Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of the active conformation and the importance of length of the flexible loop 72-83 in regulating the conformational change of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate synthase.

Increasing evidence has shown that intrinsic disorder of proteins plays a key role in their biological functions. In the case of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate synthase (UPPs), which catalyzes the chain elongation of farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) to undecaprenyl pyrophosphate via eight consecutive condensation reactions with isopentenyl pyrophosphate, a highly flexible loop 72-83 was previously linked to protein conformational change required for catalysis [Chen, Y. H. , Chen, A. P.-C. , Chen, C. T. , Wang, A. H. -J., and Liang, P. H. , (2002) J. Biol. Chem. 277, 7369-7376]. The crystal structure and fluorescence studies suggested that the alpha3 helix connected to the loop moves toward the active site when the substrate is bound. To identify the active conformation and study the role of the loop for conformational change, the UPPs mutants with amino acids inserted into or deleted from the loop were examined. The inserted mutant with extra Ala residues fails to display the intrinsic fluorescence quenching upon FPP binding, and its crystal structure reveals only the open form. These phenomena appear to be different from the wild-type enzyme in which open and closed conformers were observed and suggest that the extended loop fails to pull the alpha3 helix and/or the extra amino acids in the loop cause steric hindrance on the alpha3 helix movement. The loop-shortening mutants with deletion of V82 and S83 or S72 also adopt an open conformation with the loop stretched, although they show decreased intrinsic fluorescence with FPP bound, similar to that seen in the wild-type enzyme. We conclude that the closed conformation is apparently the active conformation. Change of the length of the loop 72-83 impairs the ability of conformational change and causes remarkably lower activity of UPPs.
Effect of resting heart rate on two-year clinical outcomes of high-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

AIMS Resting heart rate (HRate) is a modifiable risk factor among patients with cardiovascular disease, including aortic stenosis (AS). However, the effect of resting HRate on clinical outcomes of patients with severe symptomatic AS undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is unknown. Our aim was therefore to assess the effect of resting HRate on clinical outcomes among high-risk patients with symptomatic severe AS in normal sinus rhythm (NSR) undergoing TAVI. METHODS AND RESULTS Of 606 consecutive patients undergoing TAVI, 349 (57.6%) with severe AS and a baseline 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) showing NSR undergoing TAVI were analysed. Patients were dichotomised into low HRate (LHR; <77 beats per minute [bpm]) and high HRate (HHR; ≥77 bpm) groups. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality at two years. As compared with baseline LHR, no significant differences in all-cause mortality at two years (adjusted [adj] hazard ratio [HR] 1.23, p=0.40) were observed among patients with baseline HHR. Of 197 patients with available discharge ECGs remaining in NSR, mean HRate significantly increased among LHR patients (∆HRate 8.35, p<0.001) but decreased among HHR patients (∆HRate -4.88, p<0.001). On thirty-day landmark analysis, discharge HHR was significantly associated with two-year all-cause mortality (HR 2.30, 95% CI: 1.16-4.56, p=0.017), but not after extensive adjustment for comorbidities (adj HR 2.01, 95% CI: 0.98-4.09, p=0.056). A significant interaction for two-year mortality (p-interaction 0.021) was observed on landmark analysis for discharge, but not baseline, HHR. CONCLUSIONS Baseline and discharge resting HRate were not associated with adverse outcomes after TAVI.
Robust decentralized abstractions for multiple mobile manipulators

This paper addresses the problem of decentralized abstractions for multiple mobile manipulators with 2nd order dynamics. In particular, we propose decentralized controllers for the navigation of each agent among predefined regions of interest in the workspace, while guaranteeing at the same time inter-agent collision avoidance and connectivity maintenance for a subset of initially connected agents. In that way, the motion of the coupled multi-agent system is abstracted into multiple finite transition systems for each agent, which are then suitable for the application of temporal logic-based high level plans. The proposed methodology is decentralized, since each agent uses local information based on limited sensing capabilities. Finally, simulation studies verify the validity of the approach.
Political theory and international relations

Charles Beitz rejects two highly influential conceptions of international theory as empirically inaccurate and theoretically misleading. In one, international relations is a Hobbesian state of nature in which moral judgments are entirely inappropriate, and in the other, states are analogous to persons in domestic society in having rights of autonomy that insulate them from external moral assessment and political interference. Beitz postulates that a theory of international politics should include a revised principle of state autonomy based on the justice of a state's domestic institutions, and a principle of international distributive justice to establish a fair division of resources and wealth among persons situated in diverse national societies.
Discriminative BoW Framework for Mobile Landmark Recognition

This paper proposes a new soft bag-of-words (BoW) method for mobile landmark recognition based on discriminative learning of image patches. Conventional BoW methods often consider the patches/regions in the images as equally important for learning. Amongst the few existing works that consider the discriminative information of the patches, they mainly focus on selecting the representative patches for training, and discard the others. This binary hard selection approach results in underutilization of the information available, as some discarded patches may still contain useful discriminative information. Further, not all the selected patches will contribute equally to the learning process. In view of this, this paper presents a new discriminative soft BoW approach for mobile landmark recognition. The main contribution of the method is that the representative and discriminative information of the landmark is learned at three levels: patches, images, and codewords. The patch discriminative information for each landmark is first learned and incorporated through vector quantization to generate soft BoW histograms. Coupled with the learned representative information of the images and codewords, these histograms are used to train an ensemble of classifiers using fuzzy support vector machine. Experimental results on two different datasets show that the proposed method is effective in mobile landmark recognition.
Sex Offender Risk Assessments in the Child Protection Context. Helpful or Not?

When a convicted or alleged child sex offender is living, or having contact, with his own children or stepchildren, the obvious worry is that these children are victims or will become victims of sexual abuse. One way of determining the risk of this occurring is for the convicted or alleged offender to undergo a forensic sex offender risk assessment. In this article I raise questions regarding the usefulness of sex offender risk assessments within the statutory child protection context. Most importantly, I ask whether static and dynamic risk assessment instruments can accurately predict the risk an alleged or convicted sex offender poses to his own children. I conclude that ‘high’, ‘moderate’, and ‘low’ risk outcomes of forensic sex offender risk assessments in the child protection context are unreliable and can result in error, and explain that these errors have consequences that, within the child protection context, have consequences that can be dangerous to children.
Doing more with less? Flexible working practices and the intensification of work

This article examines an unanticipated consequence of adopting flexible working practices — that of work intensification. Based on a study of professional workers and in line with other studies, we present evidence showing that flexible workers record higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment than their non-flexible counterparts. However, we also report evidence of work intensification being experienced by both those who work reduced hours and those who work remotely. We identify three means by which this intensification occurs — imposed intensification, enabled intensification and intensification as an act of reciprocation or exchange. We argue that the apparent paradox of high job satisfaction and organizational commitment, alongside work intensification can be explained by employees trading flexibility for effort. Using social exchange theory we propose that employees respond to the ability to work flexibly by exerting additional effort, in order to return benefit to their employer.
A minimal source-synchronous interface

We present a novel implementation of source synchronous communication for communication between clock domains within a SOC. Our design appears to the designer as a latch with two clock inputs, one from the transmitter and the other from the receiver. Our circuit is simple and provides a skew tolerance of nearly two clock periods. The analog dynamics of our circuit provide a simple initialization mechanism that maximizes the robustness of the interface to skew variations.
An Instinct for Detection: Psychological Perspectives on CCTV Surveillance

The aim of this article is to inform and stimulate a proactive, multidisciplinary approach to research and development in surveillance-based detective work. In this article we review some of the key psychological issues and phenomena that practitioners should be aware of. We look at how human performance can be explained with reference to our biological and evolutionary legacy. We show how critical viewing conditions can be in determining whether observers detect or overlook criminal activity in video material. We examine situations where performance can be surprisingly poor, and cover situations where, even once confronted with evidence of these detection deficits, observers still underestimate their susceptibility to them. Finally we explain why the emergence of these relatively recent research themes presents an opportunity for police and law enforcement agencies to set a new, multidisciplinary research agenda focused on relevant and pressing issues of national and international importance.
Computer-supported collaborative work and its application to software engineering

From the inception of software development, computer professionals have been searching for ways 10 produce quality systems while simultaneously reducing time and monetary expenditures. Three techniques being examined in the t%rtherance of this goal are teamwork, computer supported cooperative work (CSCW), and computerassisted software engineering (CASE). Through the utilization of each technique, the potential exists for improving productivity, quality, and the firm’s competitive position. Collectively, the combination of the three appears extremely promising and yet little is known about the effects of their integration.
Incentive Effects of the U.S. Welfare System: A Review

The author would like to acknowledge support for prior work on this topic from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and helpful comments from three anonymous referees, Rebecca Blank, Howard Chernick, John Fitzgerald, Irwin Garfinkel, Peter Gottschalk, Edward Gramlich, David Greenberg, Judith Gueron, James Heckman, V. Joseph Hotz, Robert Hutchens, Michael Keane, Frank Levy, Larry Mead, Michael Murray, Robert Plotnick, Anuradha Rangarajan, Philip Robins, Howard Rolston, Jeffrey Smith, and Daniel Weinberg. All opinions and errors are those of the author alone.
Categories of Category Accessibility: The Impact of Trait Concept versus Exemplar Priming on Person Judgments ☆

Social cognition and judgment research addressing the impact of category accessibility on person judgments suggests that this impact may depend on the kind of information that is activated. Some priming stimuli (trait concepts, nonperson exemplars) are more likely to exert their influence during the interpretation stage of impression formation. Other priming stimuli (person exemplars) may especially exert their effects during judgment because they are sufficiently similar to the target to serve as a relevant comparison standard. It is posited that when primed category information is used as an interpretation frame, assimilative judgments of ambiguous stimuli are more likely. When category information is used as a comparison standard, contrastive judgments of both ambiguous and well-known stimuli are more likely, provided the primed information is sufficiently extreme. In four studies we test these hypotheses and further specifications by manipulating the comparison relevance and distinctness of the priming stimuli (trait concepts, person exemplars, nonperson exemplars), the extremity of the priming stimuli (moderate, extreme), and the ambiguity of the target stimuli (ambiguous, well known). Implications of these results for previous and future research on knowledge accessibility are discussed.
It's really out there: A review of the critique of the discovery view of opportunities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the recent critique of the discovery view of opportunities and by implication the current state of the so-called creation view of opportunities. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic review of articles published from 2000-2010 which feature a critique of the discovery view of opportunities. The review uses an open coding approach to identify central themes in the critique. Four central themes are identified, and from within-theme patterns three distinct groups within the literature are identified. Findings – The four themes suggest that the discovery view is incomplete, that social and relational interactions are more pervading and important than the discovery view suggests, that opportunities are created and that the role of individuality and subjectivity needs to be emphasized more. Three distinct groups within the literature are identified, each presenting different critiques of the discovery view, theoretical foci and implications for method and practice. Furthermore, the discussion suggests that the opportunity concept is a focal point for important debates in the entrepreneurship field, that the creation view is diverse and should not be referred to in the singular and that seeking reconciliation between the discovery and creation views is a problematic strategy. Finally, it is suggested that a continued dialog exploring differences both between the discovery and creation views as well as between the creation views is a fruitful strategy for the development of the field. Originality/value – The article presents a review of both the critique of the discovery view and the so-called creation view, thereby supplementing and advancing from existing reviews of the opportunity concept in entrepreneurship. This furthers our understanding of the role of opportunities in entrepreneurial processes.
New cytotoxic lignan glycosides from Phyllanthus glaucus

During the process of exploring bioactive lead compounds from Phyllanthus species, two new glycosides including an arylnaphthalene lignan, diphyllin 4-O-α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-α-l-arabinopyranoside (1), and a phenolic compound, 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzyl alcohol 7-O-α-l-arabinofuranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-d-glucopyranoside (2), were isolated from the methanol extract of the whole plants of Phyllanthus glaucus Wall. ex Müll. Arg. In addition, 31 known compounds, including 19 lignan derivatives (3–21), four phenylpropanoids (22–25), seven simple phenolics (26–32) and one monoterpenoid (33) were obtained. Their structures were determined on the basis of the HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis, and pre-column derivative/chiral HPLC analysis in case of 1 for the absolute configurations. All these compounds were obtained from P. glaucus for the first time. Moreover, the known lignan glycoside, phyllanthusmin C (5) showed in vitro cytotoxicities against HL-60, MCF-7 and SW480 cells with IC50 values of 9.2 ± 0.2, 19.2 ± 1.7 and 20.5 ± 0.9, respectively.
Decrease of Platelet Activity After Intake of Small Amounts of Eicosapentaenoic Acid in Diabetics

Dear Sir, Recent results have shown the decrease of platelet activity after high quantities intake of fish oil or eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5o3) in normal humans (1-5). On the other hand, platelet hyperactivity has been described in diabetes mellitus by many investigators (6). We have recently found that part of this ,hyperactivity and also the refractoriness of these platelets to inhibitory prostaglandins could be related to a low intraplatelet cAMP level which would induce an increased phospholipase activity (7, 8). This report concerns preliminary results showing a normabzation of certain platelet functions in diabetics after daily intake of only 50 mg arginin salt of 20:5a3 provided by Sopharga Laboratories, Paris for two months. Five patients with diabetes mellitus who had not taken any d*9, except insulin, for at least 10 days before the blood was drawn, were investigated before and after intake of 20:5o3. Platelet aggregation induced by either collagen or arachidonic acid as well as the response to prostaglandin E1 (PGEI) were studied as previously described (7,8). Thromboxane Bz (fiBz) formation after platelet stimulation by thrombin was also investigated as described (9). As shown in Table 1, solely the aggregation induced by collagen was decreased. The arachidonate-induced aggregation was not modified suggesting that only the liberation of endogenous arachidonate under collagen stimulation was altered after the 20:5a3 intake. Besides, the formation of thromboxane 82 after platelet stimulation by thrombin 0.1 U/ml, 4 min. at 37" C was diminished after the 20:5<o3, although non significantly (0.10 + 0.08 versus 0.25 + 0.11 n mole/10e platelets, p(0.10). These findings indicate that the 20:5to3 intake was able to decrease the liberation of endogenous arachidonate under collagen or thrombin stimulation. On the other hand, it was easier to inhibit the collagen-induced aggregation by PGE, after 20:5a3 intake (Table L). The mechanism of inhibition of diabetic platelet hyperactivity by such a low dose of 20:5or3 remains to be established since no
Children's rights and special educational needs: Findings from research conducted for the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People

This article describes recent research conducted on behalf of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People. The study highlights a number of emerging issues including: limited decision-making opportunities for children; statementing and assessment; and other issues specific to mainstream and special schools. The article concludes with an assessment of recent developments and future prospects for children and young people who experience learning difficulties.
Perceiving Discrimination Against One’s Gender Group has Different Implications for Well-Being in Women and Men

Using structural equation modeling, the authors tested theoretical predictions concerning the effects of perceived discrimination against one’s gender on psychological well-being in women and men. Results were highly supportive of the Rejection-Identification Model, with perceptions of discrimination harming psychological well-being among women but not among men. The results also support the Rejection-Identification Model’s prediction that women partially cope with the negative well-being consequences of perceived discrimination by increasing identification with women as a group. In contrast, perceived discrimination was unrelated to group identification among men. The authors found no support for the hypothesis that perceptions of discrimination have self-protective properties among the disadvantaged. Results are consistent with the contention that the differential effects of perceived discrimination among women and men are due to differences in the groups’ relative positions within the social structure.
Identification, Characterization, and Molecular Cloning of a Homologue of the Bacterial FtsH Protease in Chloroplasts of Higher Plants*

In an attempt to identify and characterize chloroplast proteases, we performed an immunological analysis of chloroplasts using an antibody against Escherichia coli FtsH protease, which is an ATP-dependent metalloprotease bound to the cytoplasmic membrane. A cross-reacting protein of 78 kDa was found in the thylakoid membrane of spinach, but not in the soluble stromal fraction. Alkali and high salt washes, as well as trypsin treatment of thylakoid membranes, suggest that the chloroplastic FtsH protein is integral to the membrane, with its hydrophilic portion exposed to the stroma. The protein is not bound to any photosynthetic complex and is exclusively located in the stromally exposed regions of the thylakoid membrane. Its expression is dependent on light, as it is present in green pea seedlings, but absent from etiolated ones. An Arabidopsis cDNA was isolated, and the deduced amino acid sequence demonstrated high similarity to the E. coli FtsH protein, especially in the central region of the protein, containing the ATP- and zinc-binding sites. The product of this clone was capable of import into isolated pea chloroplasts, where it was processed to its mature form and targeted to the thylakoid membrane. The trans-bilayer orientation and lateral location of the FtsH protein in the thylakoid membrane suggest its involvement in the degradation of both soluble stromal proteins and newly inserted or turning-over thylakoid proteins.
An integrated-circuit approach to extracellular microelectrodes.

This paper describes a new multielectrode microprobe which utilizes integrated-circuit fabrication techniques to overcome many of the problems associated with conventional microelectrodes. The probe structure consists of an array of gold electrodes which are supported on a silicon carrier and which project beyond the carrier for a distance of about 50 ? to allow a close approach to active neurons. These electrodes are covered with a thin (0.4-? ) layer of silicon dioxide which is selectively removed at the electrode tips using high-resolution photoengraving techniques to define the recording areas precisely. The processing sequence described permits any two-dimensional electrode array to be realized. Interelectrode spacings can be accurately controlled in the range from 10 to 20 ? or larger, and electrode-tip diameters can be as small as 2 ?