Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Minor Capsid Protein VP11 of Thermophilic Bacteriophage P23-77 Facilitates Virus Assembly by Using Lipid-Protein Interactions

ABSTRACT Thermus thermophilus bacteriophage P23-77 is the type member of a new virus family of icosahedral, tailless, inner-membrane-containing double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses infecting thermophilic bacteria and halophilic archaea. The viruses have a unique capsid architecture consisting of two major capsid proteins assembled in various building blocks. We analyzed the function of the minor capsid protein VP11, which is the third known capsid component in bacteriophage P23-77. Our findings show that VP11 is a dynamically elongated dimer with a predominantly α-helical secondary structure and high thermal stability. The high proportion of basic amino acids in the protein enables electrostatic interaction with negatively charged molecules, including nucleic acid and large unilamellar lipid vesicles (LUVs). The plausible biological function of VP11 is elucidated by demonstrating the interactions of VP11 with Thermus-derived LUVs and with the major capsid proteins by means of the dynamic-light-scattering technique. In particular, the major capsid protein VP17 was able to link VP11-complexed LUVs into larger particles, whereas the other P23-77 major capsid protein, VP16, was unable to link VP11-comlexed LUVs. Our results rule out a previously suggested penton function for VP11. Instead, the electrostatic membrane association of VP11 triggers the binding of the major capsid protein VP17, thus facilitating a controlled incorporation of the two different major protein species into the assembling capsid. IMPORTANCE The study of thermophilic viruses with inner membranes provides valuable insights into the mechanisms used for stabilization and assembly of protein-lipid systems at high temperatures. Our results reveal a novel way by which an internal membrane and outer capsid shell are linked in a virus that uses two different major protein species for capsid assembly. We show that a positive protein charge is important in order to form electrostatic interactions with the lipid surface, thereby facilitating the incorporation of other capsid proteins on the membrane surface. This implies an alternative function for basic proteins present in the virions of other lipid-containing thermophilic viruses, whose proposed role in genome packaging is based on their capability to bind DNA. The unique minor capsid protein of bacteriophage P23-77 resembles in its characteristics the scaffolding proteins of tailed phages, though it constitutes a substantial part of the mature virion.
Design and characterization of a TES bolometer for Fourier Transform spectroscopy in the THz range

A Transition Edge Sensor (TES) composite bolometer for Fourier Transform spectroscopy was developed. The design is based on a superconducting thermistor, SiN membrane technology and a thin film metal mesh absorber which is optimized for the spectral range from 0.1 THz to 3 THz. A prototype was built; its characterization and first application results are presented.
Episcleral surface tracking: challenges and possibilities for using mice sensors for wearable eye tracking

Video-based eye trackers (VETs) have become the dominant eye tracking technology due to its reasonable cost, accuracy, and easy of use. VETs require real-time image processing to detect and track eye features such as the center of the pupil and corneal reflection to estimate the point of regard. Despite the continuous evolution of cameras and computers that made head mounted eye trackers easier to use in natural activities, real-time processing of high resolution images in mobile devices remains a challenge. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of a novel eye-tracking technique intended for wearable applications that use mice chips as imaging sensors. Such devices are widely available at very low cost, and provide high speed and accurate 2D tracking data. Though mice chips have been used for many purposes other than a computer's pointing device, to our knowledge this is the first attempt to use it as an eye tracker. To validate the technique, we built an episcleral database with about 100 high resolution episcleral patches from 7 individuals. The episclera is the outer most layer of the sclera, which is the white part of the eye, and consists of dense vascular connective tissue. We have used the patches to determine if the episclera contains enough texture to be reliably tracked. We also present results from a prototype built using an off-the-shelf mouse sensor. Our results show that a mouse-based eye tracker has the potential to be very accurate, precise, and fast (measuring 2.1' of visual angle at 1 KHz speed), with little overhead for the wearable computer.
Evaluation of Cardiac Function by Tissue Doppler Imaging in Children With Chronic Hepatitis

Objectives: Pathoanatomic changes in cirrhosis result in impaired ventricular filling and diastolic dysfunction and were named as cirrhotic cardiomyopathy. However, cardiac functions have not been studied in patients with chronic hepatitis. We hypothesized that such patients might have subclinical ventricular dysfunction, detectable by tissue Doppler echocardiography and related to the severity of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. Methods: We studied 63 clinically stable patients, 27 patients with mild chronic hepatitis (group 1), 22 patients with moderate chronic hepatitis (group 2) and 14 patients with severe chronic hepatitis (group 3) according to the scoring system of Knodell, and 36 age-matched healthy subjects. Results: Patients with severe chronic hepatitis had impaired right ventricular diastolic function. The early diastolic velocity of the tricuspid valve annulus was lower in patients from group 3 than in healthy subjects (P < 0.001). Patients in group 3 had a greater isovolumic relaxation time (P < 0.001), indicating right ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Comparing group 3 with the healthy subjects, the ratio of peak early myocardial tissue velocity and peak late (or atrial) myocardial tissue velocity was significantly decreased (P < 0.001), at 1.4 (0.7) and 1.9 (0.7), respectively. There was also a slightly lower peak early myocardial tissue velocity and peak late (or atrial) myocardial tissue velocity ratio and a slightly longer isovolumic relaxation time in patients from group 2 than in healthy subjects (P < 0.05). Conclusions: We detected subclinical dysfunction of the right ventricle in children with chronic hepatitis in whom hepatic inflammation and fibrosis is prominent. Tissue Doppler echocardiography provides a quantifiable indicator useful for detection and monitoring of disease progression.
Input Cost Saving and Technical Efficiency Improvement in Shrimp Poly-culture Production – An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

This study aims to analyze the production efficiency and identify scale properties of shrimp poly-culture farms in Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon, Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam by applying Data Envelopment Analysis under inputorientated approach. In addition, the extension Cross Efficiency Method was undertaken to have better ranking of farm performance, to which the comparisons of the uses of inputs between the truly efficient and inefficient farms were made in order to help farms to properly adjust their input combination to optimal level. It is found that if farmers follow the recommendation by this study, the optimization of inputs configuration tends to decrease the total costs of production by 141.85%, and increase the benefit-cost ratio by 58.79%.
Risk Management in Supply Chain Management

A supply chain is including all stages which directly or indirectly handle customer’s demands.Supply chain consists of all cases relevant logistics network which is including suppliers, manufacturing centres, stores, distribution centres, retailers’ market, raw materials, processing stocks andcurrent final products. In literature study, there is many description of supply chain like: company’s establishment so that to prepare the products services for the market. It is including of all stages which are active to make the customers desires directly or indirectly be met and not only consist of producers and suppliers, but also including transports, stores; retailers, and customers themselves. the network of facilities and distributors which prepare the materials, changing them to semi – manufactured and final productions and distribution of them between customers. on the basis of a given definition from logistic management association, logistic means: planning process, effective execution and control of flow and saving raw materials in production process, finished goods and all information regarding to inventory from place of production till using point in order to supplyconsumer’s needs. In another definition, logistic is a part of supply chain process which plans, performs and controls the effective and efficient flow of goods storage, services and data relating to them from start point to consumption point, for meeting customer’s needs.
Particle bombardment and subcellular protein localization analysis in the aquatic plant Egeria densa

Particle bombardment is a powerful and relatively easy method for transient expression of genes of interest in plant cells, especially those that are recalcitrant to other transformation methods. This method has facilitated numerous analyses of subcellular localization of fluorescent fusion protein constructs. Particle bombardment delivers genes to the first layer of plant tissue. In leaves of higher plants, epidermal cells are the first cell layer. Many studies have used the epidermal cell layer of onion bulb (Allium cepa) as the experimental tissue, because these cells are relatively large. However, onion epidermal cells lack developed plastids (i.e., chloroplasts), thereby precluding subcellular localization analysis of chloroplastic proteins. In this study, we developed a protocol for particle bombardment of the aquatic plant Egeria densa, and showed that it is a useful system for subcellular localization analysis of higher plant proteins. E. densa leaflets contain only two cell layers, and cells in the adaxial layer are sufficiently large for observation. The cells in both layers contain well-developed chloroplasts. We fused fluorescent proteins to conventional plant localization signals for the nucleus, cytosol, mitochondria, peroxisome, and chloroplast, and used particle bombardment to transiently express these fusion constructs in E. densa leaves. The plant subcellular localization signals functioned normally and displayed the expected distributions in transiently transformed E. densa cells, and even chloroplastic structures could be clearly visualized.
The Effect of Consumption Taxes on Corporate Investment

Using a large dataset on listed firms from 68 countries and numerous changes in consumption tax rates staggered over time and across countries, this paper examines how consumption taxes affect corporate investment. We show empirically that consumption taxes significantly decrease investments. A one-percentage-point increase in the consumption tax decreases investments by 1.8%. The effect of consumption taxes on corporate investment is more pronounced for firms with low supply elasticities and for firms facing high demand elasticities because both types of firms are less able to pass the consumption tax on to consumers. We also show that investment of firms with more exposure to domestic consumers is more responsive to consumption tax changes. Taken together, our results suggest that consumption taxes represent a substantial burden to firms and adversely affect corporate investments.
Efficient baseline utilization for incomplete block crossover clinical trials

Incomplete block crossover trials with period-specific baseline and post-baseline (outcome) measures for each subject are often used in clinical drug development; without loss of generality, we focus on the three-treatment two-period ( 3 × 2 ) crossover. Data from such trials are commonly analyzed using a mixed effects model with indicator terms for treatment and period, and an unstructured covariance matrix for the vector of intra-subject measurements. It is well-known that treatment effect estimates from this analysis are complex functions of both within-subject and between-subject treatment contrasts. We caution that the associated type I error rate and power for hypothesis testing can be non-trivially influenced by how the baselines are utilized. Specifically, the mixed effects analysis which uses change from baseline as the dependent variable is shown to consistently underperform corresponding analyses in which the outcome is the dependent variable and linear combinations of the baselines are used as period-specific and/or period-invariant covariates. A simpler fixed effects analysis of covariance involving only within-subject contrasts is also described for small sample situations in which the mixed effects analyses can suffer from increased type I error rates. Theoretical insights, simulation results and an illustrative example with real data are used to develop the main points.
Hemolytic activity of and lethal toxin production by environmental strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Repeated subculturing of Kanagawa-negative strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus on Wagatsuma agar induced the production of a hemolysin which was not the thermostable direct hemolysin. Crude hemolysin exhibited a 30 to 40% lethal toxicity in mice after intraperitoneal injection. A 21-kilodalton protein band was observed with all the environmental isolates in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Results suggested that a certain percentage of environmental strains of V. parahaemolyticus is responsible for pathogenesis.
Low-power multipliers by minimizing switching activities of partial products

Low-power 2's complement multipliers are developed through minimizing switching activities of partial products using the radix-4 Booth algorithm. Before computation, the input datum with the: smaller effective dynamic range is processed to generate Booth codes, thereby increasing probabilities of partial products being zero. By employing the dynamic-range determination units to control input data paths, the proposed 16/spl times/16-bit multipliers based on the Yu, Goldovsky, and Mahant-Shetti's low-power approaches are individually implemented. To illustrate the proposed multiplier having low-power dissipation, the theoretical analyses of switching activities of partial products are derived. Compared to the power consumed by the conventional multipliers, in applications of the G723.1 speech, ADPCM audio and wavelet-based image coders, the proposed multipliers conserve more than 14%, 30% and 31% of power, respectively. Therefore, the multipliers proposed herein can be widely used for various media processing to achieve low-power consumption at fair hardware costs.
Adaptation and validation of the parent-child conflict tactics scale for use in Sri Lanka.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study was to validate the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC) in Sri Lanka, for use with 12-year old children. DESIGN A Delphi Process determined the consensual and content validity of the CTSPC. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were determined by a large and a small group administration. SETTING Professionals from the social and behavioural sciences were the judges in the Delphi Process. Conveniently located schools in the Gampaha District were chosen for determining the test-retest reliability and internal consistency. MEASUREMENTS This included original CTSPC and its Sinhala translation, a structured interview schedule and a focus group guide. RESULTS The Sinhala version of the CTSPC showed adequate consensual and content validity. Its test-retest reliability and internal consistency were satisfactory. The instrument is best administered in small rather than in large groups of children. CONCLUSION The Sinhala version of the CTSPC is appropriate to be used with 12-year old Sinhala speaking schoolchildren in Sri Lanka.
Quality of Disclosure in the Public Sector Enterprises

There is hardly any indepth study on the quality of disclosure in the annual reports of the public sector enterprises. The present study examines this aspect on the basis of the index of disclosure. The findings indicate that there is no uniformity in the disclosure of information. While organizational pattern does not affect the quality of disclosure of information, the influence of nature of industry is evident.
Coregulator Cell Cycle and Apoptosis Regulator 1 (CCAR1) Positively Regulates Adipocyte Differentiation through the Glucocorticoid Signaling Pathway*

Background: Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is essential for early phase of adipogenesis. Results: Depletion of coregulator CCAR1 compromised adipogenesis in cell culture and GR-mediated chromatin remodeling of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ) gene enhancer elements. Conclusion: GR and CCAR1 are required for transcriptional activation of PPARγ and adipocyte differentiation. Significance: Mechanistic analysis identifies specific critical roles for GR and coregulator CCAR1 in the early stages of adipogenesis. Glucocorticoids contribute to adipocyte differentiation by cooperating with transcription factors, such as CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ), to stimulate transcription of the gene encoding peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ), a master regulator of adipogenesis. However, the mechanism of PPARγ gene regulation by glucocorticoids, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and its coregulators is poorly understood. Here we show that two GR binding regions (GBRs) in the mouse PPARγ gene were responsive to glucocorticoid, and treatment of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes with glucocorticoid alone induced GR occupancy and chromatin remodeling at PPARγ GBRs, which also contain binding sites for C/EBP and PPARγ proteins. GR recruited cell cycle and apoptosis regulator 1 (CCAR1), a transcription coregulator, to the PPARγ gene GBRs. Notably, CCAR1 was required for GR occupancy and chromatin remodeling at one of the PPARγ gene GBRs. Moreover, depletion of CCAR1 markedly suppressed differentiation of mouse mesenchymal stem cells and 3T3-L1 preadipocytes to mature adipocytes and decreased induction of PPARγ, C/EBPα, and C/EBPδ. Although CCAR1 was required for stimulation of several GR-regulated adipogenic genes in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes by glucocorticoid, it was not required for GR-activated transcription of certain anti-inflammatory genes in human A549 lung epithelial cells. Overall, our results highlighted the novel and specific roles of GR and CCAR1 in adipogenesis.
In vivo modulation of the activity of pyramidal neurons in the rat medial prefrontal cortex by 5-HT2A receptors: relationship to thalamocortical afferents.

The activation of 5-HT(2A) receptors in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) by the hallucinogen DOI increases the firing activity of dorsal raphe (DR) 5-HT neurons and prefrontal 5-HT release. Here we show that the i.v. administration of DOI markedly affected the firing rate of identified pyramidal neurons recorded extracellularly. DOI excited (481%) 21/56 neurons, inhibited (11%) 17/56 neurons and left the rest unaffected (overall 2.4-fold increase in firing rate). Both effects were antagonized by 5-HT(2A) receptor blockade. 5-HT(2A)-mediated orthodromic excitations were recorded in pyramidal neurons projecting to DR after electrical stimulation of this nucleus. We also examined whether the effects of DOI in mPFC involve thalamic excitatory inputs. The disinhibition of the mediodorsal and centromedial nuclei of the thalamus by local bicuculline resembled the effects of DOI as it increased pyramidal cell firing and 5-HT release in mPFC. However, the selective activation of prefrontal micro -opioid and mGlu II receptors counteracted the effects of the thalamic disinhibition but not those of DOI. Moreover, extensive thalamic lesions did not alter the effect of DOI on pyramidal cell firing and 5-HT release. We conclude that DOI increases the activity of the mPFC-DR circuit by an action on postsynaptic 5-HT(2A) receptors unrelated to thalamocortical afferents.
Treatment of large uterine fibroids

Uterine leiomyomas represent the most common pathological growth in the female reproductive tract and will be present in about 40 % of women who are still menstruating beyond the age of 501. They are between three and nine times more frequent in Negroid than in Caucasian women' and tend to continue to grow under the influence of oestrogen. Unless there was ultrasonic evidence of particularly active growth or suspicion of leiomyosarcoma, the clinician could afford to adopt a conservative line of management in the knowledge that growth would cease and the fibroids would often regress after the menopause. The current fashion for hormone replacement therapy deprives both the gynaecologist and the patient from nature's respite, and increasingly women are seeking some form of surgery to remove the fibroids. Here again, fashion intervenes in established clinical practice and a vociferous group of women are demanding minimal aacess surgery as a way of treating their fibroids even when they are large. In a recent issue of this journal Adam Magos et aL3 presented the case for the ultimate minimal access surgical operation, vaginal hysterectomy, as a method of treating large uteri even up to 20 weeks of gestation in size. They apply the wellrecognised argument that there are lower complications and faster recovery if hysterectomy is performed vaginally4, but these figures are clearly based on relatively simple vaginal hysterectomies, since only 20% are performed vaginally in the United States4 and an even more miserable 3.9 % in this country, according to a cohort study conducted by Vessey et aL5. One of the greatest living vaginal hysterectomists, Sir Rustam Feroze, considers as a contraindication to the operation: a uterine size larger than the equivalent of a 12-week pregnancy. Although a large uterus can be removed vaginally either by splitting the uterus in two or by morcellation, it is more simply managed abdominally6. Magos and his colleagues appear to have reverted to these rather crude techniques of reducing the bulk of the uterus, and most of the quoted references they give to support this approach date back considerably in time, suggesting that lessons were learned in the past, and I suspect there was a good reason why such an approach was aban-
Good parks – bad parks: the influence of perceptions of location on WTP and preference motives for urban parks

ABSTRACT Urban parks generate substantial public benefits, yet explicit economic assessments of such values remain relatively rare. Surveys of willingness to pay (WTP) were undertaken to assess such values for proposed new parks. The analysis assessed how preference motives and values varied according to the location of parks. Results revealed greater altruistic motivation and higher overall values for the creation of inner city as opposed to suburban parks. Spatial decomposition revealed that, after controlling for other determinants such as incomes, values generally increase for households closer to proposed parks, but that a significant downturn in values is evident for households located very close to a proposed inner city park; a finding which echoes concerns regarding the potential for such sites to provide a focus for antisocial behaviour. While these findings provide strong overall support for provision of public parks they highlight, the importance of perceptions of location and the potential for localised dis-benefits.