Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visualization and quantification of protein interactions in the biosynthetic pathway of molybdenum cofactor in Arabidopsis thaliana

The molybdenum cofactor (Moco) is the active compound at the catalytic site of molybdenum enzymes. Moco is synthesized by a conserved four-step pathway involving six proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation was used to study the subcellular localization and interaction of those proteins catalysing Moco biosynthesis. In addition, the independent split-luciferase approach permitted quantification of the strength of these protein–protein interactions in vivo. Moco biosynthesis starts in mitochondria where two proteins undergo tight interaction. All subsequent steps were found to proceed in the cytosol. Here, the heterotetrameric enzyme molybdopterin synthase (catalysing step two of Moco biosynthesis) and the enzyme molybdenum insertase, which finalizes Moco formation, were found to undergo tight protein interaction as well. This cytosolic multimeric protein complex is dynamic as the small subunits of molybdopterin synthase are known to go on and off in order to become recharged with sulphur. These small subunits undergo a tighter protein contact within the enzyme molybdopterin synthase as compared with their interaction with the sulphurating enzyme. The forces of each of these protein contacts were quantified and provided interaction factors. To confirm the results, in vitro experiments using a technique combining cross-linking and label transfer were conducted. The data presented allowed the outline of the first draft of an interaction matrix for proteins within the pathway of Moco biosynthesis where product–substrate flow is facilitated through micro-compartmentalization in a cytosolic protein complex. The protected sequestering of fragile intermediates and formation of the final product are achieved through a series of direct protein interactions of variable strength.
Chromatic dispersion monitoring using four wave mixing of semiconductor optical amplifier

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an all-optical on-line chromatic dispersion (CD) monitoring technique for 40 Gbit/s return-to-zero on-off-keying (RZ-OOK) signal using the four wave mixing (FWM) effect of semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). The received signal, whose carrier frequency is suppressed by a fiber bragg grating (FBG), is launched into the SOA together with a continuous wave. The optical power of one idle wave is considered to be the autocorrelation of the signal's sideband and used for CD monitoring. The CD up to 90 ps/nm is monitored for the RZ signal, and the effects of the polarization mode dispersion (PMD) and wavelength misalignment are also discussed and experimentally investigated. This scheme requires neither modification at transmitter nor complicated digital signal processing at receiver. Furthermore, it is operated in all-optical, and has the potential to be applied to the higher speed system with optical time division multiplexed (OTDM) technique.
A Near Optimal Bound for Pollard's Rho to Solve Discrete Log

We analyze the classical Pollard’s Rho algorithm for finding the discrete logarithm in a cyclic group G. We prove that, with high probability, a collision occurs and the discrete logarithm is potentially found in O( √ |G| log |G| log log |G|) steps, not far from the widely conjectured value of Θ( √ |G|). This improves upon a recent result of Miller–Venkatesan which showed an upper bound of O( √ |G| log |G|). Our proof is based on analyzing an appropriate nonreversible, non-lazy random walk on a discrete cycle of (odd) length |G|, and showing that the mixing time of the corresponding walk is O(log |G| log log |G|). We also observe that the standard methods using functional-analytic constants (spectral gap, logarithmic Sobolev etc.), combinatorial comparison or standard coupling arguments fall short here and will at best offer a bound of O(log |G|).
Sugar-sweetened beverage intake in relation to semen quality and reproductive hormone levels in young men.

STUDY QUESTION Is consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) associated with semen quality? SUMMARY ANSWER Higher consumption of SSB was associated with lower sperm motility among healthy, young men. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The existing literature on the potential role of SSBs on male reproductive function is scarce and primarily focused on the relation between caffeinated beverages and semen quality. However, a rodent model suggests that SSBs may hamper male fertility. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION The Rochester Young Men's Study; a cross-sectional study of 189 healthy young men carried out at the University of Rochester during 2009-2010. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Men aged 18-22 years provided semen and blood samples, underwent a physical examination and completed a previously validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Linear regression was used to analyze the association of SSBs with sperm parameters and reproductive hormone levels while adjusting for potential confounders. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE SSB intake was inversely related to progressive sperm motility. Men in the highest quartile of SSB intake (≥1.3 serving/day) had 9.8 (95% CI: 1.9,17.8) percentage units lower progressive sperm motility than men in the lowest quartile of intake (<0.2 serving/day) (P, trend = 0.03). This association was stronger among lean men (P, trend = 0.005) but absent among overweight or obese men (P, trend = 0.98). SSB intake was unrelated to other semen quality parameters or reproductive hormones levels. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION As in all cross-sectional studies, causal inference is limited. An additional problem is that only single semen sample was obtained from each subject. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS To our knowledge, this is the first report on the relation between SSB intake and low semen quality beyond the contribution of caffeinated beverages. While our findings are in agreement with recent experimental data in rodents, more studies are required to draw conclusions on the relation of SSB with semen quality or male infertility. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) Supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Program (Environment), 'Developmental Effects of Environment on Reproductive Health' (DEER) grant 212844. Grant P30 DK046200 and Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award T32 DK007703-16 and T32HD060454 from the National Institutes of Health. None of the authors has any conflicts of interest to declare.
The Effects of TMT Faultlines and CEO-TMT Power Disparity on Competitive Behavior and Firm Performance

Although upper echelons scholars have drawn from the demographic faultlines concept to study top management team (TMT) subgroup dynamics, the effects of TMT faultlines on competitive behavior and performance outcomes have not been well documented. To gain greater insight, we develop a model that connects TMT faultlines, CEO-TMT power disparity, competitive behavior, and firm performance. We hypothesize that TMT faultlines and CEO-TMT power disparity jointly determine a firm’s competitive aggressiveness and simplicity, and these two competitive behaviors influence firm performance. Using a sample of 295 U.S. firms in 146 industries from 2000 to 2013, our findings indicate that (a) TMTs with strong faultlines take fewer and simpler competitive actions, and CEO-TMT power disparity further worsens the negative effect on the volume of competitive actions, and (b) fewer and simpler competitive actions benefit short-term firm performance; however, they hurt the long-term firm performance trend. These findings contribute to the upper echelons and competitive dynamics research and suggest important managerial implications.
The Evaluation of Eudragit Microcapsules Manufactured by Solvent Evaporation Using USP Apparatus 1

The objectives of this study were to prepare microcapsules containing verapamil and propranolol and to evaluate the kinetics and mechanism of drug release from the microcapsules using USP Apparatus 1. The effects of polymer concentration and polymer type on the cumulative amount of drug released were evaluated. The microcapsules were manufactured using Eudragit RS and RL polymers by solvent evaporation with the ultimate aim of prolonging drug release. Twenty-four formulations were prepared using different drug/polymer ratios. The effects of polymer type and polymer/drug ratios on the size, flow properties, surface morphology, and the release characteristics of the microcapsules were examined. The effects of drug inclusion methods on drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, and release properties of the complex microcapsules were also investigated. The formulations containing drug/polymer ratio 1:4 (w/w) were the most appropriate with respect to encapsulation efficiency (70%), flow properties (HR = 1.2), drug loading (15–20%), and drug release characteristics, in all cases. The release kinetics from the different formulations followed mainly a diffusion-controlled mechanism.
Financial behavior and well-being of young adults : effects of self-control and optimism

Author Joonas Hirvonen Title Financial behavior and well-being of young adults: effects of self-control and optimism Subject Economics Type of work Master’s thesis Date 04.10. 2018 Number of pages 61+4 To help people to make better financial decisions, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence financial behavior. Similarly, to improve financial well-being, it is important to know the factors related to it. This thesis aims to investigate the roles of self-control and optimism behind financial behavior and financial well-being. Moreover, this thesis explores the possibility of an asuntosäästöpalkkio (ASP) account to work as a self-control mechanism. For this study, an online survey was conducted and a sample of 903 participants was gathered. The survey included questions on demographics and regarding ASP accounts, scales measuring self-control, optimism, financial behavior, financial literacy, financial anxiety and financial security. The sample consisted of young Finnish adults (aged 18-29) studying at the university of Jyväskylä. The findings in this thesis present self-control to be positively related to financial behavior and financial well-being. There is a significant positive relationship between optimism and financial well-being. Furthermore, financial literacy is not related to financial behavior, but it is negatively related to financial anxiety; therefore, it is positively related to financial well-being. An interesting finding was a gender effect. The results show women to have lower lever of financial well-being than men. The results suggest that an ASP account could work as a self-control mechanism, since participants who had an ASP account saved more frequently than the ones without. In sum, the findings in this thesis highlight the significant role of psychological factors, namely self-control and optimism, behind financial behavior and well-being.
Rapid Implementation of an Integrated Large-Scale HIV Counseling and Testing, Malaria, and Diarrhea Prevention Campaign in Rural Kenya

Background Integrated disease prevention in low resource settings can increase coverage, equity and efficiency in controlling high burden infectious diseases. A public-private partnership with the Ministry of Health, CDC, Vestergaard Frandsen and CHF International implemented a one-week integrated multi-disease prevention campaign. Method Residents of Lurambi, Western Kenya were eligible for participation. The aim was to offer services to at least 80% of those aged 15–49. 31 temporary sites in strategically dispersed locations offered: HIV counseling and testing, 60 male condoms, an insecticide-treated bednet, a household water filter for women or an individual filter for men, and for those testing positive, a 3-month supply of cotrimoxazole and referral for follow-up care and treatment. Findings Over 7 days, 47,311 people attended the campaign with a 96% uptake of the multi-disease preventive package. Of these, 99.7% were tested for HIV (87% in the target 15–49 age group); 80% had previously never tested. 4% of those tested were positive, 61% were women (5% of women and 3% of men), 6% had median CD4 counts of 541 cell/µL (IQR; 356, 754). 386 certified counselors attended to an average 17 participants per day, consistent with recommended national figures for mass campaigns. Among women, HIV infection varied by age, and was more likely with an ended marriage (e.g. widowed vs. never married, OR.3.91; 95% CI. 2.87–5.34), and lack of occupation. In men, quantitatively stronger relationships were found (e.g. widowed vs. never married, OR.7.0; 95% CI. 3.5–13.9). Always using condoms with a non-steady partner was more common among HIV-infected women participants who knew their status compared to those who did not (OR.5.4 95% CI. 2.3–12.8). Conclusion Through integrated campaigns it is feasible to efficiently cover large proportions of eligible adults in rural underserved communities with multiple disease preventive services simultaneously achieving various national and international health development goals.
Applying Systemic Design to the study of ‘ emotion ’

Emotion has proved a difficult concept for researchers to explain. This is principally due to both terminological and methodological problems. Systemic Design is a methodology which has been developed and used for studying emotion in an attempt to resolve these difficulties, providing a step toward a complete understanding of ‘emotional phenomena’. This paper discusses the application of this methodology to study the three mammalian behavioural control systems proposed by Gray (1990). The computer simulation presented here models a rat in the Kamin (1957) avoidance experiment for two reasons: firstly, to demonstrate how Gray’s systems can form a large part of the explanation of what is happening in this experiment (which has proved difficult for researchers to do so far), and secondly, as avoidance behaviour and its associated architectural concomitance are related to many so called ‘emotional states’.
Why Latin@s Become Greek: Exploring Why Latin@s Join Latino Greek-Letter Organizations

This study explored the reasons Latin@s join Latino fraternities and Latina sororities at a university in the southwestern United States. Via a phenomenological approach, it uncovered the unique placement of Latino Greek-letter organizations and their role in the success of Latin@ students by embodying the intersectionality of academics, social interaction, accountability, community service, cultural congruency, and brotherhood/sisterhood. Findings highlight the concepts of social isolation, navigation, sense of belonging, Latino culture, and “Not Greek. Latin@ Greek. ”
Tracking object life cycle for leakage energy optimization

The focus of this work is on utilizing the state of objects during their lifespan in optimizing the leakage energy consumed in the data caches when executing embedded Java applications. Our analysis reveals that a major portion of the leakage energy is actually wasted in retaining the objects beyond their last use. In order to eliminate this wastage, we investigate three approaches that use the garbage collector, escape analysis and last use analysis for reducing leakage energy. Finally, we track the access gap between successive object accesses to reduce leakage energy of live objects. A combination of these schemes is shown to provide 21% data cache leakage energy reduction in our default configuration.
Recent trends in solving the deterministic resource constrained Project Scheduling Problem

The classical resource-constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP), a well-known NP-hard problem in scheduling, is one of the most extensively investigated problems in operations research. It has been attracting considerable attention from academia and industry for several decades. Recently, a number of new and promising meta-heuristic approaches for solving the RCPSP problem have emerged. In this paper, we provide a detailed review of the most recent approaches for solving the RCPSP that have been proposed in literature. In particular, we present a comparison, classification and analysis, based on a number of relevant metrics. Extensive numerical results based on well-known benchmark problem instance sets of size J30, J60 and J120 from Project Scheduling Problem Library (PSPLIB), as well as comparisons among state-of-the-art hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches for solving the RCPSP of various scales.
Quality measurement experiments within the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

The general goal of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is to improve general circulation and related models of the atmosphere for global and regional prediction (DOE 1990). To achieve this goal, ARM is collecting a prodigious volume of data at its first Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) facility in the Southern Great Plains. Because data must be of {open_quotes}known and reasonable{close_quotes} quality, quality measurement experiments (QMEs) are a critical part of the ARM quality assessment program. In this paper, we describe the general theory behind the QMEs, explain how they are implemented in the CART data environment, and give a brief synopsis of those implemented to date.
HUBUNGAN ANTARA LEADER MEMBER EXCHANGE DAN PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL PADA PERAWAT RUMAH SAKIT JIWA

Hospitals can provide maximum service if the psychological condition of the nurse is positive. Psychological capital is a positive attitude in the nurse characterized by hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism. Leaders who implement leader member exchange will have a positive interaction with their members. This study aims to determine the relationship between leader member exchange with pychological capital in mental hospital nurses. The population of this study is nurses RSJD Dr. Amino Gondohutomo. The sample of 70 nurses selected using cluster random sampling technique. Data collection uses two scales: psychological capital scale (42 valid items, α = .960) and leader exchange member scale (26 valid items, α = .919). The result shows correlation coefficient (rxy) = . 800 with p = value (p <.001). These results indicate that the hypothesis proposed by the researcher is proved, that there is a significant positive relationship between variable of leader member exchange with psychological capital. The more positive the leader member exchange the higher the psychological capital. The effective contribution given in this study in amount of 64% and 36% affected by other factors not measured in this study.
Image segmentation towards natural clusters

To find how many clusters in a sample set is an old yet unsolved problem in unsupervised clustering. Many segmentation methods require the user to specify the number of regions in the image or some delicate thresholds to get a sensible segmentation. In this paper, we propose a segmentation method that is able to automatically determine the number of regions in an image. The method effectively discerns distinct regions by analyzing the properties of the joint boundary between neighboring regions. By requiring that every region should be distinct from each other, it is able to choose a natural partition from the partition set which contains all possible partitions. Results are given at the end of this paper to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
The role of Confucianism in the formation of psychological contracts: Evidence from China

We investigated the role of cultural factors in the formation of psychological contracts in a Chinese context, on the basis that psychological contracts are different in different cultures. In particular, we considered Confucianism, which can govern the formation of psychological contracts in an Asian context. As people with different personalities make different psychological contracts, we hypothesized that the Asian-specific factor of Confucianism would moderate the relationship between 3 personality factors, namely, neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness, and the formation of psychological contracts. Thus, we surveyed 217 people employed in organizations in China, and found a moderating effect of Confucianism on the relationship between conscientiousness and relational psychological contracts. These findings suggest that when Confucianism is internalized, the Chinese workplace environment can be effectively managed by relational psychological contracts. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
User-Assisted Acquisition , Processing and Rendering of Material from Images

The acquisition of complex realistic models of reflective properties of materials and there photorealistic interactive rendering are still significant problems of computer graphics. The complexity of these problems is connected with the structural and reflectance properties of materials, which determine the human perception of this material. Nowadays there are a lot of methods for solving this problem [1]. In this paper we propose an image-based method which uses intuitively obvious user interaction and can robustly determine different material models of the surface of the object. For each material the proposed algorithm can construct the determinative Phong model that best fits reflective properties for this material. High-quality material models of real objects can be acquired using relatively little amount of input data. The presented system accurately reproduces reflective properties of objects and afterwards allows interactive rendering of objects with applied constructed materials. Note that the geometry shape reconstruction of the objects is not considered in this work.
Exposing Ourselves: Displaying our Cultural Assets for Public Consumption

This paper discusses an early stage project to develop a new, enhanced interface for Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Digital Collections website. We describe the current state of the portal and outline some of the unique issues observed when examining user engagement. A major factor in our development of enhanced search tools will be to leverage the entities present in the documents to establish more reliable connections between items in the collection. Not only do we expect that this will lead to better ranked search results, but we also wish to investigate how these entities may be used to encourage site visitors to explore the site beyond their initial research goal. The early stage of this project means that plans are still being finalised. Hence we speculate about other methods which may be applied to this corpus.
Efficient Dynamic Index Structure for Natural Number Intensive Application

range of indexing techniques exists in the world of relational database. Speed of data insertion & retrieval depends on the type of query and available Indexing mechanism. Prevalent mechanisms lack in terms of space- time efficiency and simple structure, for real time applications where the database system needs to handle queries like equality search & range search. Even for simple tasks like getting data by ID, a system imposes heavy resource utilization. For example, Applications such as, telephone directory, transaction information details in banking, status about railway reservation etc., backed with relational database system that employs complex structure like B-Tree or B + - Tree. Hence in such cases, instead of those complex structures, if some lighter technique can be used, which can greatly enhance the overall performance in terms of memory usage and simpler in terms of working & implementation. The paper presents how the Proposed Technique can significantly impact the overall performance, if applied as Primary Indexing method for range search & equality search queries.