Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of cpsF and its product CMP‐N‐acetylneuraminic acid synthetase, a group B streptococcal enzyme that can function in K1 capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the foremost cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis in the United States. A major virulence factor for GBS is its capsular polysaccharide, a high molecular weight polymer of branched oligosaccharide subunits. N‐acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac or sialic acid), at the end of the polysaccharide side chains, is critical to the virulence function of the capsular polysaccharide. Neu5Ac must be activated by CMP‐Neu5Ac synthetase before it is incorporated into the polymer. We showed previously that a transposon mutant of a serotype III GBS strain which had no detectable capsular Neu5Ac was deficient in CMP‐Neu5Ac‐synthetase activity (Wessels et al., 1992). In this paper, we report the identification and characterization of cpsF, a gene interrupted by transposon insertion in the previously described Neu5Ac‐deficient mutant. The predicted amino acid sequence of the cpsF gene product shares 57% similarity and 37% identity with CMP‐Neu5Ac synthetase encoded by the Escherichia coli K1 gene, neuA. The enzymatic function of the protein encoded by cpsF was established by cloning the gene in E. coli under the control of the T7 polymerase/promoter. Lysates of E. coli in which the cpsF gene product was expressed, catalysed the condensation of CTP with Neu5Ac to form CMP‐Neu5Ac. In addition, when a CMP‐Neu5Ac synthetase‐deficient mutant of E. coli K1 was transformed with cpsF, K1 antigen expression was restored. We conclude that cpsF encodes CMP‐Neu5Ac synthetase in type III GBS, and that the GBS enzyme can function in the capsule‐synthesis of a heterologous bacterial species.
Beyond Liberal Peacebuilding: A Critique of Liberal Peacebuilding and Exploring a Postmodern Post-liberal Hybrid Model of Peacebuilding

One of the pressing problems with contemporary peacebuilding research is that much of the analysis focuses on the practical and technical challenges while paying little attention to the philosophical assumptions of those operations. Any understanding of peacebuilding is underpinned by philosophical frameworks as they shape and orient us towards particular strategies for peacebuilding. This paper makes a philosophical critique of liberal peacebuilding (the mainstream peacebuilding) and explores a postmodern post-liberal hybrid peacebuilding. The analysis claims neither the categorical rejection of liberal peacebuilding nor the exclusive reliance on locally-oriented peacebuilding. Rather, the upshot is the need for deconstructing dualistic view of either liberal peacebuilding or locally-oriented peacebuilding so that both external liberal actors and local actors engage in jointly learning and mutually transformative process wherein both liberal international actors and local actors look beyond peace constructed around their narrow and restricted conception and framework to create the meanings of peace that can interconnect the global and the local.
Preparation of a Photoluminescent Film on a Silicon-On-Insulator Device for the Simple, Rapid, and Quantitative Detection of a Hydatid Disease Diagnostic Protein Marker

A silicon-on-insulator (SOI) device is an important integrated circuit technology containing an insulating material. In this paper, an SOI wafer consisting of n-type silicon grown on the surface of a SiO2 layer was adopted. Porous silicon on the SOI surface, prepared by an electrochemical etching method that connected the anode and cathode to the surface of the SOI wafer, displayed strong photoluminescence properties. A hydatid disease diagnostic protein was used as a target molecule to test the detection ability of the device. After immersing the film in different concentrations of the target protein, which resulted in the simple adsorption of the protein by the porous structure, the photoluminescence intensity of the film decreased after adsorption of the protein, and with an increasing protein concentration, the photoluminescence further decreased. This photoluminescence SOI-based porous silicon film provided the rapid quantitative detection of a protein and may be a promising silicon-based optoelectronic material.
Absence of Reflex Vascular Responses from the Intrapulmonary Circulation in Anaesthetised Dogs

The aim of this investigation was to determine whether reflex cardiovascular responses were obtained to localised distension of the intrapulmonary arterial and venous circulations in a preparation in which the stimuli to other major reflexogenic areas were controlled and the lung was shown to possess reflex activity. Dogs were anaesthetised with α‐chloralose, artificially ventilated, the chests widely opened and a cardiopulmonary bypass established. The intrapulmonary region of the left lung was isolated and perfused through the left pulmonary artery and drained through cannulae in the left pulmonary veins via a Starling resistance. Intrapulmonary arterial and venous pressures were controlled by the rate of inflow of blood and the pressure applied to the Starling resistance. Pressures to the carotid, aortic and coronary baroreceptors and heart chambers were controlled. Responses of vascular resistance were assessed from changes in perfusion pressures to a vascularly isolated hind limb and to the remainder of the subdiaphragmatic circulation (flows constant). The reactivity of the preparation was demonstrated by observing decreases in vascular resistance to large step changes in carotid sinus pressure (systemic vascular resistance decreased by ‐40 ± 5%), chemical stimulation of lung receptors by injection into the pulmonary circulation of veratridine or capsaicin (resistance decreased by ‐32 ± 4%) and, in the four dogs tested, increasing pulmonary stroke volume to 450 ml (resistance decreased by ‐24 ± 6%). However, despite this evidence that the lung was innervated, increases in intrapulmonary arterial pressure from 14 ± 1 to 43 ± 3 mmHg or in intrapulmonary venous pressure from 5 ± 2 to 34 ± 2 mmHg or both did not result in any consistent changes in systemic or limb vascular resistances. In two animals tested, however, there were marked decreases in efferent phrenic nerve activity. These results indicate that increases in pressure confined to the intrapulmonary arterial and venous circulations do not cause consistent reflex vascular responses, even though the preparation was shown to be reflexly active and the lung was shown to be innervated.
The rf2 Nuclear Restorer Gene of Male-Sterile T-Cytoplasm Maize

The T cytoplasm of maize serves as a model for the nuclear restoration of cytoplasmic male sterility. The rf2 gene, one of two nuclear genes required for fertility restoration in male-sterile T-cytoplasm (cmsT) maize, was cloned. The protein predicted by the rf2 sequence is a putative aldehyde dehydrogenase, which suggests several mechanisms that might explain Rf2-mediated fertility restoration in cmsT maize. Aldehyde dehydrogenase may be involved in the detoxification of acetaldehyde produced by ethanolic fermentation during pollen development, may play a role in energy metabolism, or may interact with URF13, the mitochondrial protein associated with male sterility in cmsT maize.
Earnings and engagement of seamen workers

The minimum unit cost for transportation is provided by the merchant marine. These seamen have a high salary and are needed in the current labour market. In fact, the labour market in this sector has a shortage due to a number of limitations, such as the unique job description of this career, as well as that the work takes place offshore, forcing workers to be apart from their families. Factors that influence the income and engagement were hypothesised including economic and psychological factors that conjointly help to determine the income and engagement of a seaman. Mixed methods research was used as a research methodology. Purposive sampling was conducted with 362 seamen who work in a merchant marine company registered in Singapore, and in-depth interviews were also conducted with 14 key informants. The results indicate that not income, but rather non-cognitive skills (NC), are factors that influence the engagement of seamen, with statistical significance for factors such as level of openness, conscientiousness, and internal locus of control.
Oriented Schwann cell growth on microgrooved surfaces

Silicon wafers bearing microgrooved surfaces with various groove width, spacing, and depth were fabricated using microlithography. The orientation of rat Schwann cells along the direction of the grooves was measured at 24 h after seeding the cells. When the width/spacing of the grooves was fixed at 10/10 µm, the mean percentage of aligned cells was 12% for grooves of 0.5 µm depth, 15% for those of 1 µm depth, and 26% for those of 1.5 µm depth (P < 0.05). When the depth of grooves was fixed at 1.5 µm, the mean percentage of aligned cells increased from 26% for width/spacing 10/10 µm, to 33% for 10/20 µm or 20/10 µm, and up to 41% for 20/20 µm (P < 0.05). On the surface with grooves of width/spacing/depth = 20/20/1.5 µm and modified by laminin, the alignment at 24 h approached 60%, versus 51% for collagen‐coated surface and 41% for uncoated surface (P < 0.05). At 48 h after seeding, about 66% of the cells were aligned on the above laminin‐modified surface. The groove depth influenced orientation of Schwann cells significantly. The cell alignment on 20/20/3 µm microgrooved poly(D,L‐lactide‐co‐glycolide) 90:10 (PLGA) surfaces transferred from silicon reached 72% at 48 h and 92% at 72 h (P < 0.05). Coating this surface with laminin enhanced cell alignment only in short term (67% vs. 62% at 24 h, P < 0.05). The cell alignment guided by surface microgrooves was time dependent. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Investigation of the structural basis for thermodynamic stabilities of tandem GU mismatches: solution structure of (rGAGGUCUC)2 by two-dimensional NMR and simulated annealing.

The duplex (rGAGGUCUC)2 contains the motif [sequence: see text] which is unusually stable compared with other symmetric tandem GU mismatches and occurs in the P5 helix of the group I intron of Tetrahymena thermophila. The three-dimensional solution structure of (rGAGGUCUC)2 was determined using two-dimensional NMR and a simulated annealing protocol. The structure is remarkably similar to the A-DNA crystal structure of (dGGGGTCCC)2 [Kneale, G. , Brown, T. , & Kennard, O. (1985) J. Mol. Biol. 186, 805-814] which contains the analogous motif [sequence: see text]. Incorporation of the [sequence: see text] motif has little effect on backbone torsion angles and helical parameters compared with standard A-form. The only significant departure from A-form is a slight overtwisting 5' of the G in the GU mismatch and a displacement of the mismatches toward the minor groove. Inspection of stacking patterns of this structure and comparison with symmetric tandem GT mismatches in A-DNA oligonucleotides from crystal structure data suggest that electrostatics are important in determining motif stability.
Determinants of yield gap in rainfed and irrigated rice production systems – evidence from household survey in Kwara State, Nigeria

The actual yield of rice in Nigeria has not been able to reach its potential. Consequently, the cost of rice importation is alarming. However, rice yield varies under various production systems. Therefore, this study examines the determinants of yield gap in rainfed and irrigated rice production systems in Kwara state, Nigeria. Gross Margin Budgetary analysis, Stochastic Frontier, and Linear Regression Model were respectively used to estimate the profitability, technical efficiency, and determinants of yield gap in both production systems. The result shows that rice production is more profitable and efficient under the irrigated rice production system than the rainfed rice production system. It was also discovered that the significant determinants of yield gap in both production systems vary. However, the size of farm cultivated and the rice variety planted are common significant determinants of yield gap in both systems. This research therefore recommends that irrigation facilities and improved rice variety should be made available to farmers. Additionally, policy makers should formulate policies that would enable rice farmers to have access to larger farm lands.
Rotavirus, astrovirus and adenovirus associated with an outbreak of gastroenteritis in a South African child care centre

An outbreak of gastroenteritis in the infant–toddler unit of a child care centre (CCC) in Pretoria, South Africa, was investigated for possible viral enteropathogens. Rotavirus was found in association with seven (70%) diarrhoeal episodes. Co-infection with rotavirus and human astrovirus (HAstV) was demonstrated in two of these episodes, and rotavirus, HAstV and enteric adenovirus (EAd) co-infection in another. Rotavirus occurred alone in four of the diarrhoeal episodes, while HAstV and EAd were each detected alone in one episode. Two HAstV and one rotavirus asymptomatic infection episodes also occurred. Overall, 8 of 10 children had rotavirus infections, of which 7 were symptomatic, 6 of 10 children had HAstV infections (4 symptomatic), and 2 of 10 children had EAd infection, both symptomatic. These results highlight the diversity of viral enteropathogens that may be associated with a diarrhoeal outbreak in a CCC and emphasize the need to investigate the possibility that multiple enteropathogens may simultaneously cause a single outbreak of diarrhoea.
Education and Wage Inequalities under a Counterfactual Scenario of Minimum Wage

The main purpose of this paper consists in quantifying the impact of a minimum wage adjustment upon wage inequality in Romania. In general, rigorous minimum wage impact assessment upon wage distribution is quite difficult to conduct mainly because of data access limitations to longitudinal information available at individuals‘ level. In this paper an innovative approach is proposed for building a counterfactual scenario through the use of quarterly survey micro-data provided by the National Institute of Statistics. The period analysed in this paper regards the timeinterval Q2 2014-Q3 2014. There are several reasons for this choice. First, it concerns data availability restrictions and second, the need to identify two consecutive periods corresponding to a window-frame right before a minimum wage adjustment and immediately after it took place. In order to check the impact on gender wage inequalities, a 1:1 matching procedure was applied for the construction of two distinct gender groups of individuals that were similar in observable characteristics. Both socio-demographic and economic factors are considered. When comparing the changes registered right after the minimum wage adjustment, we noticed a reduction in gender wage inequalities, as males‘ chances to earn more in comparison to females drop.
Deep trench SOI LIGBT with enhanced safe operating area

A novel deep trench SOI LIGBT with enhanced safe operating area has been proposed. Deep trench gate electrode, reaching buried oxide layer, has been directly introduced for achieving low on-resistance. Heavily doped p+ region at the emitter side, which sandwiches between the n-drift region and n+ emitter region, is provided as holes bypassing path for ensuring enhanced forward biased safe operating area. Some of holes will flow from the n-drift to the p+ emitter without flowing through the pwell layer directly. On the other hand, the portion of the n-drift region which underlies the pwell is fully depleted at a relatively low voltage, thus preventing the voltage across the trench gate oxide from becoming too high and causing less reliable and stable problems. This JFET pinch-off effect keeps any hot-carrier injection (HCI) away from the sensitive gate oxide, providing HCI performance far superior to conventional LIGBT devices.
Effects of a Synthetic Analog of Polycavernoside A on Human Neuroblastoma Cells

Background: Polycavernoside A is a glycosidic marine toxin first extracted from the red alga Polycavernosa tsudai in 1991 when 3 people died after the ingestion of this food. Polycavernoside A is an interesting molecule because of its complex macrolide structure and strong bioactivity. However, the target site of this toxin has not been characterized. Methods: We studied the effects of a synthethic analog of polycavernoside A on human neuroblastoma cells by measuring changes in membrane potential with bis-oxonol and variations in intracellular calcium levels with fura-2. Fluorescent phalloidin was utilized for assaying activity on actin cytoskeleton. Results: Data showed that this polycavernoside A analog induced a membrane depolarization and an increase in cytosolic calcium levels. Conclusion: These results provide the first insight into the mode of action of polycavernoside A, suggesting that: i) this toxin triggers an initial extracellular calcium entry neither produced across L-type voltage-gated calcium channels nor activation of muscarinic receptors ii) there is a depolarization induced by the toxin and due to the extracellular calcium entry.
How do rural patients benefit from the patient-centred medical home? A card study in the High Plains Research Network

Context The patient-centred medical home (PCMH) has become a dominant model for improving the quality and cost of primary care. Geographic isolation, small populations, privacy concerns and staffing requirements may limit implementation of the PCMH in clinical practice. Objective To determine the primary care provider perceived benefit of PCMH for patients in rural Colorado. Design, setting and participants The High Plains Research Network (HPRN) is a community and practice-based research network spanning 30 000 square miles in 16 counties in eastern Colorado. The HPRN consists of 58 practices, 120 primary care clinicians and 145 000 residents. Main outcome measures Providers’ perceived benefit of PCMH for individual patients. Results Seventy-eight providers in 37 practices saw 1093 patients and completed 1016 surveys. There was wide variation among the provider-perceived benefits of PCMH elements ranging from 9% for group visits to 64% for electronic prescribing. Provider-perceived benefit was higher for patients with a chronic medical condition. Conclusions Rural primary care providers perceived patient benefit for numerous elements of the PCMH. There is need to consider what PCMH elements may be required in practice and what components might be optional. Our findings reveal that rural practices share PCMH aspirations including commitment to quality, safety, outcomes, cost reduction, and patient and provider satisfaction. These findings support the need for ongoing conversation about how to best provide a locally relevant medical home.
FTDIS: A Fault Tolerant Dynamic Instruction Scheduling

In this work, we target the robustness for controller scheduler of type Tomasulo for SEU faults model. The proposed fault-tolerant dynamic scheduling unit is named FTDIS, in which critical control data of scheduler is protected from driving to an unwanted stage using Triple Modular Redundancy and majority voting approaches. Moreover, the feedbacks in voters produce recovery capability for detected faults in the FTDIS, enabling both fault mask and recovery for system. As the results of analytical evaluations demonstrate, the implemented FTDIS unit has over 99% fault detection coverage in the condition of existing less than 4 faults in critical bits. Furthermore, based on experiments, the FTDIS has a 200% hardware overhead comparing to the primitive dynamic scheduling control unit and about 50% overhead in comparision to a full CPU core. The proposed unit also has no performance penalty during simulation. In addition, the experiments show that FTDIS consumes 98% more power than the primitive unit.
Adaptive Bilateral Smoothing For a Point-Sampled Blade Surface

Optical inspection of blades is important in computer vision and manufacturing automation. One problem commonly encountered is that the scanned point cloud may be polluted by noise, mainly from the scanning equipment. How to smooth the blade surface while preserving the thin-walled feature of leading/trailing edges is a challenging task. In this paper, we propose an adaptive bilateral method for the smoothing of a point-sampled surface. This paper is motivated by a bilateral filtering technique of a two-dimensional image. The basis of the method is the application of information entropy to distinguish density difference of point cloud. By minimizing defined smoothing density entropy and preserving density entropy, the optimal surface-smoothing factor and feature-preserving factor are calculated at each vertex. Applying the obtained factors, the objective of smoothing surface while preserving thin-walled feature is achieved, which overcomes the feature shrinking/shriveling problem. Our method does not require surface triangulation or curvature computation, and is very suitable for the object of a point-sampled surface with high-curvature feature or sharp features. Its robustness and efficiency are confirmed by experiments.
Adaptations in athletic performance after ballistic power versus strength training.

PURPOSE To determine whether the magnitude of improvement in athletic performance and the mechanisms driving these adaptations differ in relatively weak individuals exposed to either ballistic power training or heavy strength training. METHODS Relatively weak men (n = 24) who could perform the back squat with proficient technique were randomized into three groups: strength training (n = 8; ST), power training (n = 8; PT), or control (n = 8). Training involved three sessions per week for 10 wk in which subjects performed back squats with 75%-90% of one-repetition maximum (1RM; ST) or maximal-effort jump squats with 0%-30% 1RM (PT). Jump and sprint performances were assessed as well as measures of the force-velocity relationship, jumping mechanics, muscle architecture, and neural drive. RESULTS Both experimental groups showed significant (P < or = 0.05) improvements in jump and sprint performances after training with no significant between-group differences evident in either jump (peak power: ST = 17.7% +/- 9.3%, PT = 17.6% +/- 4.5%) or sprint performance (40-m sprint: ST = 2.2% +/- 1.9%, PT = 3.6% +/- 2.3%). ST also displayed a significant increase in maximal strength that was significantly greater than the PT group (squat 1RM: ST = 31.2% +/- 11.3%, PT = 4.5% +/- 7.1%). The mechanisms driving these improvements included significant (P < or = 0.05) changes in the force-velocity relationship, jump mechanics, muscle architecture, and neural activation that showed a degree of specificity to the different training stimuli. CONCLUSIONS Improvements in athletic performance were similar in relatively weak individuals exposed to either ballistic power training or heavy strength training for 10 wk. These performance improvements were mediated through neuromuscular adaptations specific to the training stimulus. The ability of strength training to render similar short-term improvements in athletic performance as ballistic power training, coupled with the potential long-term benefits of improved maximal strength, makes strength training a more effective training modality for relatively weak individuals.