Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
1 Challenges for targeting SARS-CoV-2 proteases as a therapeutic strategy for COVID-19

Two proteases produced by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, M pro and PL pro , are essential for viral replication and have become the focus of drug development programs for treatment of COVID-19. We screened a highly focused library of compounds containing covalent warheads designed to target cysteine proteases to identify new lead scaffolds for both M pro and PL pro proteases. These efforts identified a small number of hits for the M pro protease and no viable hits for the PL pro protease. Of the M pro hits identified as inhibitors of the purified recombinant protease, only two compounds inhibited viral infectivity in cellular infection assays. However, we observed a substantial drop in antiviral potency upon expression of TMPRSS2, a transmembrane serine protease that acts in an alternative viral entry pathway to the lysosomal cathepsins. This loss of potency is explained by the fact that our lead M pro inhibitors are also potent inhibitors of host cell cysteine cathepsins. To determine if this is a general property of M pro inhibitors, we evaluated several recently reported compounds and found that they are also effective inhibitors of purified human cathepsin L and B and showed similar loss in activity in cells expressing TMPRSS2. Our results highlight the challenges of targeting M pro and PL pro proteases and demonstrate the need to carefully assess selectivity of SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitors to prevent clinical advancement of compounds that function through inhibition of a redundant viral entry pathway.
Dynamical downscaling simulation and future projection of precipitation over China

This study assesses present‐day and future precipitation changes over China by using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model version 3.5. 1. The WRF model was driven by the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Earth System Model with the Generalized Ocean Layer Dynamics component (GFDL‐ESM2G) output over China at the resolution of 30 km for the present day (1976–2005) and near future (2031–2050) under the Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 (RCP4.5) scenario. The results demonstrate that with improved resolution and better representation of finer‐scale physical process, dynamical downscaling adds value to the regional precipitation simulation. WRF downscaling generally simulates more reliable spatial distributions of total precipitation and extreme precipitation in China with higher spatial pattern correlations and closer magnitude. It is able to successfully eliminate the artificial precipitation maximum area simulated by GFDL‐ESM2G over the west of the Sichuan Basin, along the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau in both summer and winter. Besides, the regional annual cycle and frequencies of precipitation intensity are also well depicted by WRF. In the future projections, under the RCP4.5 scenario, both models project that summer precipitation over most parts of China will increase, especially in western and northern China, and that precipitation over some southern regions is projected to decrease. The projected increase of future extreme precipitation makes great contributions to the total precipitation increase. In southern regions, the projected larger extreme precipitation amounts accompanied with fewer extreme precipitation frequencies suggest that future daily extreme precipitation intensity is likely to increase in these regions.
Fast Friends: Generating Interpersonal Closeness between Humans and Socially Interactive Agents

Humans can develop closeness through the exchange of personal information. A structured method of self-disclosure has been developed in the Fast Friends paradigm, in which two people alternately ask 36 questions with increasing levels of interpersonal intimacy. We transferred this paradigm to interactions with Socially Interactive Agents (SIA). In our study, 72 participants alternately asked and answered 36 questions with a SIA -- indicating their level of interpersonal closeness with the SIA at three points. Participants rated specific trust in the SIA after the interaction, and their general trust and attachment styles were measured. Over time, participants' levels of closeness increased, which was moderated by specific trust but not by general trust and attachment style. Participants with high specific trust developed higher levels of closeness to the SIA than participants with low specific trust. These findings indicate that people can develop a close relationship with SIAs and that trust in the SIA is a prerequisite for developing closeness. Furthermore, this paper introduced the Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale for assessing the relationship between two interaction partners during an ongoing interaction.
GC-MS-Based Prediction of Flavor Compounds in Some Non-Alcoholic Beverages Soft Drink in the Egyptian Market

: Recently, some non-alcoholic beverages such as Fanta, Miranda and Schweppes pomegranate have been especially successful in the marketplace as soft drinks and cocktails. Such beverages have been developed to have a more premium taste, with stronger fruit or other base flavors. Hence, to develop such products in the food and beverage market, it is of importance to clearly differentiate them from competing products and identification the aroma compounds existing. In generally, the evaluation of volatiles compounds in food is an important aspect of food production processes. It gives some knowledge about the quality of foods and their relationship to consumers’ choices. Unraveling variation on the profile aroma compounds of non-alcoholic soft drinks for different trademark by GC-MC head space analysis. The objective of the current study is to investigate the aroma profile and major flavor compounds in some non-alcoholics soft drinks that have a unique flavor and relative concentrations in these beverages to characterize the odor-active compounds and distinguished their trademarks by GC-MS analysis. Volatile components extract of famously three trademarks from non-alcoholic soft drinks (FT, MD and SP) were quantitatively and qualitative analyzed using gas chromatographic (GC) techniques. 11 compounds were identified and qualitative with using GC-MS. Analytical experiments showed that the critical compounds that contribute to the characteristic flavor of the studied non-alcoholic soft drinks were as the following :(1) D-Limonene, (2) alpha-Terpineol, (3) beta-Myrcene, (4) Cyclohexene, 1-methyl-4-(1-methylethylidene)-,(5)2-Carene,(6) Cyclohexanol, 2-methyl-5-(1-methylethenyl)-, (1.alpha.,2.beta.,5.alpha)-, (7) gamma. -Terpinene,(8) (1R,2S,4R)-2,7,7-Trimethylbicyclo[2.2. 1]heptan-2-ol,(9) 3-Cyclohexen-1-ol, 5-methylene-6-(1-methylethenyl)- acetate,(10) 2-Pentadecyn-1-ol, and (11)2-Decyn-1-ol. Major volatile compound of the commercial non-alcoholic soft drinks (FT, MD and SP) was detected as limonene (80.54, 84.54 and 95.65, respectively). All the 11 compounds identified are the primary constituents of the flavor components in the tested three trademarks non-alcoholic soft drinks in Egyptian market.
Duplication accelerates the 1 evolution of structural complexity in 2 protein quaternary structure 3

9 Gene duplication, from single genes to whole genomes, has been observed in organisms across all 10 taxa. Despite its prevalence, the evolutionary beneﬁts of this mechanism are the subject of ongoing 11 debate. Gene duplication can signiﬁcantly alter the self-assembly of protein quaternary structures, 12 impacting the dosage or interaction proclivity. Here we use a lattice model of self-assembly as a 13 coarse-grained representation of protein complex assembly, and show that it can be used to 14 examine potential evolutionary advantages of duplication. Duplication provides a unique 15 mechanism for increasing the evolvability of protein complexes by enabling the transformation of 16 symmetric homomeric interactions into heteromeric ones. This transformation is extensively 17 observed in in silico evolutionary simulations of the lattice model, with duplication events 18 signiﬁcantly accelerating the rate at which structural complexity increases. These coarse-grained 19 simulation results are corroborated with a large-scale analysis of complexes from the Protein Data 20 Bank. 21
Isolation and Molecular Characterisation of Lumpy Skin Disease Virus from Diary Farms of Central Ethiopia

: Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is economically important viral disease of cattle mainly in Africa and Middle East. Mass vaccination is a better strategy to control the disease in endemic countries. However, there is an increasing field report of vaccine failure. The study was conducted in central parts of Ethiopia to isolate; characterize LSDV and for vaccine effectiveness. A total of 191 dairy cattle from smallholder and 1551 from big dairy farms were included for the study. Out of 1742 dairy cattle, 213 (12.2%) showed characteristic clinical signs of LSD and 27 cattle (1.5%) were died as the result of the disease. Thirty-one Skin biopsies were collected from outbreak cases. Twenty-six skin samples were developed a characteristic CPE on Vero cell line. Viruses were isolated and confirmed to be LSDV using conventional PCR and real-time PCR. The complete sequence of RPO30 gene of the isolates showed that all isolates substituted at least one nucleotide in respect to vaccine strains. The vaccine effectiveness of annual vaccination was estimated to be 67.1% (95% CI = 57.3 – 74.7) in contrast to vaccination during outbreaks. Thus, it’s the time to direct efforts towards to the development of new effective vaccine.
Towards a mechanistic explanation of Island biogeography using subterranean animal communities

Using subterranean fauna in the Canary Islands as a simpliﬁed natural laboratory, we explored how the interplay of eco-evolutionary processes shape taxonomic and functional diversity patterns in oceanic archipelagos through geological times. First, we demonstrated an overall convergence in the trait spaces of subterranean communities across islands, yet with variability according to each island’s ontogenetic state—young, mature, or senescent. Next, we showed that the reduced species contribution to the island’s traits space in mature islands is a consequence of an optimisation of the use of the available niche space driven by species interactions. Finally, we link those lines of evidence showing that species interactions select a non-random combination of traits in mature islands. Collectively, our results provided a mechanistic description of the drivers of diversity in oceanic islands by suggesting causal relationships between species functional properties and island diversity metrics accounting for their geological age.
ScholarWorks SJSU ScholarWorks

The harbor porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) is common in temperate waters of the eastern North Paci ﬁ c Ocean, including Southeast Alaska inland waters, a complex environment comprised of open waterways, narrow channels, and inlets. Two demographically independent populations are currently recognized in this region. Bycatch of porpoises in the salmon drift gillnet ﬁ sheries is suspected to occur regularly. In this study, we apply distance sampling to estimate abundance of harbor porpoise during ship surveys carried out in the summer of 2019. A strati ﬁ ed survey design was implemented to sample different harbor porpoise habitats. Survey tracklines were allocated following a randomized survey design with uniform coverage probability. Density and abundance for the northern and southern Southeast Alaska inland water populations were computed using a combination of design-based line-and strip-transect methods. A total of 2,893 km was surveyed in sea state conditions ranging from Beaufort 0 to 3 and 194 harbor porpoise groups (301 individuals) were detected. An independent sighting dataset from surveys conducted between 1991 and 2012 were used to calculate the probability of missing porpoise groups on the survey trackline (g[0]=0.53, CV=0.11). Abundance of the northern and southern populations were estimated at 1,619 (CV=0.26) and 890 (CV=0.37) porpoises, respectively. Bycatch estimates, which were only obtained for a portion of the drift gillnet ﬁ shery, suggest that mortality within the range of the southern population may be unsustainable. Harbor porpoises are highly vulnerable to mortality in gillnets, therefore monitoring abundance and bycatch is important for evaluating the potential impact of ﬁ sheries on this species in Southeast Alaska.
Psychological Pressure in Competitive Environments: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment Psychological Pressure in Competitive Environments: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment

Much like cognitive abilities, emotional skills can have major effects on performance and economic outcomes. This paper studies the behavior of professional subjects involved in a dynamic competition in their own natural environment. The setting is a penalty shoot-out in soccer where two teams compete in a tournament framework taking turns in a sequence of five penalty kicks each. As the kicking order is determined by the random outcome of a coin flip, the treatment and control groups are determined via explicit randomization. Therefore, absent any psychological effects, both teams should have the same probability of winning regardless of the kicking order. Yet, we find a systematic first-kicker advantage. Using data on 2,731 penalty kicks from 262 shoot-outs for a three decade period, we find that teams kicking first win the penalty shoot-out 60.5% of the time. A dynamic panel data analysis shows that the psychological mechanism underlying this result arises from the asymmetry in the partial score. As most kicks are scored, kicking first typically means having the opportunity to lead in the partial score, whereas kicking second typically means lagging in the score and having the opportunity to, at most, get even. Having a worse prospect than the opponent hinders subjects' performance. Further, we also find that professionals are self-aware of their own psychological effects. When a recent change in regulations gives winners of the coin toss the chance to choose the kicking order, they rationally react to it by systematically choosing to kick first. A survey of professional players reveals that when asked to explain why they prefer to kick first, they precisely identify the psychological mechanism for which we find empirical support in the data: they want " to lead in the score in order to put pressure on the opponent. " * We thank the IAS in Vienna for helpful comments. Ozan Eksi provided excellent research assistance. We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Fundación Ramón Areces.
Local Community Participation in Ecotourism Development in Tasik Kenyir, Malaysia

: Participation of local community in ecotourism has been highlighted and researched by many academics because it is a very important input for successful ecotourism development. This current study investigates the factors influencing the level of local community participation in ecotourism development in Tasik Kenyir, Malaysia. A quantitative approach is used in this research. The sample consists of 260 heads of household in three villages in Tasik Kenyir. The findings of the study indicate that four factors influence the level of participation in ecotourism development which include the family members’ involvement in ecotourism, perceived environmental impacts by the communities, marital status and the distance of residence to the ecotourism area. The study recommends that the local government ought to increase the accessibility for the local community to participate in ecotourism activities by including more representation of the community in the planning process; the study also suggests that future studies to explore factors like attitudes and readiness of the community that may influence the participation of the local community
Mechanical composition of clastic sediments

Introductory In an earlier paper 2 I have published mechanical analyses of a number of samples of wind sediments and have described the conditions under which these samples were formed, classifying them into lag gravels, drifting sand, lee sand, and atmospheric dust. It was my purpose to present some reliable measurements on the mechanical composition of such deposits. It was evident from that study that wind sediments are less heterogeneous in their mechanical make-up than water sediments are. This fact is quite generally recognized. It is readily inferred from consideration of the physical forces and conditions involved. The lightness of the air prevents it from moving pebbles more than about one centimeter in diameter, except on occasions so rare that wind deposits of that coarseness are practically non-existent. Likewise, dust grains measuring less than one sixty-fourth millimeter in diameter are so easily held in the atmosphere that they are readily scattered .
Arthropod and mollusk traces in the varved clays of Central Poland

Nine morphotypes are recognized among biogenic traces recorded in the varved deposits at Plecewice (Mazovia Lowland, Central Poland). Their formation is attributed to life activities of mollusks (pelecypods and gastropods) and arthropods. A comparison of the trace-bearing deposits from Plecewice to those Mazovian varved deposits devoid of biogenic, traces is sugestive of more favorable conditions for both organic life and trace preservation having been in distal and perhaps the external part of intermediate zone than in proximal zone of varve sedimentation.
FACTORS INFLUENCING WOUND HEALING IN LAPAROTOMY CASES-A RETROSPECTIVE MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Background: To estimate the complex surgical wound healing rate and to identify the factors associated with the healing of the wounds among laparotomy cases in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: Retrospective observational study on patients who have underwent laparotomy for various surgical causes over a period of two years. Data was analyzed using the SPSS Software 24.0. Appropriate measures like frequency and proportions was used. Chi square test was used to find the association between exposure and outcome. Multivariate analysis was done to describe the analyses of multiple variables. Result: A total of 150 patients who underwent major abdominal surgery at PSG Institute of Medical Sciences & Research with and without the development of surgical site infections were included in the study. Unhealthy subjects who developed surgical site infections (52%) were the majority. The overall mortality rate of the study was 0.7% (1 patient). Overall, infected patients were older and more frequently men [43 (55.1%) with OR 0.734 times (95% Cl 0.345-1563)]. There was a statistically significant association between cigarette smoking (with and without concurrent alcohol usage) and SSI (p-value = 0.001)[15 (55.5%) with OR 3.474 times (95% Cl 0.601-20.060)]. Surgical site infection rate of 6.141 times (95% Cl 0.658-57.342) more common to occur in lower Hb levels of 11.3g/dl than in higher Hb levels of 12.7g/dl in healthy patients. Patients with hypoalbuminemia were 0.683 times(95% Cl 0.316-1477)more prone to surgical site infections. The highest rate of surgical site infection was found to be prominent in elective laparotomy[42 patients(53.8%)] followed by emergency laparotomy [53 patients (39.7%)]. Conclusion: The conducted study has brought light to many significant preoperative and postoperative factors which are responsible for the development of SSI in operated laparotomy cases. By methodically working on these factors, patient prognosis can be drastically enhanced by improving patient morbidity and mortality rate along with reducing hospital stays and economic burden.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Muscle protein degradation assessed by Nt-methylhistidine excretion in mature White Leghorn, dwarf broiler and normal broiler males maintained on either low-or high-protein die

Protein degradation rates were assessed by the excretion of "-methylhistidine (N'MH) in four strains of mature chickens, two White Leghorns and two broilers (dwarf and normal), fed on diets containing two levels of dietary protein. Over 0.9 of labelled N'MH was recovered within 7 d of injection from three White Leghorn, three dwarf and three normal broiler males. Protein degradation, measured by N'MH output, was related to adult body-weight by the power 071 and strain intercepts were significantly different. Strain differences disappeared when the rate of output of N'MH per unit lean was evaluated. The rate of output of N'MH per unit muscle was higher in birds fed on a low-protein diet of 100 g crude protein (nitrogen x 6.25; CP)/kg compared with males fed on 150 g CP/kg. It was concluded that the lower rate of protein degradation in broiler compared with layer strains at young ages is related to increased adult body-weight in agreement with well-established biological principles.
The Moderating Role of the DYX1C1 Gene in the Effect of Home Supervision on Chinese Children’s Reading Achievements: Evidence from the Diathesis–Stress Model

The current study aimed to explore whether susceptible children (with differences in DYX1C1 (dyslexia susceptibility 1 candidate gene 1) gene) are more likely to be influenced by either supportive or adverse home supervision in their reading achievements. Home supervision, reading achievements, and genotype data were collected from a total of 745 fourth and fifth grade children and their parents in Chongqing, China. The results showed that there was a significant interaction between the rs11629841 polymorphism of the DYX1C1 gene and home supervision on children’s reading achievements. A further analysis based on the re-parameterized regression model showed that the interaction best fit a weak diathesis–stress model, which indicated that the home supervision had a stronger predictive effect on children’s reading achievements among children with the susceptible genotype than children with a non-susceptible genotype in a more adverse environment rather than in a supportive environment. These results suggested that children carrying different genotypes may need targeted interventions and that their parents should emphasize home supervision to develop their children’s reading skills.
Cenozoic evolution of the Central Andes in Bolivia and northern Chile

Abstract The Central Andes in Bolivia and northern Chile form part of a wide and obliquely convergent plate-boundary zone where the oceanic Nazca plate is being subducted beneath the continental South American plate. In the latest Cretaceous and Palaeocene, this part of the Central Andes formed a volcanic arc along what is today the forearc region of northern Chile, with a wide zone of subsidence, as much as 400 km wide, at or close to sea level behind the arc. In the Eocene, the central part of the behind-arc basin was inverted to form a zone of uplift (proto-cordillera), about 100 km wide and along what is today the western margin of the Eastern Cordillera of Bolivia. The Altiplano basin and an early foreland basin were initiated at this time, receiving sediment from the Eocene proto-cordillera. Subsequently, the proto-cordillera widened, as the rate of deformation increased and deformation spread westwards into the early Altiplano basin, and also eastwards towards the Brazilian Shield. In the Late Miocene, deformation essentially ceased in the Altiplano and Eastern Cordillera. An intense zone of shortening was initiated in what is today the Subandean Zone on the eastern margin of the Central Andes, deforming the Oligo-Miocene foreland basin. Shortening in the Subandean Zone accommodated both underthrusting of the Brazilian Shield and also bending of the entire mountain belt about a vertical axis. It is suggested that much of the distinctive Cenozoic tectonic evolution of this part of the Andes is related to pre-Andean strength inhomogeneities in the South American lithosphere.