Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proteomic Analysis of Vibrio cholerae in Human Stool

ABSTRACT An effective vaccine for Vibrio cholerae is not yet available for use in the developing world, where the burden of cholera disease is highest. Characterizing the proteins that are expressed by V. cholerae in the human host environment may provide insight into the pathogenesis of cholera and assist with the development of an improved vaccine. We analyzed the V. cholerae proteins present in the stools of 32 patients with clinical cholera. The V. cholerae outer membrane porin, OmpU, was identified in all of the human stool samples, and many V. cholerae proteins were repeatedly identified in separate patient samples. The majority of V. cholerae proteins identified in human stool are involved in protein synthesis and energy metabolism. A number of proteins involved in the pathogenesis of cholera, including the A and B subunits of cholera toxin and the toxin-coregulated pilus, were identified in human stool. In a subset of stool specimens, we also assessed which in vivo expressed V. cholerae proteins were recognized uniquely by convalescent-phase as opposed to acute-phase serum from cholera patients. We identified a number of these in vivo expressed proteins as immunogenic during human infection. To our knowledge, this is the first characterization of the proteome of a pathogenic bacteria recovered from a natural host.
Financial Reporting for Employee Stock Options: The Importance of Differentiating Compensation from Proceeds

Prior research finds a negative relation between outstanding employee stock options (ESOs) and common equity risk, suggesting that outstanding ESOs share characteristics with equity rather than liabilities. We extend this research to examine whether this relation is attributable to (1) the expected value of the cash proceeds to be received upon ESO exercise (“ESO-Proceeds”), or (2) the expected value of compensation to be paid to ESO holders for services provided (“ESO-Compensation”). This distinction is important because the question of whether outstanding ESOs share characteristics with liabilities or equity inherently pertains to ESO-Compensation, not ESO-Proceeds. Our findings indicate that the negative relation observed in prior research is attributable to ESO-Proceeds rather than ESO-Compensation, which is inconsistent with ESOs possessing characteristics of equity. Our study illustrates the importance of differentiating ESO-Compensation from ESO-Proceeds when addressing financial reporting questions related to outstanding ESOs.
Synthesis of ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate at the myosin-subfragment 1 active site.

Experiments on the synthesis of ATP from ADP and Pi bound at the active site of the myosin S1 fragment show that the rate limiting step in the ATPase mechanism at 23 °C is associated with a surprisingly low equilibrium constant (about 16 at pH 8.). This, together with the dissociation constant of Pi from the S1 · ADP complex (about 10 mM) obtained from these measurements, and the previously measured rate constants for this system indicate that the dissociation constant of ATP is extremely small, probably in the region of 0.10 pM.
Systematic Review of Public Value

Public value is a new and important concept in the field of public administration. A large number of researchers has focused on the concept of public value during the last 10 years or so. This concept gives a new idea of public management with the theme of peopleâ€™s first approach to facilitate them. Public value creation is the main concern of public managers in todayâ€™s public sector organizations. This paper presents a systematic literature review of 413 articles published on the topic of public value in Scopus index journals from 1995 to 2018. A large number of articles on public value shows the importance of the concept of public value. This systematic literature review reveals that most of the work on public value has been done in developed countries like USA, UK, Australia, and Netherland and developing countries are far behind on the research of public value.
A Novel Family of Transporters Mediating the Transport of Glutathione Derivatives in Plants1

Uptake and compartmentation of reduced glutathione (GSH), oxidized glutathione (GSSG), and glutathione conjugates are important for many functions including sulfur transport, resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses, and developmental processes. Complementation of a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) mutant (hgt1) deficient in glutathione transport was used to characterize a glutathione transporter cDNA (OsGT1) from rice (Oryza sativa). The 2.58-kb full-length cDNA (AF393848, gi 27497095), which was obtained by screening of a cDNA library and 5′-rapid amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction, contains an open reading frame encoding a 766-amino acid protein. Complementation of the hgt1 yeast mutant strain with the OsGT1 cDNA restored growth on a medium containing GSH as the sole sulfur source. The strain expressing OsGT1 mediated [3H]GSH uptake, and this uptake was significantly competed not only by unlabeled GSSG and GS conjugates but also by some amino acids and peptides, suggesting a wide substrate specificity. OsGT1 may be involved in the retrieval of GSSG, GS conjugates, and nitrogen-containing peptides from the cell wall.
Target-specific cytotoxic activity of recombinant immunotoxin scFv(MUC1)-ETA on breast carcinoma cells and primary breast tumors

MUC1 is a mucin family protein, overexpressed in more than 90% of breast cancers in an underglycosylated form, exposing the core peptides of the extracellular domain that act as a potential target for antibody-mediated therapy. We have developed an anti-MUC1 scFv antibody from a phage library of mice immunized with synthetic peptide MUC1-variable number of tandem repeats. MUC1 binding phages were affinity selected through biopanning using a biotin-streptavidin pull-down method. The selected phage clones showed target-specific binding to MUC1-expressing cells. Fusion of truncated Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (ETA) to a high binder, phage-derived scFv clone and bacterial expression and purification of recombinant scFv(MUC1)-ETA immunotoxin were done with good yield and purity. In vitro target-specific cytotoxic activity and target-specific binding of immunotoxin were shown on MUC1-expressing cells and primary breast tumor samples. A truncated ETA fusion protein expressed from the same vector but lacking scFv did not show cytotoxic effects, confirming target specificity. Our results suggest that the scFv(MUC1)-ETA immunotoxin has therapeutic potential and deserves further development and characterization for MUC1-specific breast cancers treatment. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(2):562–9]
The Evolving Market Structure of the U.S. Residential Solar PV Installation Industry, 2000-2016

Market structure refers to the number of firms and the distribution of market shares among firms within an industry. In The Evolving Market Structure of the U.S. Residential Solar PV Installation Industry, 2000–2016, we examine market structure in the context of residential solar PV. We find that over 8,000 companies installed at least one residential PV system between 2010 and 2016, and about 2,900 companies were active in 2016. Most residential PV installers are relatively small companies, with about half of installers having installed fewer than five systems in that period. At the same time, a subset of high-volume installers accumulated market share, especially beginning around 2010 with the emergence of alternative customer financing options.
Marginalisation and the self: the case of temporary and scattered 'careers' in higher education

Marginalisation and the self: the case of temporary and scattered 'careers' in higher education 12/01/2004 1 Introduction The intention of this study is to address issues arising out of the temporary and scattered work practices associated with professional workers employed to teach in Higher Education but who are subject to very precarious and unregulated contractual terms. The objective features of this form of employment seem to indicate a strong potential for the workers to be marginalised and to have very uncertain career futures relative to others in the organisation doing similar work. This study draws on the concept of identity to interpret the narratives of individuals working in these roles. This study i s based on a small number of cases but these cases exhibit considerable heterogenosity and demonstrate that narrowly drawn typologies are inappropriate to describe the orientations and identities of such workers. Therefore we contend that the findings make a useful contribution to the debate about the consequences of non-standard work on individuals and society. Background The level of regulation of employment in the UK is lower than most of the European Union member states. Although the implementation of recent EU Directives has extended parity of treatment between those on different types of employment contracts, the weak nature of employment protection in the UK permits employers to use temporary or such contracts as zero hours, part-time with no minimum hours, at will (Dex and McCulloch, 1997). A considerable proportion of UK employment is non-standard, i.e. employment other than a full time, permanent contract for the employing organisation. A large proportion of new jobs have been of this type. Women occupy a disproportionate share of such employment with the exception of self-employment. Most non-standard workers are part-time, 44% of women in employment and 8% of men in employment (EOC, 2002a). Temporary employment levels are lower than most EU countries. After a sharp rise in the number of temporary contracts in the decade up until 1997 the figure has declined slightly to 6.6% of all employees, 7.6% of women and 6.3 % of men 1. Although the most common form of temporary work, fixed term contracts, are predominantly full-time roles for men (not so for women where 51% of those on fixed term contracts are part-time), a clear majority of those in casual and seasonal employment are part-time (Purcell, 2000). The distribution of part-time and temporary work i s uneven. …
Formation energy and lattice relaxation for point defects in Li and Al.

Calculations were performed for both a vacancy and an Al solute atom in bcc Li and for a vacancy in fcc Al. The purpose of this work was (i) to test optimization algorithms that allow a unified determination of ground-state electronic structure and lattice relaxation, and (ii) to compare calculated properties with experiment and with previous pair-potential simulations. 16- and 54-site supercells were employed in the Li-host calculations and a 32-site supercell was employed for the Al vacancy. The self-consistent Kohn-Sham orbitals, expanded in a plane-wave basis, were obtained using the modified steepest-descents algorithm of Williams and Soler and the band-by-band iteration method of Teter, Payne, and Allan. Electron-ion interactions were represented by generalized norm-conserving psuedopotentials cast in separable form. The relative performance of the two optimization algorithms is discussed. The equilibrium lattice relaxation was calculated by the Newton-Raphson method, with the Hessian matrix determined from numerical derivatives of the Hellman-Feynman forces. Calculated vacancy-formation energies are in excellent agreement with experiment.
Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Software

With the increasing role played by software in supporting our society, its sustainability and environmental impact have become major factors in the development and operation of software-intensive systems. Myths and beliefs hide the real truth behind Green IT: IT is energy-inefficient because software is developed to make it so - intentionally or not. But how far are we from being able to control software energy-efficiency? What makes software greener? How can we transform measuring software energy consumption in a general practice? What architectural design decisions will result in more sustainable systems? How can we ensure that new-generation software will be both cloud-ready and environmental-friendly? and How can we make evident the economic and social impact of developing software with 'energy in mind'? These are a few of the challenges ahead for a more sustainable digital society. This talk will discuss them, hence drawing directions for exciting challenges, promising opportunities, and ultimately inspiring research.
Coronary Calcium Quantification Using Various Calibration Phantoms and Scoring Thresholds

Rationale and Objectives:To compare scoring threshold and calibration method-dependent accuracy and variability of coronary calcium measurements by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Methods:Ninety-five subjects were scanned with MDCT. We calculated Agatston score and volume score. Mineral mass (MM) was calculated using patient-based and scanner-based calibration methods. Accuracy of calibration was validated using artificial calcium cylinders. Results:Patient-based and scanner-based calibration permitted accurate quantification of artificial calcium cylinders (bias: 0 mg and −2 mg). In the subjects, the mean relative difference of MM measurements performed at 90 and 130 Hounsfield units threshold (59%) was lower than for Agatston score (94%) and volume score (109%; P < 0.05). Patient-based and scanner-based calibration yielded systematically different MM measurements (bias: 22%). Conclusions:MM lowers threshold-dependent variability of coronary calcium measurements. Patient-based and scanner-based calibration allows accurate calcium quantification ex vivo but reveal systematic differences in subjects. Patient-based calibration may better account for subject size and composition.
Classifier models and architectures for EEG-based neonatal seizure detection

Neonatal seizures are the most common neurological emergency in the neonatal period and are associated with a poor long-term outcome. Early detection and treatment may improve prognosis. This paper aims to develop an optimal set of parameters and a comprehensive scheme for patient-independent multi-channel EEG-based neonatal seizure detection. We employed a dataset containing 411 neonatal seizures. The dataset consists of multi-channel EEG recordings with a mean duration of 14.8 h from 17 neonatal patients. Early-integration and late-integration classifier architectures were considered for the combination of information across EEG channels. Three classifier models based on linear discriminants, quadratic discriminants and regularized discriminants were employed. Furthermore, the effect of electrode montage was considered. The best performing seizure detection system was found to be an early integration configuration employing a regularized discriminant classifier model. A referential EEG montage was found to outperform the more standard bipolar electrode montage for automated neonatal seizure detection. A cross-fold validation estimate of the classifier performance for the best performing system yielded 81.03% of seizures correctly detected with a false detection rate of 3.82%. With post-processing, the false detection rate was reduced to 1.30% with 59.49% of seizures correctly detected. These results represent a comprehensive illustration that robust reliable patient-independent neonatal seizure detection is possible using multi-channel EEG.
IKs blockade in border zone arrhythmias from guinea‐pig ventricular myocardium submitted to simulated ischemia and reperfusion

I Ks blockade might be a promising way to treat tachyarrhythmia because of the accumulation of activated potassium channels. However, IKs blockade during ischemia/reperfusion has not been investigated. Thus, the electrophysiological effects of two IKs blockers, chromanol 293B (10 μm) and HMR 1556 (1 μm), were assessed in an in vitro model of border zone between normal and ischemic/reperfused right ventricular myocardium from guinea‐pigs, and classic electrophysiological parameters and the incidence of arrhythmias were studied. HMR 1556 and chromanol 293B exhibited slight conventional class III effects on action potential duration in the normal zone (NZ) (APD90: −2 ± 5%, not significant (NS); +6 ± 3%, NS; and +5 ± 1%, P < 0.05, respectively, in control, HMR 1556, and chromanol 293B groups) but failed to oppose its decrease after 30 min of simulated ischemic superfusion (APD90: −52 ± 5%, P < 0.01; −64 ± 5%, P < 0.01; and −61 ± 3%, P < 0.01, respectively, in control, HMR 1556, and chromanol 293B groups), leading to repolarization dispersion between normal and ischemic zones. Chromanol 293B and HMR 1556 prolonged APD90 during reperfusion, respectively, by +11 ± 1%, P < 0.01 and +25 ± 4%, P < 0.01 in the NZ and by +13 ± 3%, NS and +31 ± 2%, P < 0.01 in the simulated ischemic zone. Both compounds exhibited neutral arrhythmogenic effects during ischemia or reperfusion. Thus, IKs blockade was neutral on the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias during ischemia and reperfusion in guinea‐pig ventricular tissue.
Human transformer-2-beta gene (SFRS10): complete nucleotide sequence, chromosomal localization, and generation of a tissue-specific isoform.

Htra2-beta is a human homologue of Drosophila transformer-2 and a member of the SR-like protein family. Here we report the isolation and characterization of the complete htra2-beta gene (HGMW-approved symbol SFRS10). The gene spans 21,232 bp and is composed of 10 exons and 9 introns. Radiation hybrid mapping localized the gene to chromosome 3q. The region upstream of the transcription initiation codon contains an Alu element and several potential transcription factor binding sites. RT-PCR and comparison with EST clones revealed five different RNA isoforms generated by alternative splicing. These isoforms encode three diverging open reading frames, and two of these, htra2-beta3 and htra2-beta4, lack the first SR domain. Htra2-beta3 is developmentally regulated and expressed predominantly in brain, liver testis, and weakly in kidney. Furthermore, the domain structure of htra2-beta3 resembles a variant found in the Drosophila male germline, indicating a remarkable conservation of alternative transformer-2 variants. Finally, we show that htra2-beta3 is expressed in the nucleus and interacts with a subset of SR proteins in a yeast two-hybrid system and in vivo.
Applications of Ozone, Bacteriocins and Irradiation in Food Processing: A Review

An article is presented describing the background information on the use of ozone, bacteriocins and irradiation for destroying pathogens in food products. Their effectiveness on some pathogens of importance in food processing systems and issues of concern are highlighted. It could be concluded that although each one has the potential for use as an alternative preservation technology in specific food processing applications, no single method, except irradiation, is likely to be effective against all food spoilage and food poisoning microorganisms in all food matrices. However, the synergistic effect of one of these methods and other ‘hurdles’ or modes of food preservations could be used to ensure the microbial safety and prevention of the development of undesirable sensory and chemical changes in some food products. Bacteriocins may contribute an additional barrier in the ‘hurdle concept’ of food safety.
Evaluation of cognitive behavioural training and physical activity for patients with stress-related illnesses: a randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of a cognitive behavioural training programme and a physical activity programme for patients with stress-related illnesses. DESIGN In a randomized controlled study, patients were allocated randomly to 1 of 3 groups, where group 1 participated in a cognitive behavioural training programme, group 2 participated in a physical activity programme, and group 3, the control group, was offered usual care for the course of the study. SUBJECTS A total of 75 patients participated in the study. They had been on sick leave for at least 50% of the time for between 1 month and 2 years due to stress-related illnesses. METHODS Measurements of autonomic activity, pressure-pain thresholds and subjective ratings of health and behaviour were made before and after a 10-week intervention period, and at 6 and 12 months after the intervention. RESULTS Minor differences in autonomic activity and pressure-pain thresholds were found between the groups immediately after the intervention. At the 6- and 12-month follow-up assessments, the differences were no longer present. Patients in the cognitive behavioural training group improved their ratings of general health compared with the physical activity group throughout the study. CONCLUSION The study showed little difference in the effect of cognitive behavioural training and physical activity, compared with usual care, for patients with stress-related illnesses.
Current status of Plasmodium vivax vaccine

From a total of 2.6 billion people at permanent risk of suffering malaria infection worldwide, 80-300 million experience Plasmodium vivax infections every year, with clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to mild and chronic infection that in some cases lead to severe disease and death. The increasing P. vivax drug resistance and reports of severe and lethal cases, the relapsing parasite behavior and the existence of Plasmodium spp co-infections must prompt more investment and greater efforts for the development of P. vivax vaccine. Currently there are only two P. vivax vaccine candidates being tested in clinical trials and few others are being assessed in preclinical studies which contrast with the numerous P. falciparum vaccines candidates under evaluation. The recent availability of the P. vivax genome and ongoing proteomic analysis are likely to accelerate P. vivax vaccine development. Recent development of human sporozoite-challenge models would contribute to move clinical development forward and to identify mechanisms of immunity.
Corporate Disclosure on Combating Bribery: A Study of Two Global Companies in the Telecommunication Industry

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of media scrutiny and a networked governance of National and International Government Organisation (IGOs) on the extent of voluntary corporate disclosure in the global telecommunication sector in response to incidents of corporate bribery. Design/Methodology/Approach: An anti-bribery disclosure categorisation index was developed from various anti-bribery guidelines developed by IGOs to collect and analyse the data used in this study. This study relied on a content analysis of news media articles, corporate annual reports and standalone sustainability reports (from 1995-2010) of two global telecommunication companies [Alcatel-Lucent — a French based global company; Siemens AG — a German based global company], to understand corporate performance disclosures on combating corporate bribery. Findings: The findings underpinned by a joint consideration of legitimacy theory, media agenda setting theory and responsive regulation theory, show that the change in corporate disclosures on combating bribery were positively associated with the extent of negative media attention and the movement of IGOs in combating corporate bribery in global corporations. A system of networkedgovernance with IGOs appears to have a significant influence on international business practice. Originality/Value: In the context of the literature on social accounting, this is believed to be the first known study to document and understand the trend in anti-bribery related performance disclosures and the influence of external stakeholders on such practices. *Corresponding author School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia: Ph: 61 3 9244 6523; Fax: 61 3 9244 6283. Email: azizul.islam@deakin.edu. au