Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intrinsic double-stranded-RNA processing activity of Escherichia coli ribonuclease III lacking the dsRNA-binding domain.

The ribonuclease III superfamily represents a structurally related group of double-strand (ds) specific endoribonucleases which play key roles in diverse prokaryotic and eukaryotic RNA maturation and degradation pathways. A dsRNA-binding domain (dsRBD) is a conserved feature of the superfamily and is important for substrate recognition. RNase III family members also exhibit a "catalytic" domain, in part defined by a set of highly conserved amino acids, of which at least one (a glutamic acid) is important for cleavage but not for substrate binding. However, it is not known whether the catalytic domain requires the dsRBD for activity. This report shows that a truncated form of Escherichia coli RNase III lacking the dsRBD (RNase III[DeltadsRBD]) can accurately cleave small processing substrates in vitro. Optimal activity of RNase III[DeltadsRBD] is observed at low salt concentrations (<60 mM Na(+)), either in the presence of Mg(2+) (>25 mM) or Mn(2+) ( approximately 5 mM). At 60 mM Na(+) and 5 mM Mn(2+) the catalytic efficiency of RNase III[DeltadsRBD] is similar to that of RNase III at physiological salt concentrations and Mg(2+). In the presence of Mg(2+) RNase III[DeltadsRBD] is less efficient than the wild-type enzyme, due to a higher K(m). Similar to RNase III, RNase III[DeltadsRBD] is inhibited by high concentrations of Mn(2+), which is due to metal ion occupancy of an inhibitory site on the enzyme. RNase III[DeltadsRBD] retains strict specificity for dsRNA, as indicated by its inability to cleave (rA)(25), (rU)(25), or (rC)(25). Moreover, dsDNA, ssDNA, or an RNA-DNA hybrid are not cleaved. Low (micromolar) concentrations of ethidium bromide block RNase III[DeltadsRBD] cleavage of substrate, which is similar to the inhibition seen with RNase III and is indicative of an intercalative mode of inhibition. Finally, RNase III[DeltadsRBD] is sensitive to specific Watson-Crick base-pair substitutions which also inhibit RNase III. These findings support an RNase III mechanism of action in which the catalytic domain (i) can function independently of the dsRBD, (ii) is dsRNA-specific, and (iii) participates in cleavage site selection.
Drinking norm-behavior association over time using retrospective and daily measures.

OBJECTIVE Social norm-based interventions in college drinking are common but show mixed efficacy. Although such interventions assume a passive social-influence process, past research relied heavily on retrospective measures, leaving open the possibility that heuristic biases during recall may alternatively account for or inflate estimates of social influence from prospective norm-drinking associations. The present study examined this possibility, using retrospective and daily aggregated measures of self and perceived peer drinking behavior. METHOD For each of 3 years, students (N = 574; 288 men) reported on their drinking levels and perceptions of descriptive drinking norms, using conventional retrospective reports over a month period and daily diary reports for 30 days. Using structural equation modeling, we tested cross-lag longitudinal models for evidence of social-influence/alternative processes and compared cross-lag effects across retrospective and daily aggregate models to determine the extent to which heuristic recall biases contribute to the norm-behavior association. RESULTS Perceptions of social norms had a small but reliable effect on changing drinking behavior across years, as indicated by model comparisons. Past drinking behavior also consistently shaped changing perceptions of drinking norms. These effects were not attributable to, nor inflated by, heuristic biases during retrospective reporting of personal and peer behavior. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that social influence and not heuristic biases contribute to the long-term norm-drinking association but that alternative processes, whereby past drinking behavior shapes norm perceptions, contribute more to the norm-drinking association. Implications for interventions designed to reduce college drinking are discussed.
Small and medium-sized enterprizes : opportunities and challenges

Small and medium-sized enterprises play a major role in national economy. However, their lifetime is limited by the micro-economic climate. This paper discusses whether credit exposure has a major impact on the rate of bankruptcy and this hypothesis is verified by means of statistical methods, based on official statistical data and selected published studies and researches. The hypothesis was not fully confirmed in our investigation. The output of the paper was an evaluation of the dependency of bankruptcy of SMEs on their credit exposure and the presentation of other factors that might have an impact of SMEs, making them either successful or going to bankruptcy.
Guides crafting meaning in a flexible working life

ABSTRACT Certified guides are exemplary, well-educated, self-employed, casual labourers in a liberal and competitive job market. Applying grounded theory, this exploratory study builds on in-depth qualitative interviews with Danish, Italian and French certified guides. Informed by the theory of job crafting and adding a critical perspective, we understand the guides’ agency, and how they craft scope, tasks and relations in order to sustain a positive self-image and a meaningful working life. Comparing certified guides’ job-crafting practices, we learn that guides are alike across the three countries, and they perceive themselves as natural-born who engage in self-actualization. They thrive on connecting with tourists, whom they empower or enlighten, as they craft idealistic or social objectives. At the same time, the guides work in individual workspaces, and they adapt to a competitive labour market, by assuming extra tasks and working for free or below tariffs, while they engage in fierce competition particularly with newcomers in order to make themselves employable. However, the study also indicates that organizational structures such as guide associations, which act as brokers to the market, may take the brunt of the individual competition in regard to the employers.
A Novel Similarity Measure for Positioning Cellular Phones by a Comparison With a Database of Signal Power Levels

In this paper, we propose a novel similarity measure to be used for localizing mobile terminals by comparing measured signal power levels with a database of predictions. The proposed measure provides the possibility to incorporate inherent information about signal power level measurements requested by the serving base station but not reported by the mobile terminal. Increased positioning accuracy was observed both in simulations and with real field data
Modelling of property market: the structural and locational attributes towards Malaysian properties

Abstract House acts as a basic shelter icon for all mankind. In recent years, property value has never stopped receiving attention in the market and has remained the topic of discussion and research on reputable property platforms and all around the world. Residential properties in Malaysia experienced significant appreciation in recent years and this creates anxiety among people. The real factors behind the tremendous rise of property prices in Malaysia however, are yet to be discovered. Structural and locational attributes are frequently discussed and have received uncountable attentions from the whole nation. This study intends to ascertain the factors affecting the property prices. The area of study comprised double storey terrace houses in Mukim Rawang, Selangor, Malaysia. Documentary analysis is conducted in this research with the real transaction data collected from JPPH. Using the regression analysis, various factors were included in the models to capture the particular effects on property values. In particular, built-up area is the most significant structural attribute; whereas shopping centre is the most significant locational attribute in determining the property prices. This paper serves as a guide for the developers and house buyers in decision-making for development and investments.
Effect of Sucrose Concentration on Dental Biofilm Formed in situ and on Enamel Demineralization

The relationship between sucrose concentration and cariogenic potential was studied in situ. Adult volunteers wore intraoral palatal appliances containing human dental enamel blocks, which were extraorally submitted 8 times a day for 14 days, to the treatments: deionized distilled water and sucrose solutions from 1 to 40%. The biofilm formed was analyzed with respect to acidogenicity and biochemical composition; enamel demineralization was evaluated by microhardness. The results showed that 1% sucrose is less cariogenic than 5% or higher concentrations, although sucrose solution at 40% was still able to increase the concentration of insoluble polysaccharide in the biofilm formed. The findings suggest that the threshold of sucrose solution concentration for the formation of a cariogenic biofilm is 5%, which provided the same cariogenic potential as that observed for 10 and 20% sucrose solution.
Use of an objective structured clinical examination in evaluating student performance.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) is increasingly being used to evaluate student clinical performance. However, scant literature exists pertinent to this approach in evaluating family medicine clerkship performance. In this study, we assess 8 years' experience with a family medicine clerkship OSCE. METHODS Eight annual clerkship OSCEs and the performance of 696 students are described. Comparisons of faculty evaluation, written exam, and OSCE performance are made for 335 students. Post-OSCE student and faculty feedback regarding OSCE validity and utility is also presented. RESULTS Student performance is highest in medical history taking and physical examination and lowest in information-sharing stations. OSCE results appear to be relatively consistent on a year-to-year basis. OSCE, faculty evaluation, and written exam results have low overall levels of correlation, particularly in assessing performance that differs substantially from the mean. Students and faculty agree that the OSCE experience reflects skills that students should possess, but there is less agreement that the OSCE reflects clerkship-related learning and actual student performance. Both students and faculty derive insight from the OSCE regarding the definition of specific learning needs. CONCLUSIONS The family medicine clerkship OSCE we describe appears to provide consistent measures of student performance. Although content validity is high, further assessment is needed to assure construct validity. The OSCE experience provides students with a rich resource for defining clerkship-related learning needs. Study results strongly suggest that OSCEs, faculty evaluations, and written exams provide differing measures of student performance. The reasons for these differences merit further exploration.
pH dependence of intrinsic H+ buffering power in the sheep cardiac Purkinje fibre.

1. Intrinsic, intracellular H+ buffering power (beta) was estimated in the isolated sheep cardiac Purkinje fibre at various values of intracellular pH (pHi) in the range 6.2‐7.5 and for various values of extracellular pH (pHo) in the range 6.5‐8.5. Buffering power was calculated from the fall of pHi (recorded with an intracellular pH‐selective microelectrode) induced by addition and removal of extracellular, permeant weak acids and bases (NH4Cl, trimethylamine chloride, sodium propionate). Experiments were performed under conditions nominally free of CO2‐HCO3. 2. beta was estimated firstly following acid loads induced by NH4Cl removal (10‐20 mM) under conditions where Na(+)‐H+ exchange was operational (i.e. in Na(+)‐containing Tyrode solution). At constant pHi, the value of beta appeared to double (from a control level of 39.7 mM) as pHo was increased from 7.5 to 8.5. Notably, raising pHo in this range greatly accelerated pHi recovery from an intracellular acid load, indicating stimulation of acid extrusion. It is likely that this stimulation results in an overestimation of beta because it blunts the intracellular acid load. The apparent elevation of beta at high pHo may therefore be an artifact. 3. Estimates of beta were compared (NH4Cl removal) before and after inhibiting Na(+)‐H+ exchange in Na(+)‐free solution or with amiloride (1 mM). The acid load was larger and in many (but not all) cases the apparent value of beta decreased after inhibition of acid extrusion. This indicates that, if Na(+)‐H+ exchange is operational, it can result in an overestimate of beta. In amiloride, beta was 26.6 +/‐ 1.4 mM (n = 8) at a mean pHi of 6.84 +/‐ 0.03. 4. Small stepwise reductions of external NH4Cl (from 40 to 0 mM), in the presence of Na(+)‐free solution plus 5 mM‐BaCl2 at constant pHo, resulted in small stepwise reductions of pHi (approximately 0.1 units). When these were used to calculate beta, we observed that beta increased roughly linearly as pHi became more acid. For a pHi of 7.2, beta approximately 20 mM. 5. An almost identical relationship between beta and pHi was found when using the method of sodium propionate addition (10‐50 mM): amiloride (1 mM) was present and pHi was manipulated to various test levels by changing pHo. This confirms that beta varies inversely with pHi and also that it is independent of pHo. We conclude that the apparent variation of beta with pHo observed earlier was indeed an artifact. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Purification and immunolocalization of the peroxisomal 3‐oxoacyl‐coA thiolase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A molecular understanding of peroxisome biogenesis depends upon the analysis of peroxisomal proteins. Here we describe the isolation of the 3‐oxoacyl‐CoA thiolase of the peroxisomal β‐oxidation system from Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a dimer of identical subunits, each with a molecular mass of 45 kDa. Monospecific polyclonal antibodies were raised against the purified enzyme, and its peroxisomal origin was demonstrated by immunoblotting of subcellular fractions as well as by immunogold labelling. We also show that these antibodies could be suitable for an immunofluorescence microscopy screening of yeast mutants affected in peroxisome assembly.
Human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitors reduce the growth of human tumors via a proteasome‐independent block of angiogenesis and matrix metalloproteinases

Human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitors (HIV‐PIs), such as indinavir and saquinavir, have been shown to block angiogenesis and tumor cell invasion and to induce tumor cell apoptosis and growth arrest, respectively, both in vitro and in vivo. These findings have suggested that HIV‐PIs or their analogues can be used as antitumor drugs. To this regard, indinavir and saquinavir were assessed for their ability to inhibit in vivo the growth of highly prevalent human tumors, such as lung, breast, colon and hepatic adenocarcinomas. We show here that both HIV‐PIs significantly inhibited the growth of all adenocarcinomas tested in the mice model. This was not mediated by effects on proteasome‐dependent cell growth arrest or on apoptosis but by the block of angiogenesis and matrix metalloproteinase activity. Accordingly, therapeutic steadystate concentrations of indinavir or saquinavir were highly effective in inhibiting invasion of tumor cells in vitro. In contrast, growth arrest was induced only by high concentrations of saquinavir that are not reached or are only transiently present in plasma of treated patients, likely through a proteasome‐mediated mechanism. These data suggest that HIV‐PIs or their analogues, characterized by a better biodistribution and lower toxicity, may represent a new class of antitumor drugs capable of targeting both matrix metalloproteinases and the proteasome for a most effective antitumor therapy.
Seasonal Dynamics of Thrips (Thrips tabaci) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Transmitters of Iris Yellow Spot Virus: A Serious Viral Pathogen of Onion Bulb and Seed Crops

ABSTRACT Thrips-transmitted Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) is an important economic constraint to the production of bulb and seed onion crops in the United States and many other parts of the world. Because the virus is exclusively spread by thrips, the ability to rapidly detect the virus in thrips vectors would facilitate studies on the role of thrips in virus epidemiology, and thus formulation of better vector management strategies. Using a polyclonal antiserum produced against the recombinant, Escherichia coli-expressed nonstructural protein coded by the small (S) RNA of IYSV, an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was developed for detecting IYSV in individual as well as groups of adult thrips. The approach enabled estimating the proportion of potential thrips transmitters in a large number of field-collected thrips collected from field-grown onion plants. Availability of a practical and inexpensive test to identify viruliferous thrips would be useful in epidemiological studies to better understand the role of thrips vectors in outbreaks of this economically important virus of onion.
Phylogeography and alpha taxonomy of the common dolphin (Delphinus sp.)

The resolution of taxonomic classifications for delphinid cetaceans has been problematic, especially for species in the genera Delphinus, Tursiops and Stenella. The frequent lack of correspondence between morphological and genetic differentiation in these species raises questions about the mechanisms responsible for their evolution. In this study we focus on the genus Delphinus, and use molecular markers to address questions about speciation and the evolution of population structure. Delphinus species have a worldwide distribution and show a high degree of morphological variation. Two distinct morphotypes, long‐beaked and short‐beaked, have been considered different species named D. capensis and D. delphis, respectively. However, genetic differentiation between these two forms has only been demonstrated in the Pacific. We analysed samples from eight different geographical regions, including two morphologically defined long‐beaked form populations, and compared these with the eastern North Pacific populations. We found high differentiation among the populations described as long‐beaked instead of the expected monophyly, suggesting that these populations may have evolved from independent events converging on the same morphotype. We observed low genetic differentiation among the short‐beaked populations across a large geographical scale. We interpret these phylogeographical patterns in the context of life history and population structure in related species.
Sensor evaluation for tracking upper extremity prosthesis movements in a virtual environment

The use of virtual reality technology in the field of amputee rehabilitation is in its earliest stages of development. A virtual environment (VE) will facilitate the early rehabilitation of a patient before they are clinically ready to be fitted with an actual prosthesis. Success will be defined by delivering accurate position and orientation data of the arm to the virtual environment. We have applied an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a linear displacement sensor to a prosthetic arm to track its movement in a virtual environment. Preliminary results show that even with advances in MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) sensor technology integration error is likely too significant to make an IMU an acceptable choice for position measurement.
Dynamic aphasia: an inability to select between competing verbal responses?

In this study we report a patient (A.N.G.) who, following a malignant left frontal meningioma impinging upon Brodmann area 45, presented a 'pure' dynamic aphasia. Her spontaneous speech was markedly reduced in the absence of any syntactical impairment. Her naming, repetition and reading skills were completely normal. Two experimental investigations were carried out. The first investigation found that A.N. G. had a profound impairment in phrase and sentence generation tasks given a verbal context. However, her verbal generative skills were normal when she was asked to describe pictorial scenes and complex actions. Moreover, it was found that A.N. G. had no difficulty ordering the constituent words of a sentence. Thus, it was concluded that her verbal planning skills were intact. The second investigation tested a hypothesis that dynamic aphasia is due to an inability to select a verbal response option whenever the stimulus activates many competing verbal responses. Predictions based upon this hypothesis were confirmed on three different verbal generation tasks. It was found that our patient's grave verbal generative impairment was present for tasks involving stimuli which activate many potential responses. However, it was absent for tasks involving stimuli which activate few or only a single 'prepotent' response. The findings are discussed with reference to traditional interpretations of dynamic aphasia and more general interpretations of prefrontal cortex functioning. On the basis of a computational model of prefrontal cortex functioning, we propose that pure dynamic aphasia may be caused by damage to a 'context' module containing units responsible for selection of verbal response options. Moreover, it is suggested that our findings support the view that Brodmann area 45 is involved in verbal response generation to stimuli which activate many potential response options.
Global financial crisis and corporate social responsibility disclosure

Purpose - This paper investigates the effect of the global financial crisis (GFC) on the level of corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) in the annual report and/or CSR report of 36 major listed Portuguese companies in each of the years 2005, 2008 and 2011. Design/methodology/approach - The analysis is framed principally by stakeholder theory. Data were explored using thematic content analysis and an index of disclosure calculated by year, industry type (consumer proximity versus environment sensitivity) and category of information. Findings - Before the GFC, Portuguese listed companies increased their CSRD practices significantly. During the crisis, there was a slight decrease in CSRD. However, this was not as pronounced, as it would otherwise have been because it was counteracted by increased disclosures of company interactions with society, particularly in matters of corruption prevention and community engagement. CSRD was higher for companies with high consumer proximity but did not appear to be influenced by companies’ level of environmental sensitivity. Originality/value - The results reveal a strong concern by companies for stakeholder management (particularly in respect of community relations) in a period of financial crisis. This study highlights the effect of a company’s proximity to consumers on levels of CSRD.
A Model-Free Continuum of Degrees of Risk Aversion

We establish a theory for a continuum of degrees of risk aversion and risk seeking, referred to as fractional risk aversion and risk seeking. The proposed degrees are well defined for any distribution-based monotone preference on any set of prospects; no particular model assumption is required on the preference. The two degrees combined together intuitively reflect a decision-maker's attitude towards risk. We characterize fractional risk aversion and risk seeking in the models of rank-dependent utility (RDU) and cumulative prospect theory (CPT) for four different classes of sets of prospects. For instance, the degree of risk aversion for an RDU preference is equal to the ratio between its index of pessimism and its index of greediness; both indices depend on the set of prospects at consideration.