Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular insights into mitochondrial transcription and its role in DNA replication

The mitochondrion is an organelle of the eukaryotic cell responsible for the production of most of the cellular energy-carrying molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP), through the process of oxidative phosphorylation. The mitochondrion contains its own genome, a small circular DNA molecule (mtDNA), encoding essential subunits of the oxidative phosphorylation system. Initiation of mitochondrial transcription involves three proteins, the mitochondrial RNA polymerase, POLRMT, and its two transcription factors, TFAM and TFB2M. Even though the process of transcription has been reconstituted in vitro, a full molecular understanding is still missing. Initiation of mitochondrial DNA replication is believed to be primed by transcription prematurely terminated at a sequence known as CSBII. The mechanisms of replication initiation have however not been fully defined. In this thesis we have studied transcription and replication of mtDNA. In the first part of this thesis we demonstrate that the transcription initiation machinery is recruited in discrete steps. Furthermore, we find that a large domain of POLRMT known as the N-terminal extension is dispensable for transcription initiation, and instead functions in suppressing initiation events from non-promoter DNA. Additionally we demonstrate that TFB2M is the last factor that is recruited to the initiation complex and that it induces melting of the mitochondrial promoters. In this thesis we also demonstrate that POLRMT is a non-processive polymerase that needs the presence of the elongation factor TEFM for processive transcription. TEFM increases the affinity of POLRMT for an elongation-like RNA-DNA template and decreases the probability of premature transcription termination. Our data also suggest that TEFM might be of importance for mitochondrial replication initiation, since it affects termination at CSBII. In the last part of this thesis we study the RNA-DNA hybrids (R-loops) that can be formed by the CSBII terminated transcript. We characterize these R-loops and demonstrate that they can be processed by RNaseH1 to form replicative primers that can be used by the mitochondrial replication machinery.
The Interface of Marketing and Operations Research

The transition of marketing, in the 1960’s, from a focus on distribution processes to a functional area of management, created a lot of opportunities for the use of operations research (OR) in marketing. Originally the direct application of OR techniques to marketing problems was prominent, later marketing models developed as an independent field within marketing itself, but keeping a continuing interface with OR. We discuss the most important areas where OR has been influential in marketing: optimization, stochastic processes, and decision support systems. More recently, the customer-centric approach in marketing has caused a renewed need for the use of OR-methods in marketing, especially in the areas of customer relationship management (CRM), online marketing and viral marketing.
Modelling glottal source information for depression detection

Detection of depression based on speech signal alone is a challenging problem. Inspired from recent works on direct modelling of raw waveform for speech processing, this paper investigates automatic modelling of glottal source information from speech signal using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to detect depression. Since this task is challenging, in addition to raw speech modelling, we investigate modelling of linear prediction residual signal and zero frequency filtered (ZFF) signal. Experimental studies on AVEC 2016 challenge data set show that depression can be better modelled using ZFF signal with low complexity than using raw speech signal or linear prediction residual. Furthermore, the resulting system is better than or comparable to state-of-the-art system based on low level descriptors.
Supporting Registration and Treatment of Clubfoot using Mobile Devices

In current congenital clubfoot treatment, clinicians use paper forms to register and monitor the treatment process. Routines for registration and archiving are scarce, and the guideline for treating clubfoot is not always followed strictly. This paper presents a PDA-based system (GenSupport) that can support the registration of patient information, supervise the treatment process, as well as provide advice during treatment. GenSupport has been evaluated in order to investigate the perceived usefulness of such a system. The evaluation results indicate that GenSupport has the possibility of improving the routines for registration and archiving of patient information as well as supporting the treatment of clubfoot. The advice provided by GenSupport was perceived particularly useful for inexperienced clinicians.
Neurobiological Evidence for the Antisuicidal Effect of Lithium: A brief review

The introduction of lithium as a treatment for mania in 1949 (Cade, 1949) has been referred to as “the beginning of modern clinical psychopharmacology” (Rybakowski, 2010). Lithium's antisuicidal properties were first hypothesized (Barraclough, 1972) based on observation of its prophylactic effect in recurrent affective disorders (Angst et al., 1970), (Coppen et al., 1971). Since then, numerous studies have examined the effect of lithium on clinical manifestations of the spectrum of suicidal behavior. However, the resulting body of knowledge has not translated into unanimous recommendations in current clinical guidelines. This review summarizes major findings concerning the neurobiological evidence of lithium's antisuicidal effect and discusses how that evidence can be incorporated into clinical practice. Studies reviewed herein do not include every published study focused on the putative antisuicidal effects of lithium; rather, we have reviewed the major studies, reviews and meta-analyses in the literature. While the main indication for lithium remains the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder (BPD), its capacity to lower suicide risk has been studied in the broader spectrum of major affective disorders (MADs), both for methodological reasons and because of what has been described as a continuum between recurrent unipolar depression and BPD (Cassano et al., 2004). Therefore this review is not limited to published results on bipolar disorder exclusively.
How to evaluate quality of care from the perspective of people with dementia: An overview of the literature

This article reviews the literature on the inclusion of the perspective of people with dementia when evaluating quality of care. The few identified relevant studies suggest that there is consensus that people with mild to moderate dementia are able to talk about their experiences with care with clarity and insight. A minimum level of orientation to place, attention and language skills in the person with dementia are important for a successful subjective evaluation. On the basis of the relevant literature, we additionally formulated practical guidelines useful when one aims to collect information with interviewing, self-administered questionnaires, or focus groups from people with dementia to assess quality of care. In people with mild to moderate dementia, assessment of quality of care can best be done by individual interviewing and focus groups. Further research is needed to ascertain what people with dementia find important in relation to quality of care.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NURSES’ ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AND SERVICES QUALITY

Background: Organizational commitment and its significant impact on the job satisfaction and performance has been the subject of many studies. Regarding the importance of organizational behavior and its role in service quality, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between nurses’ organizational commitment and hospital services in order to improve its quality. Methods: This study was a cross sectional survey and a total of 149 nurses and 237 patients from inpatient wards of hospitals affiliated to Tehran Social Security Organization were selected through cluster sampling. To collect data, two standard questionnaires (organizational commitment and quality of service) were used. Statistical analysis was performed using Spearman and Pearson correlation test Results: Our findings indicated that the nurses’ organizational commitment was moderate (x=3.02 out of 5) and service quality was higher than average, Continuance (r=0.3, P=0.04), affective (r=0.33, P=0.03), normative commitment (r=0.34, P=0.05), and overall commitment (r=0.35, P=0.04) were significantly related to total service quality. Conclusion: The enhancement of normative commitment through emphasis upon organizational values and recruitment, as well as enhancement of continuance commitment through career promotion methods and equal assessment will improve the service quality in hospitals. A B S T R A C T
Presidential Approval and Public Security in Mexico's War on Crime

Abstract To fight criminal organizations effectively, governments require support from significant segments of society. Citizen support provides important leverage for executives, allowing them to continue their policies. Yet winning citizens' hearts and minds is not easy. Public security is a deeply complex issue. Responsibility is shared among different levels of government; information is highly mediated by mass media and individual acquaintances; and security has a strong effect on peoples' emotions, since it threatens to affect their most valuable assets—life and property. How do citizens translate their assessments of public security into presidential approval? To answer this question, this study develops explicit theoretical insights into the conditions under which different dimensions of public security affect presidential approval. The arguments are tested using Mexico as a case study.
The Design Enterprise: Rethinking the HCI Education Paradigm

1 J. Hollan, E. Hutchins, and D. Kirsh, “Distributed Cognition: Toward a New Foundation for Human-Computer Interaction Research,” ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 7:2 (2000): 174–196. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Interaction design (ID): The phrase “interaction design” has evolved out of a growing need to recognize the role that “design” plays in the development of emerging technologies. ID includes a special consideration for the complexity of the features, functions, and capabilities that newer technologies bring to the user. Although interaction design draws upon the traditional theories and practices of HCI and interface design, it clearly emphasizes human-centered design as the primary model upon which to secure the goals and preferences most desired by users. Hence, designers often consider interaction design as a discipline that places more emphasis on user experience (referred to as “user experience design”) and the processes of designing for both human and system behavior to better solve interaction problems that users confront on a daily basis. As opposed to traditional HCI professionals, who hold degrees in computer science and cognitive psychology, interaction designers are often from traditional backgrounds in visual communication and industrial design. In this paper, the author is using the term HCI in the broadest sense to speak to both HCI and interaction design educators and professionals. 5 HCI Models, Theories, and Frameworks: Toward a New Multidisciplinary Science, J. M. Carroll, ed. (San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann, 2003). Introduction
Chinese government as a determinant of corporate environmental reporting: a study of large Chinese listed companies

This study explores the extent and nature of environmental information disclosed in the annual reports of large Chinese listed companies, and the extent to which large Chinese listed companies adopt the use of corporate environmental reporting. The results show that environmental reporting in China is increasing but the average amount of disclosure is still low. Environmental content disclosed in annual reports tends to be general, declarative and positive in nature. Company characteristics including company size, profitability, industry and ownership are the determinants of environmental disclosure in China. Through examining environmental reporting in China, this study provides a better picture of environmental disclosure in China. The major contribution of this study is to reveal that, in a centralised economy, government plays an important role in influencing corporate environmental reporting practices.
Sociaal ondernemerschap: een inleiding voor onderzoek en onderwijs

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Expanding the Process of Lifestyle Modification: From Physician to Exercise Physiologist

Expanding the Process of Lifestyle Modification: From Physician to Exercise Physiologist R ecent advances in technology, medicine, preventive strategies, and rehabilitation have resulted in a reduction of deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in bothmen andwomen (7). Although focus has been on technological advances and the increased use of pharmacotherapy during the past decade as the major contributors to the decline in CVD-related deaths, the incorporation of exercise and lifestyle activity into contemporary medical treatment plans also has played a significant role in the progress seen to date. These efforts include a multifactorial approach, which includes a comprehensive lifestyle modification program and exercise intervention. Despite the identified benefits of lifestyle modification and physical activity, most Americans continue to lead a sedentary lifestyle (1).
Detection rate of Pneumococcal Pneumonia using the Urine Antigen Kit BinaxNow Streptococcus Pneumoniae Test : a Prospective Cohort Study in a Tertiary Hospital in Malaysia

Background: Pneumococcal pneumonia is the commonest type of bacterial pneumonia worldwide. In Malaysia, the reported incidence of pneumococcal pneumonia is low. This may be due to poor sensitivity of conventional methods. The use of BinaxNOW, a urinary antigen test for Streptococcus pneumoniae can aid in the diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia. Objective: To determine the detection rate of pneumococcal pneumonia using BinaxNOW kit and to compare this with the conventional culture method for blood and sputum. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study involving patients 18 year-old and above admitted for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or health-care associated pneumonia (HCAP) to UKMMC between December 2011 and June 2012. BinaxNOW test, serology for Mycoplasma, Legionella and Chlamydia and cultures from blood/sputum/other respiratory tract samples and other routine investigations were performed. Results: A total of 102 patients were recruited; 89 (87.3%) with CAP, 13 (12.7%) with HCAP. 57 (55.9%) had pneumonia of unknown aetiology, 11 patients (10.8%) had positive blood cultures, 8 patients (7.8%) had a positive urine BinaxNOW test and 6 patients (5.9%) had positive sputum cultures. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the commonest isolate accounting for 9 cases (8.8%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae in 7 cases (6.9%). 8 out of 9 patients with positive urine BinaxNOW test had negative cultures for Streptococcus pneumoniae. One patient grew Streptococcus pneumoniae from the tracheal aspirate however the urine BinaxNOW test was negative. Conclusion: The use of urine BinaxNOW kit in UKMMC increased the detection rate of pneumococcal pneumonia in hospitalized patients.
The limits to global‐warming mitigation by terrestrial carbon removal

Massive near‐term greenhouse gas emissions reduction is a precondition for staying “well below 2°C” global warming as envisaged by the Paris Agreement. Furthermore, extensive terrestrial carbon dioxide removal (tCDR) through managed biomass growth and subsequent carbon capture and storage is required to avoid temperature “overshoot” in most pertinent scenarios. Here, we address two major issues: First, we calculate the extent of tCDR required to “repair” delayed or insufficient emissions reduction policies unable to prevent global mean temperature rise of 2.5°C or even 4.5°C above pre‐industrial level. Our results show that those tCDR measures are unable to counteract “business‐as‐usual” emissions without eliminating virtually all natural ecosystems. Even if considerable (Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 [RCP4.5]) emissions reductions are assumed, tCDR with 50% storage efficiency requires >1.1 Gha of the most productive agricultural areas or the elimination of >50% of natural forests. In addition, >100 MtN/yr fertilizers would be needed to remove the roughly 320 GtC foreseen in these scenarios. Such interventions would severely compromise food production and/or biosphere functioning. Second, we reanalyze the requirements for achieving the 160–190 GtC tCDR that would complement strong mitigation action (RCP2.6) in order to avoid 2°C overshoot anytime. We find that a combination of high irrigation water input and/or more efficient conversion to stored carbon is necessary. In the face of severe trade‐offs with society and the biosphere, we conclude that large‐scale tCDR is not a viable alternative to aggressive emissions reduction. However, we argue that tCDR might serve as a valuable “supporting actor” for strong mitigation if sustainable schemes are established immediately.
Microcystis genotype succession in relation to microcystin concentrations in freshwater lakes

Potentially toxic Cyanobacteria, like Microcystis, form a serious threat in recreational waters and drinking-water reservoirs. We monitored the population dynamics of toxic and non-toxic Microcystis strains using rRNA of the internal transcribed spacer region in combination with DGGE to determine whether there is a seasonal succession of toxic and non-toxic Microcystis genotypes in freshwater lakes and, if so, whether this succession can explain seasonal dynamics of the toxin microcystin. We studied 3 lakes in The Netherlands, all dominated by Microcystis during summer. Coexistence of several genotypes was observed in all lakes. The seasonal succession in a deep, stratified lake started with a population consisting of several toxic genotypes at the onset of the bloom, which changed into a population dominated by non-toxic genotypes at the end of the bloom. In this lake, the genotype succession clearly accounted for the observed microcystin dynamics. In 2 unstratified lakes, we also observed a seasonal replacement of Microcystis genotypes; however, the relation between genotype succession and microcystin dynamics was less conspicuous, since toxic strains dominated throughout the bloom period. A seasonal succession of different Microcystis genotypes might often be a key mechanism determining microcystin concentrations in Microcystisdominated lakes. Therefore, factors driving the succession of toxic and non-toxic genotypes deserve further study.
Multistage filtration process for efficient treatment of oil-field produced water using ceramic membranes

Abstract Oil and gas industries generate large amounts of wastewater as a byproduct in both onshore and offshore production operations. This wastewater is commonly referred to as “produced water” (PW). PW is very difficult to treat and its characteristics changes by well to well. Treatment of this PW could improve the economic viability of these oil and gas fields and lead to a new source of water for beneficial use. This work describes a research project that evaluated the multistage treatment process of oilfield produced water generated from tank dewatering with different ceramic membranes. The investigations focus on the characterization of permeate flux using various ceramic microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes as potential techniques for efficient treatment of tank dewatering produced water (TDPW). Results for average flux rates, flux degradation, removal of organic substances (measured as TOC) and inorganic substances (measured as the electrical conductivity (.
The greenhouse gas project of Esa's climate change initiative (GHG-CCI) : Overview, achievements and future plans

The GHG-CCI project (http://www.esa-ghg-cci.org/) is one of several projects of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI). The goal of the CCI is to generate and deliver data sets of various satellite-derived Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) in line with GCOS (Global Climate Observing System) requirements. The “ECV Greenhouse Gases” (ECV GHG) is the global distribution of important climate relevant gases – namely atmospheric CO2 and CH4 - with a quality sufficient to obtain information on regional CO2 and CH4 sources and sinks. The main goal of GHG-CCI is to generate long-term highly accurate and precise time series of global near-surface-sensitive satellite observations of CO2 and CH4, i.e., XCO2 and XCH4, starting with the launch of ESA’s ENVISAT satellite. These products are currently retrieved from SCIAMACHY/ENVISAT (2002-2012) and TANSO-FTS/GOSAT (2009-today) nadir mode observations in the near-infrared/shortwave-infrared spectral region. In addition, other sensors (e.g., IASI and MIPAS) and viewing modes (e.g., SCIAMACHY solar occultation) are also considered and in the future also data from other satellites. The GHG-CCI data products and related documentation are freely available via the GHG-CCI website and yearly updates are foreseen. Here we present an overview about the latest data set (Climate Research Data Package No. 2 (CRDP#2)) and summarize key findings from using satellite CO2 and CH4 retrievals to improve our understanding of the natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks of these important atmospheric greenhouse gases. We also shortly mention ongoing activities related to validation and initial user assessment of CRDP#2 and future plans.
Subglacial processes on an Antarctic ice stream bed. 2: Can modelled ice dynamics explain the morphology of mega-scale glacial lineations?

ABSTRACT Mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs) are highly elongate subglacial bedforms associated with ice streaming. However, the link between MSGLs and rapid ice flow is largely qualitative, and there have been few attempts to quantitatively link their formation to ice flow characteristics (e.g. ice velocity, thickness, basal shear stress). We take measurements of MSGLs from a palaeo-ice stream that once occupied Marguerite Trough, Antarctic Peninsula and explore a range of possible correlations with ice dynamics generated from an ensemble of numerical modelling experiments that reproduce the deglaciation of the ice stream. Our results confirm that high mean ice velocities and a weak bed correlate with longer MSGLs. Furthermore, the height of MSGLs are low (2–3 m) where modelled basal shear stress is low, but their height tends to be higher and more variable where basal shear stress is larger. The mean density of MSGLs decreases as ice flux increases. Our analysis further suggests that the length of MSGLs is a function of basal ice velocity and time. Although our data/model correlations confirm the importance of ice velocity in MSGL formation, a significant challenge remains if we are to employ MSGLs as a quantifiable measure of past ice stream velocity.