Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isolation and Characterization of the Prochlorococcus Carboxysome Reveal the Presence of the Novel Shell Protein CsoS1D

ABSTRACT Cyanobacteria, including members of the genus Prochlorococcus, contain icosahedral protein microcompartments known as carboxysomes that encapsulate multiple copies of the CO2-fixing enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) in a thin protein shell that enhances the catalytic performance of the enzyme in part through the action of a shell-associated carbonic anhydrase. However, the exact mechanism by which compartmentation provides a catalytic advantage to the enzyme is not known. Complicating the study of cyanobacterial carboxysomes has been the inability to obtain homogeneous carboxysome preparations. This study describes the first successful purification and characterization of carboxysomes from the marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus marinus MED4. Because the isolated P. marinus MED4 carboxysomes were free from contaminating membrane proteins, their protein complement could be assessed. In addition to the expected shell proteins, the CsoS1D protein that is not encoded by the canonical cso gene clusters of α-cyanobacteria was found to be a low-abundance shell component. This finding and supporting comparative genomic evidence have important implications for carboxysome composition, structure, and function. Our study indicates that carboxysome composition is probably more complex than was previously assumed based on the gene complements of the classical cso gene clusters.
Consumer adoption of Short Message Service (SMS): a suggested framework

This study investigates the factors affecting consumer adoption of Short Message Service (SMS), a mobile technology consisting of four aspects: communication, information, entertainment, and m-commerce. The suggested framework builds on Rogers (1995) and incorporates a series of salient variables suggested by previous research, including innovation characteristics, personal characteristics, social system, and marketing environment.
Private Equity Acquisitions of Continental European Firms: The Impact of Ownership and Control on the Likelihood of Being Taken Private

This paper studies the motives behind private equity acquisitions of publicly listed firms in continental Europe. As corporate control and ownership in continental Europe tend to be highly concentrated, we argue that it is important to take into account the incentives of the incumbent large shareholder to monitor the management and the private benefits of control the latter may derive from the firm when measuring the likelihood of the firm being taken over by a private equity investor. We find strong and consistent evidence that both have a significant impact on the likelihood of a private equity acquisition.
Novelty and Disclosure in Patent Law

The stringency of the novelty requirement in patent law affects the pace of innovation because it affects the amount of technical information that is disclosed among firms. It also affects ex ante profitability of research. We compare weak and strong novelty requirements from the standpoint of social efficiency. We ask how our answer depends on the rule that determines which firm gets a patent when two firms have patents pending on the same technology. The possible rules are "first-to-invent," which applies in the U.S., and "first-to-file," which applies everywhere else.
Investigation of the Role of Electrostatic Charge in Activation of the Escherichia coli Response Regulator CheY

ABSTRACT In a two-component regulatory system, an important means of signal transduction in microorganisms, a sensor kinase phosphorylates a response regulator protein on an aspartyl residue, resulting in activation. The active site of the response regulator is highly charged (containing a lysine, the phosphorylatable aspartate, two additional aspartates involved in metal binding, and an Mg2+ ion), and introduction of the dianionic phosphoryl group results in the repositioning of charged moieties. Furthermore, substitution of one of the Mg2+-coordinating aspartates with lysine or arginine in the Escherichia coli chemotaxis response regulator CheY results in phosphorylation-independent activation. In order to examine the consequences of altered charge distribution for response regulator activity and to identify possible additional amino acid substitutions that result in phosphorylation-independent activation, we made 61 CheY mutants in which residues close to the site of phosphorylation (Asp57) were replaced by various charged amino acids. Most substitutions (47 of 61) resulted in the complete loss of CheY activity, as measured by the inability to support clockwise flagellar rotation. However, 10 substitutions, all introducing a new positive charge, resulted in the loss of chemotaxis but in the retention of some clockwise flagellar rotation. Of the mutants in this set, only the previously identified CheY13DK and CheY13DR mutants displayed clockwise activity in the absence of the CheA sensor kinase. The absence of negatively charged substitution mutants with residual activity suggests that the introduction of additional negative charges into the active site is particularly deleterious for CheY function. Finally, the spatial distribution of positions at which amino acid substitutions are functionally tolerated or not tolerated is consistent with the presently accepted mechanism of response regulator activation and further suggests a possible role for Met17 in signal transduction by CheY.
New Models for Measuring the R&D Performance and Identifying the Productivity of Public Research Institutes

Research evaluation of public institutes is important for measuring the performance of the science sector and improving the cost effectiveness and efficiency of public resource allocation. The purpose of this article is to construct a means of classifying publicly-funded R&D institutions and their performance (high or low). The main findings are two research performance functions, created using discriminant analysis with direct and Wilks methods, which have been successfully applied to 200 public research institutes belonging to the Italian National Research Council. The large number of indicators used within the models creates a macro index that produce, as output, the research performance score. The data analysed is from the 2001 period. The results show that 22.5% of public labs fall into the ‘high performance institute’ bracket and that they have a site larger than ‘low performance institutes’. The models are useful tools for decision making within the research bodies and for reducing X-inefficiency.
Family Control and Investment‐Cash Flow Sensitivity: Moderating Effects of Excess Control Rights and Board Independence

Manuscript Type: Empirical. Research Question/Issue: We explore the effect of family control on investment‐cash flow sensitivity and disentangle the effects of agency problems of free cash flow and asymmetric information. Excess control rights and board independence may moderate the relationship between family control and investment‐cash flow sensitivity by changing agency costs. Research Findings/Insights: Family control lessens investment‐cash flow sensitivity by mitigating the problem of asymmetric information. Investment‐cash flow sensitivity will be higher in family‐controlled firms with excess control rights because Type II agency problems predominate. Family control may affect investment‐cash flow sensitivity when firms lack independent directors. Having another blockholder in addition to the controlling family reduces the agency problem and improves the independent monitoring function of the board for family‐controlled firms. Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study provides a better understanding of the relationship between family control and investment‐cash flow sensitivity. It delineates the separate effects of agency problems stemming from free cash flow and asymmetric information and demonstrates that excess control rights and board independence can moderate the effect of family control on investment‐cash flow sensitivity. We show the significant role another blockholder plays in internal governance mechanisms. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Investors can better gauge firm value by examining the type of company control and linkages between investment distortion and firm value. Policy makers can better understand how excess control and board independence act as mechanisms to worsen or mitigate the effects of family control. Managers can understand the effects of control type and board independence on the firm's financial constraints.
Collective cell streams in epithelial monolayers depend on cell adhesion

We report spontaneously emerging, randomly oriented, collective streaming behavior within a monolayer culture of a human keratinocyte cell line, and explore the effect of modulating cell adhesions by perturbing the function of calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules. We demonstrate that decreasing cell adhesion induces narrower and more anisotropic cell streams, reminiscent of decreasing the Taylor scale of turbulent liquids. To explain our empirical findings, we propose a cell-based model that represents the dual nature of cell–cell adhesions. Spring-like connections provide mechanical stability, while a cellular Potts model formalism represents surface-tension driven attachment. By changing the relevance and persistence of mechanical links between cells, we are able to explain the experimentally observed changes in emergent flow patterns.
KIN‐STRUCTURED COLONIZATION AND SMALL‐SCALE GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION IN SILENE DIOICA

We investigated the genetic structure of a single island population of the dioecious plant Silene dioica in the Skeppsvik Archipelago, Umeå, Sweden. The population is less than 10 years old and consists of approximately 700 individuals growing within an area of about 200 m2. Despite the small scale of the study, levels of genetic differentiation among contiguous patches are greater than or comparable to what is observed over larger scales in the archipelago. The results suggest that the small‐scale structuring occurs during population expansion, soon after island colonization, and that the observed patterns of genetic differentiation can be attributed to the population being substructured into family groups. This family structure results from kin‐structured dispersal processes (colonization and migration) as the population expands over the island. As plant densities increase over time, either spatial fusion or temporal fusion of patches reduce the among patch variation. These processes, however, do not completely eradicate the genetic differentiation established by the kin‐structured dispersal processes. We discuss some implications of kin structuring for evolution through either kin or interdemic selection.
Stock Prices, Expected Returns, and Inflation

This paper examines the effect of expected inflation on stock prices and expected long-run returns. An ex ante estimates measure of expected long-run returns is derived by incorporating estimates of expected of future corporate cash flows into a variant of the Campbell-Shiller dividend-price ratio model. In this model, the log earnings-price ratio is expressed as a linear function of expected future returns, expected earnings growth rates, and the log of the current dividend-payout ratio. Expectations of earnings growth are inferred from equity analysts' earnings forecasts, while inflation expectations are drawn from surveys of professional forecasters. I find that the negative relation between equity valuations and expected inflation results from two effects: higher expected inflation coincides with (I) lower expected real earnings growth and (ii) higher required real returns. The earnings channel is not merely a reflection of inflation's recession-signalling properties; rather, much of the negative valuation effect results from a negative relation between expected inflation and expected longer-term real earnings growth. The effect of expected inflation on required (long-run) real stock returns is also substantial. A one percentage point increase in expected inflation raises required real stock returns about one percentage point, which on average implies a 20 percent decline in the level of stock prices. The inflation-related component of expected real stock returns is closely related to the component explained by real long-term bond yields.
Gendered small-business assistance : lessons from a Swedish project

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deal with the design of small‐business training programs and focuses on women business owners, their real needs and the supply of adequate training. How and to what extent are client selection and support needs influenced by the gender system? Design/methodology/approach – An in‐depth study of an ambitious Swedish project is reported. Interviews with the participating business‐owners and advisors, combined with observations during lectures and coaching sessions have been conducted.Findings – Even gender‐conscious support organizations may have a biased process of client recruitment, leading to an unintended discrimination of women business owners. The women meet the same obstacles as men but also give witness to the subtle obstacles which originate in the gender‐system.Research limitations/implications – The study is qualitative and does not aim to provide statistically valid generalizations.Practical implications – Gender awareness of support organizations is cruc.
Organizational Diseconomies of Scale

Private information creates a cost of operating a hierarchy, which becomes larger as the hierarchical distance between the information source and the decision maker increases. When information about a firm's capabilities is dispersed among the individuals in the firm, production is inefficient even though everyone behaves rationally. Because hierarchies need rents in order to function, a firm with a long hierarchy may not be viable in a competitive industry. Copyright 1995 by MIT Press.
Increased islet antigen presentation leads to type‐1 diabetes in mice with autoimmune susceptibility

Granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) is frequently used in preclinical and clinical protocols to modulate autoimmune responses, bone marrow transplants, and recovery from immune ablative therapies. The immunological outcome of such therapies is not fully understood. We tested the hypothesis that GM‐CSF would enhance the maturation of antigen‐presenting cells, facilitating presentation of β‐cell autoantigens to autoreactive T cells. We found that islet expression of GM‐CSF greatly enhanced disease in male mice. Islet‐derived APC but not splenic APC showed markedly enhanced capacity to stimulate in vitro proliferative responses of islet‐antigen‐specific autoreactive T cells. In vivo transfer of CD8+ and CD4+ T cells demonstrate that autoreactive T cells undergo extensive division in pancreatic lymph nodes of GM‐CSF‐transgenic mice compared with wild‐type NOD male mice. Together, the results presented here demonstrate that expression of GM‐CSF in the pancreas can enhance autoimmunity in disease‐susceptible mice.
The First Identification of Carbohydrate Binding Modules Specific to Chitosan*

Background: Carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) specific to chitosan have yet to be identified. Results: Two CBMs located at the C terminus of a chitosanase from Paenibacillus sp. IK-5 specifically bound chitosan oligosaccharides. Conclusion: Individual CBMs can accommodate at least two glucosamine units at loops extruded from the core β-sandwich. Significance: The synergistic action of the two CBMs appears to facilitate chitosan hydrolysis. Two carbohydrate binding modules (DD1 and DD2) belonging to CBM32 are located at the C terminus of a chitosanase from Paenibacillus sp. IK-5. We produced three proteins, DD1, DD2, and tandem DD1/DD2 (DD1+DD2), and characterized their binding ability. Transition temperature of thermal unfolding (Tm) of each protein was elevated by the addition of cello-, laminari-, chitin-, or chitosan-hexamer (GlcN)6. The Tm elevation (ΔTm) in DD1 was the highest (10.3 °C) upon the addition of (GlcN)6 and was markedly higher than that in DD2 (1.0 °C). A synergistic effect was observed (ΔTm = 13.6 °C), when (GlcN)6 was added to DD1+DD2. From isothermal titration calorimetry experiments, affinities to DD1 were not clearly dependent upon chain length of (GlcN)n; ΔGr° values were −7.8 (n = 6), −7.6 (n = 5), −7.6 (n = 4), −7.6 (n = 3), and −7.1 (n = 2) kcal/mol, and the value was not obtained for GlcN due to the lowest affinity. DD2 bound (GlcN)n with the lower affinities (ΔGr° = −5.0 (n = 3) ∼ −5.2 (n = 6) kcal/mol). Isothermal titration calorimetry profiles obtained for DD1+DD2 exhibited a better fit when the two-site model was used for analysis and provided greater affinities to (GlcN)6 for individual DD1 and DD2 sites (ΔGr° = −8.6 and −6.4 kcal/mol, respectively). From NMR titration experiments, (GlcN)n (n = 2∼6) were found to bind to loops extruded from the core β-sandwich of individual DD1 and DD2, and the interaction sites were similar to each other. Taken together, DD1+DD2 is specific to chitosan, and individual modules synergistically interact with at least two GlcN units, facilitating chitosan hydrolysis.
Nucleotide sequences of the mRNA's encoding the vesicular stomatitis virus N and NS proteins

The complete nucleotide sequences of the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) mRNA's encoding the N and NS proteins have been determined from the sequences of cDNA clones. The mRNA encoding the N protein is 1,326 nucleotides long, excluding polyadenylic acid. It contains an open reading frame for translation which extends from the 5'-proximal AUG codon to encode a protein of 422 amino acids. The N and mRNA is known to contain a major ribosome binding site at the 5'-proximal AUG codon and two other minor ribosome binding sites. These secondary sites have been located unambiguously at the second and third AUG codons in the N mRNA sequence. Translational initiation at these sites, if it in fact occurs, would result in synthesis of two small proteins in a second reading frame. The VSV and mrna encoding the NS protein is 815 nucleotides long, excluding polyadenylic acid, and encodes a protein of 222 amino acids. The predicted molecular weight of the NS protein (25,110) is approximately one-half of that predicted from the mobility of NS protein on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Deficiency of sodium dodecyl sulfate binding to a large negatively charged domain in the NS protein could explain this anomalous electrophoretic mobility.
The choice between market failures and corruption

Because government intervention transfers resources from one party to another, it creates room for corruption. As corruption often undermines the purpose of the intervention, governments will try to prevent it. They may create rents for bureaucrats, induce a misallocation of resources, and increase the size of the bureaucracy. Since preventing all corruption is excessively costly, second-best intervention may involve a certain fraction of bureaucrats accepting bribes. When corruption is harder to prevent, there may be both more bureaucrats and higher public-sector wages. Also, the optimal degree of government intervention may be nonmonotonic in the level of income.
TLR Adaptor MyD88 Is Essential for Pathogen Control during Oral Toxoplasma gondii Infection but Not Adaptive Immunity Induced by a Vaccine Strain of the Parasite1

TLR adaptor MyD88 activation is important in host resistance to Toxoplasma gondii during i.p. infection, but the function of this signaling pathway during oral infection, in which mucosal immunity assumes a predominant role, has not been examined. In this study, we show that MyD88−/− mice fail to control the parasite and succumb within 2 wk of oral infection. Early during infection, T cell IFN-γ production, recruitment of neutrophils and induction of p47 GTPase IGTP (Irgm3) in the intestinal mucosa were dependent upon functional MyD88. Unexpectedly, these responses were MyD88-independent later during acute infection. In particular, CD4+ T cell IFN-γ reached normal levels independently of MyD88, despite continued absence of IL-12 in these animals. The i.p. vaccination of MyD88−/− mice with an avirulent T. gondii uracil auxotroph elicited robust IFN-γ responses and protective immunity to challenge with a high virulence T. gondii strain. Our results demonstrate that MyD88 is required to control Toxoplasma infection, but that the parasite can trigger adaptive immunity without the need for this TLR adaptor molecule.
Advancement of renewables in Bangladesh and Thailand: Policy intervention and institutional settings

This article reviews and analyses the advancement of renewable sources of energy in Bangladesh and Thailand in terms of policy intervention and institutional settings. Since renewable forms of energy emit far smaller amounts of greenhouse gas compared with fossil fuels, their use should mitigate climate change impacts while contributing to the provision of energy services. The article turns first to a review of energy‐environment trends and the potential for renewables in these two nations. It then discusses strategies for the advancement of renewables. It is argued that further significant efforts can be made towards the advancement of renewables in Bangladesh and Thailand. These two nations could also learn from the experience in industrialized nations and other developing nations with regard to requisite policy instruments and processes. A number of barriers remain to the advancement of renewables, especially in terms of policy arrangements, institutional settings, financing mechanisms and technologies. Resources, cooperation and learning are required in order to overcome such barriers and to foster the development of necessary policy measures. Implementation of the clean development mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, and replication and adaptation of effective strategies from other settings are possible avenues for this.
Optimal tracking control for energy management systems in microgrids

This paper presents an optimal controller in order to achieve a trajectory tracking for nonlinear systems and the minimization of a quadratic cost functional. The synthesized optimal control law comes from solving the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation for state-dependent coefficient factorized nonlinear systems. The proposed control scheme is used for ensuring an efficient power flow exchange between different sources in a microgrid by using power converters. The signal references to be tracked by the control system are considered to be established by an energy management system in accordance to the amount of energy to be transfered, and taking into account variables such as energy availability from the sources, the weather, the price of electric power, the cost of fuel, among others. The effectiveness of the proposed optimal approach is illustrated via simulations.
Effectiveness of cell walls of Mycobacterium bovis strain BCG administered by various routes and in different adjuvants in protecting mice against airborne infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv.

Mice inoculated intravenously with Drakeol-treated BCG cell walls were found to be much more resistant to airborne infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv than were mice inoculated with the same vaccine by intraperitoneal, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intradermal, intranasal, or footpad routes. Similarly, live BCG was more effective when given to mice by the intravenous than by any other route. Cell walls treated with Adjuvant 65 or Alhydrogel or incorporated in water-in-oil emulsions containing Adjuvant 65 or Freund incomplete adjuvant and administered in single or multiple doses by peripheral routes were no more effective in enhancing resistance than were Drakeol-treated cell walls given by the same routes. With the use of BCG cell walls labeled with 14C, it was shown that there was significant deposition of cell wall material in the lungs and lung enlargement only in mice inoculated intravenously; the relationship between resistance and the granulomatous response has not been established.