Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Helix packing in the lactose permease of Escherichia coli: localization of helix VI.

Plasmids encoding "split" lactose permease constructs with discontinuities in either the periplasmic loop between helices V and VI (N(5)/C(7)) or between helices VI and VII (N(6)/C(6)) were used to localize helix VI within the tertiary structure by site-directed thiol cross-linking. A total of 57 double-Cys pairs, with one Cys residue in helix VI and another in helix V or VIII, were studied with homobifunctional cross-linking agents. Significant cross-linking is observed between the periplasmic ends of helices V (position 158 or 161) and VI (position 170) with rigid 6 or 10 A reagents. Furthermore, the Cys residue at position 170 (helix VI) also cross-links to a Cys residue at either position 264 or 265 (helix VIII) with a 21 A cross-linking agent. The data indicate that helices V, VI and VIII are in close proximity at the periplasmic face of the membrane, with helix VI significantly closer to helix V. In addition, beta,D-galactopyranosyl 1-thio-beta,D-galactopyranoside induces a significant increase in cross-linking efficiency between helices VI and VIII and between helices V and VIII, with no significant change in cross-linking between helices V and VI.
The Impact of Post Merger and Acquisition Activities on the Performance of Banks: A Study of Société Générale - Social Security Bank, Ghana

This study was conducted to assess the impact of post-merger and acquisition activities on the performance of Banks in Ghana with reference to Societe Generale-Social Security Bank (SG-SSB) of Ghana. Banks mergers and acquisitions (MA and to assess the qualitative impact of post MA a more comprehensive approach to integrated marketing communications mix should be put in place in the promotion of the Bank’s existing and added products so as to gain more market share.
Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Current Survey

We survey the theory and evidence of behavioral corporate finance, which generally takes one of two approaches. The market timing and catering approach views managerial financing and investment decisions as rational managerial responses to securities mispricing. The managerial biases approach studies the direct effects of managers’ biases and nonstandard preferences on their decisions. We review relevant psychology, economic theory and predictions, empirical challenges, empirical evidence, new directions such as behavioral signaling, and open questions.
Coordination of smart-household activities for the efficient operation of intelligent distribution systems

Because of the development of enabling technologies such as appropriate metering infrastructures and communication possibilities, the smart-grid vision has started to be implemented. Smart appliances and Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEV) at the residential end-user premises constitute a typical example. Nevertheless, a distribution system (DS) that has been designed and operated by a distribution system operator (DSO) for decades considering only inflexible consumers has to be equipped with appropriate operating strategies and technological upgrades in order to adapt to the new conditions. This study examines the case in which PEV have penetrated in the DS without any supportive operational strategy. Next, a coordination strategy employed from the DSO for EV charging together with the scheduling of smart-appliances is proposed. In both cases, the selection of the daily optimal radial configuration of the DS is considered in order to facilitate the operational goals of the DSO. The optimality criterion is the minimization of the active power losses and both cases are compared by means of operational performance.
Portrait of Poverty in the Pamangkulangit Yang Terhormat Short Story by Aba Mardjani

This study aims to reveal the portrait of poverty in the Pamangkulangit Yang Terhormat short story by Aba Mardjani. This study uses qualitative descriptive techniques as data analysis. The analysis was carried out using the sociology of literature approach by identifying, describing, and analyzing poverty in short stories. The results showed that in short stories there were two types of poverty, namely: (1) economic poverty and (2) mental poverty. Furthermore, each type of poverty has its own characteristics, consisting of: (1) characteristics of poverty, (2) manifestation of poverty, and (3) meaning of poverty. Keywords—poverty, short stories, pamangkulangit yang terhormat.
MEASURING THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF ISLAMIC BANKING SECTOR IN BANGLADESH

The banking sector has been playing a significant role in achieving the economic growth of Bangladesh, where contribution of Islamic Banking Sector is remarkable. Islamic Banking Sector shows a substantial growth position in Bangladesh. Customer satisfaction is the most significant affecting phenomenon in determining the banking growth. Thus, this study attempts to measure the existing level of customer satisfaction of Islamic Banks in Bangladesh, using the Structural Equation Model (SEM). This study uses the 22 dimensions of customer satisfaction which used in the earlier studies in different countries for measuring the customer satisfaction of Islamic Banking Sector. A total of 385 samples have been taken from six full pledged Islamic Banks in Bangladesh. It reveals form the study that Human Resources and Systemization Service Delivery is the strongest indicator of customer satisfaction of Islamic Banking Sector in Bangladesh followed by Core Product, Service Capability and Social Responsibility. The findings therefore, may be helpful for policy-makers of banking authorities who have been making serious endeavor to sustain the growth of Islamic Banking Sector in Bangladesh.
Outcome of surgical reconstruction after traumatic total brachial plexus palsy.

BACKGROUND Double free muscle transfer for the treatment of traumatic total brachial plexus injury provides useful prehensile function. We studied the outcome of this muscle transfer procedure, including the changes in disability and quality-of-life scores. METHODS Thirty-six patients with traumatic total brachial plexus injury who underwent double free muscle transfer for reconstruction from 2002 to 2008 and had a minimum follow-up of twenty-four months after the second free muscle transfer were studied. All were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively with use of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaires. A separate questionnaire was used to determine job status, pain, use of the reconstructed hand, and satisfaction with the procedure. RESULTS The mean patient age was twenty-nine years (range, sixteen to forty-nine years), and the mean duration of follow-up was thirty-six months (range, twenty-four to seventy-nine months). The mean active range of motion was 23° (range, 0° to 80°) for shoulder flexion, 31° (range, 0° to 90°) for shoulder abduction, -18° (range, -80° to 40°) for shoulder external rotation, 62° (range, 0° to 130°) for the shoulder rotation arc, 119° (range, 90° to 150°) for elbow flexion, and -33° (range, -60° to -20°) for elbow extension. The power of elbow flexion was M4 in twenty-five patients and M3 in eleven. Twenty-three patients had triceps nerve reconstruction; extension was M0 in two of these patients, M1 in seven, M2 in ten, and M3 in four. Total active motion of the fingers was 46° (range, 0° to 98°), with a mean hook grip strength of 4 kg (range, 0 to 12 kg). Wilcoxon tests revealed significant improvements in the DASH score and the SF-36 physical functioning, role physical, and physical component summary scores. The majority of patients worked but had changed their type of work, used the reconstructed hand in activities of daily living that required both hands, and were satisfied with the procedure. CONCLUSIONS Double free muscle transfer yielded satisfactory function and allowed use of the reconstructed hand in activities that required both hands. The improvement in the DASH score was greater than that in the SF-36 score.
Managing Open Innovation in SMEs: The CAS Software AG Case Study

The concept of open innovation lies at the heart of the current research debate on innovation and strategy. Existing literature indicates that firms vitalize their interest in opening their innovation processes and business models to commercialize not only their own ideas but also external ones. However, existing work mostly concentrates on large firms and does not study open innovation in SMEs. This paper investigates the organizational capabilities for managing open innovation in SMEs. Our single case study analysis highlights that SMEs require new internal managerial capabilities for open innovation. It discusses six dimensions of a managerial system for open innovation: strategy, culture, corporate structure, cross-company network structure, process and IT-support. Further, it presents the transformation process of the CAS software AG and reveals the evolutionary character of the change process from closed to open innovation with different maturity levels.
A novel partner for Dictyostelium filamin is an α-helical developmentally regulated protein

The filamins are a family of highly homologous actincrosslinking proteins that stabilize three-dimensional actin networks, link them to membrane proteins and direct intracellular signaling reactions to the actin scaffold through interaction with various binding partners. Here, we describe the first Dictyostelium filamin-interacting protein to be isolated - FIP, a 229.8 kDa protein with two α-helical coiled coil domains. FIP was identified in a yeast two-hybrid screen using the rod domain of filamin as bait. FIP can also be coimmunoprecipitated with filamin from cellular extracts. Deletion analysis located the interaction domain of FIP to a C-terminal region; by contrast, in filamin rods, repeats 2-4 interacted with the recombinant FIP protein. The 7 kb transcript of FIP is upregulated during early development. Monoclonal antibodies raised against a bacterially expressed FIP polypeptide recognize a 230 kDa developmentally regulated protein in western blots. Immunofluorescence analysis shows a punctate staining pattern in the cytosol and, in cell fractionation experiments, FIP is mainly found in the cytosolic fraction. A fusion protein composed of GFP and the C-terminal part localizes to the plasma membrane and is associated with the cytoskeleton. Expression of the fusion protein affects development and influences the size of the multicellular aggregates and the phototactic behavior of slugs. Thus, FIP might provide a candidate link between the dynamic actin cytoskeleton and signal transduction events during the multicellular stages of Dictyostelium amoebae.
Molecular characterization of the capsule locus from non‐typeable Staphylococcus aureus

Most Staphylococcus aureus express a serotype 5 or 8 capsular polysaccharide (CP). However, 20–25% of human isolates and up to 86% of bovine strains of S. aureus are non‐typeable (NT), i.e. non‐reactive with antibodies to CP types 1, 2, 5 or 8. A vaccine that targets the S. aureus CP would not protect against NT strains. The aim of this study was to characterize NT S. aureus isolates at the molecular level to explain their lack of type 5 or 8 capsule production. The cap5(8) locus was present in all 22 NT clinical isolates from humans, eight of 21 bovine isolates, and in all eight sequenced strains. NT strains positive for the cap5(8) transcript had mutations within essential capsule genes and could be complemented in trans. S. aureus strains with reduced cap5(8) transcript had mutations within the cap5A promoter, decreased RNAIII levels, or a truncated arlR gene product. More than one mutation was identified in several isolates. The cap5(8) locus was replaced by IS257 in 13 of 21 NT bovine isolates of S. aureus. Lack of capsule expression in NT S. aureus can be explained by multiple mechanisms, and the data argue against the existence of capsule serotypes other than 1, 2, 5 and 8.
Dysfunctional Brain Networking among Autonomic Regulatory Structures in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients at High Risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy

Background Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is common among young people with epilepsy. Individuals who are at high risk of SUDEP exhibit regional brain structural and functional connectivity (FC) alterations compared with low-risk patients. However, less is known about network-based FC differences among critical cortical and subcortical autonomic regulatory brain structures in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients at high risk of SUDEP. Methods 32 TLE patients were risk-stratified according to the following clinical criteria: age of epilepsy onset, duration of epilepsy, frequency of generalized tonic–clonic seizures, and presence of nocturnal seizures, resulting in 14 high-risk and 18 low-risk cases. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) signal time courses were extracted from 11 bilateral cortical and subcortical brain regions involved in autonomic and other regulatory processes. After computing all pairwise correlations, FC matrices were analyzed using the network-based statistic. FC strength among the 11 brain regions was compared between the high- and low-risk patients. Increases and decreases in FC were sought, using high-risk > low-risk and low-risk > high-risk contrasts (with covariates age, gender, lateralization of epilepsy, and presence of hippocampal sclerosis). Results High-risk TLE patients showed a subnetwork with significantly reduced FC (t = 2.5, p = 0.029) involving the thalamus, brain stem, anterior cingulate, putamen and amygdala, and a second subnetwork with significantly elevated FC (t = 2.1, p = 0.031), which extended to medial/orbital frontal cortex, insula, hippocampus, amygdala, subcallosal cortex, brain stem, thalamus, caudate, and putamen. Conclusion TLE patients at high risk of SUDEP showed widespread FC differences between key autonomic regulatory brain regions compared to those at low risk. The altered FC revealed here may help to shed light on the functional correlates of autonomic disturbances in epilepsy and mechanisms involved in SUDEP. Furthermore, these findings represent possible objective biomarkers which could help to identify high-risk patients and enhance SUDEP risk stratification via the use of non-invasive neuroimaging, which would require validation in larger cohorts, with extension to patients with other epilepsies and subjects who succumb to SUDEP.
All-Optical Data Vortex Node Using an MZI-SOA Switch Array

We propose and demonstrate a new structure of a Data Vortex switch node for all-optical routing of wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) 10-Gb/s optical packets. The proposed node consists of two Mach-Zehnder interferometers with integrated semiconductor optical amplifier: an optical and gate and a high-speed optical switch. In the experiment, WDM 10-Gb/s data packets are successfully routed with 1-dB power penalty at a bit-error rate of 10-9.
Similarity search and mining in uncertain spatial and spatio-temporal databases

Both the current trends in technology such as smart phones, general mobile devices, stationary sensors and satellites as well as a new user mentality of utilizing this technology to voluntarily share information produce a huge flood of geo-spatial and geo-spatio-temporal data. This data flood provides a tremendous potential of discovering new and possibly useful knowledge. In addition to the fact that measurements are imprecise, due to the physical limitation of the devices, some form of interpolation is needed in-between discrete time instances. From a complementary perspective - to reduce the communication and bandwidth utilization, along with the storage requirements, often the data is subjected to a reduction, thereby eliminating some of the known/recorded values. These issues introduce the notion of uncertainty in the context of spatio-temporal data management - an aspect raising an imminent need for scalable and flexible data management. The main scope of this thesis is to develop effective and efficient techniques for similarity search and data mining in uncertain spatial and spatio-temporal data. In a plethora of research fields and industrial applications, these techniques can substantially improve decision making, minimize risk and unearth valuable insights that would otherwise remain hidden. The challenge of effectiveness in uncertain data is to correctly determine the set of possible results, each associated with the correct probability of being a result, in order to give a user a confidence about the returned results. The contrary challenge of efficiency, is to compute these result and corresponding probabilities in an efficient manner, allowing for reasonable querying and mining times, even for large uncertain databases. The paradigm used to master both challenges, is to identify a small set of equivalent classes of possible worlds, such that members of the same class can be treated as equivalent in the context of a given query predicate or data mining task. In the scope of this work, this paradigm will be formally defined, and applied to the most prominent classes of spatial queries on uncertain data, including range queries, k-nearest neighbor queries, ranking queries and reverse k-nearest neighbor queries. For this purpose, new spatial and probabilistic pruning approaches are developed to further speed up query processing. Furthermore, the proposed paradigm allows to develop the first efficient solution for the problem of frequent co-location mining on uncertain data. Special emphasis is taken on the temporal aspect of applications using modern data collection technologies. While the aforementioned techniques work well for single points of time, the prediction of query results over time remains a challenge. This thesis fills this gap by modeling an uncertain spatio-temporal object as a stochastic process, and by applying the above paradigm to efficiently query, index and mine historical spatio-temporal data.
Further studies on the mechanism of inhibition of DNA-synthesis by ionizing radiation.

SummaryDNA-synthesis in vitro was studied in cells after exposure to x- or fast-neutron irradiation. The measure was the incorporation into DNA of 14C-thymidine by Ehrlich ascites cells and of 14C-thymidine or 14C-formate by human bone-marrow cells. The radiation response is biphasic, dependent on oxygen, and is similar for both systems.
Stability and Dynamic Performance Improvement of Adaptive Full-Order Observers for Sensorless PMSM Drive

Stability and good dynamic performances of adaptive full-order observers are of utmost importance for the sensorless PMSM drive. In this paper, to accomplish both requirements, the analytical stability conditions are firstly derived to provide a general framework for the feedback gain design. Closed-form solutions of the stabilizing feedback gains are consequently given, and are used in the zero and pole placement design to obtain an adequate and constant damping factor along with the stability at all operating frequencies. New design rules for the adaptation of PI gains to satisfy the required performances are also proposed. The robustness of the adaptive full-order observer against stator resistance and inductance variations is also investigated. Validity of the designed sensorless control is confirmed by simulation and experiment.
Consistency and validity of patient administered assessment of quality of life by the MOS SF-36; its association with disease activity and damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the metric properties and validity of the assessment of quality of life by the MOS Short Form 36 (SF-36) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to examine the effect of disease on quality of life. METHODS Cross sectional study of 150 patients with SLE (age: mean 39.7 yrs, SD 11.4 yrs; 95% female) attending 2 specialist lupus clinics between November 1994 and April 1995. Shortly before or after the consultation patients completed the SF-36 and the MOS SF-20 with an additional question about fatigue (SF-20+) in random order. Disease activity was measured by the British Isles Lupus Activity Group System (BILAG), disease damage by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology (SLICC/ACR) damage index (SLICC). RESULTS SF-36 domains were shown to be internally consistent (Cronbach's coefficient alpha > or = 0.71). Significant associations of the SF-36 domains with the corresponding domains of the SF-20+ and with global disease activity measured by BILAG were observed. SF-36 scores in patients with SLE were significantly lower than in controls. Different disease activity levels were significantly associated with different quality of life scores, with excellent ability to record the continuum from good health to serious illness by the SF-36. Disease activity had greater effect on quality of life than age, cumulative damage, or disease duration. CONCLUSION This study shows the SF-36 is internally consistent and proves construct, discriminatory, and criterion validity for the SF-36 and construct validity for the SF-20+ in patients with SLE. The SF-36 is preferred because of its broader scope of questions, its widespread use, and previous international validation for a wide variety of diseases.
Enhancing intrusion resilience in publicly accessible distributed systems

The internet is increasingly used as a means of communication by many businesses. Online shopping has become an important commercial activity and many governmental bodies offer services online. Malicious intrusion into these systems can have major negative consequences, both for the providers and users of these services. The need to protect against malicious intrusion, coupled with the difficulty of identifying and removing all possible vulnerabilities in a distributed system, have led to the use of systems that can tolerate intrusions with no loss of integrity. These systems require that services be replicated as deterministic state machines, a relatively hard task in practice, and do not ensure that confidentiality is maintained when one or more replicas are successfully intruded into. This thesis presents FORTRESS, a novel intrusion-resilient system that makes use of proactive obfuscation techniques and cheap off-the-shelf hardware to enhance intrusionresilience. FORTRESS uses proxies to prevent clients accessing servers directly, and regular replacement of proxies and servers with differently obfuscated versions. This maintains both confidentiality and integrity as long as an attacker does not compromise the system as a whole. The expected lifetime until system compromise of the FORTRESS system is compared to those of state machine replicated and primary backup systems when confronted with an attacker capable of launching distributed attacks against known vulnerabilities. Thus, FORTRESS is demonstrated to be a viable alternative to building intrusion-tolerant systems using deterministic state machine replication. The performance overhead of the FORTRESS system is also evaluated, using both a general state transfer framework for distributed systems, and a lightweight framework for large scale web applications. This shows the FORTRESS system has a sufficiently small performance overhead to be of practical use.