both groups. Sample collection was based on all firms listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) during 2008–2017, comprising 137 firms. The results showed that using the two-step system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), the coefficients for financial distress (Z-Score) indices were positive and significant for all models. Therefore, the higher the Z-Score value, the lower the company’s financial distress and vice versa. This implies that the lower the company’s financial distress, the lower the cash holding. Furthermore, a positive and significant impact of the Z-Score on cash holding for non-affiliated groups was discovered. This implies that there are differences in the amount of cash holding between affiliated and non-affiliated groups. This result indicates that non-affiliated groups hold more cash during financial distress. However, these results had cash policy implications, particularly for non-affiliated groups.
Low-Complexity Scheduling for Delay Minimization in D2D Communications Using Network Coding

In this letter, we consider the decoding delay minimizing problem for delivering a frame of packets to a set of user-devices (UDs) using instantly decodable network coding (IDNC). In the considered device-to-device (D2D) network, UDs have limited coverage zones that represent clusters and can speed up the delivery of the requested packets of other UDs by sending IDNC packets. The decoding delay minimization problem is a joint optimization problem of selecting the transmitting UDs and their coding decisions. In this work, we propose a low complexity, yet optimal, solution to the decoding delay minimization problem using graph pruning method. Our proposed innovative method introduces a sequential pruning algorithm that judiciously generates clusters that are certainly contributing to the network while simultaneously designing a new multi-layer IDNC graph. We also prove that the optimal solution to the problem can be achieved by the generated clusters by our proposed algorithm. Numerical results reveal that the proposed solution significantly reduces the computational complexity compared to the existing method with similar decoding delay performance.
Talent Promotion Programs and Management of Formal Education in Nigeria

This study examined talent promotion programs and management of formal education among youth in Nigeria. This quantitative study determined the perception of administrators and lecturers on the importance of personality development, sports, music and reality television shows towards effective management of formal education. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 45 participants in three departments at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Data was collected using a Talent Promotion Programs and Management of Formal Education Questionnaire (TPPMFEQ), and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that personality development, sports, music and reality television shows are important towards effective management of formal education. The findings indicate that the government should promote personality development of youth by upgrading the monetary value given to high achievers in school after completion of their programs or degree in order to spur more interest in appreciating education and shaping the behaviour of individuals. Also, the government should provide sports-academic scholarship schemes that would serve as criteria and support for talented youth in order to assist them in pursuing their dreams and ensuring that all citizens are catered for educationally. In addition, the government should also place more emphasis on music as a way of bringing about a better life for youth. As well, the government should ensure the effective regulation of television programs so that they are educative, meaningful and relevant to the progress of youth in order to empower and reduce the problem of unemployment and poverty among youth.