Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural modulation of p53TAD1-TAZ2 complex upon mutations and post-translational modification

Abstract The tumour suppressing p53 is a target for genetic alterations in human cancer. Native p53, found in latent state in cells, gets activated following various intracellular or extracellular responses. It plays imperative role in cell-cycle control, via growth-arrest, DNA repair and apoptosis, mainly regulated by post-translational modifications (PTM). However, the influence of PTMs on the activity of p53 is still under extensive experimental and computational study. There are numerous PTM sites in p53, which are reported to regulate its binding affinities with other proteins. Of the many, Thr18 at transactivational domain (TAD) of p53 is reported to amplify p53 activity upon phosphorylation. To understand the molecular basis of p53 recognition by its binding partner upon mutations and PTMs, we have exploited all atom molecular dynamic (MD) simulation of p53TAD1 bound to TAZ2 domain of p300. The MD simulation inferred that phosphorylated and mutated Thr18, as a phospho-mimic, bound with TAZ2, redistributed the charge environment of the interface, thereby modulating the stronger interactions with TAZ2 to enhance the binding efficiency. The electrostatic interactions due to different charge environment together with H-bonding and hydrophobic interaction dictate diverse binding approach between the two. The results of this computational study further explain the importance of the Thr18 as a PTM site in atomistic detail, hence shedding further light to the understanding of how PTMs are imperative for p53 activity to protect the cellular world. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
Who Carries the Burden of the Value-Added Tax? Evidence from Germany

The value-added tax is one of the most important tax revenue sources in many countries. However, it is sometimes considered unfair as it ultimately hits consumption, and poorer households spend a greater share of their income on consumption. But this depends on whether, and to what degree, the value-added tax is actually passed on to consumers. Exploiting an exogenous value-added tax reform in Germany, I use an event study and a differences-in-differences approach to investigate the pass-through to consumers for a wide range of commodities. On average, I find a modestly positive but statistically insignificant effect on prices. However, there are differences in tax incidence between commodity groups and anticipatory price effects well in advance of the actual implementation of the value-added tax reform.
Strain regulated interlayer coupling in WSe2/WS2 heterobilayer

Strain engineering can effectively modify the materials lattice parameters at atomic scale, hence it has become an efficient method for tuning the physical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. The study of the strain regulated interlayer coupling is deserved for different kinds of heterostructures. Here, we systematically studied the strain engineering of WSe2/WS2 heterostructures as well as their constituent monolayers. The measured Raman and photoluminescence spectra demonstrate that the strain can evidently modulate the phonon energy and exciton emission of monolayer WSe2 and WS2 as well as the WSe2/WS2 heterostructures. The tensile strain can tune the electronic band structure of WSe2/WS2 heterostructure, as well as enhance the interlayer coupling. It is further revealed that the photoluminescence intensity ratio of WS2 to WSe2 in our WSe2/WS2 heterobilayer increases monotonically with tensile strain. These findings can broaden the understanding and practical application of strain engineering in 2D materials with nanometer-scale resolution.
The contribution of economics to understanding environmental cost: A case study of the Libyan cement industry, 1988-2008

This study considers how an increase in production costs following an action to reduce environmental pollution would be shared between the producer and the consumer. As such, it makes an interesting contribution to the literature on environmental economics by discussing, and modelling, how such a cost increase would be shared between the producer and the consumer. Producers might be more willing to undertake pollution control given that they are more than likely not going to have to bear all of the control cost. Consumers would bear some of that through a price increase. They would need to recognise that they should accept some of the responsibility for pollution control through higher prices that contribute to the cost of installing ‘cleaner’ production methods. The method used in the study is a descriptive and analytical (time series analysis and the application of microeconomic analysis tools) to determine the potential effects of environmental policy on the case study company. In essence, the study calculates price elasticities of demand and supply and applies an appropriate value for the cost of environmental improvement. Then the relative elasticities are used to determine producer and consumer shares of the cost increase. The student has selected one of the major cement producers in Libya – the Ahlia Cement Company and studied four of their cement manufacturing plants. He spent three months working with the plant managers to compile a database of costs and revenue; this data being previously unavailable in this form. Data was collected for the period, 1988-2008. The environmental cost used in the estimation is drawn from their company accounts. The study starts by setting the world context for cement production, and pollution, and then puts Libyan environmental policy into that wider context. It then concentrates on the four separate cement manufacturing plants within the Ahlia Cement Company. The specific lessons that can be drawn for managing environmental improvements in the Libyan cement industry can be extended somewhat to other Libyan industries and the wider global environment.
Offshore fatigue design turbulence

Fatigue damage on wind turbines is mainly caused by stochastic loading originating from turbulence. While onshore sites display large differences in terrain topology, and thereby also in turbulence conditions, offshore sites are far more homogeneous, as the majority of them are likely to be associated with shallow water areas. However, despite this fact, specific recommendations on offshore turbulence intensities, applicable for fatigue design purposes, are lacking in the present IEC code. This article presents specific guidelines for such loading. These guidelines are based on the statistical analysis of a large number of wind data originating from two Danish shallow water offshore sites. The turbulence standard deviation depends on the mean wind speed, upstream conditions, measuring height and thermal convection. Defining a population of turbulence standard deviations, at a given measuring position, uniquely by the mean wind speed, variations in upstream conditions and atmospheric stability will appear as variability of the turbulence standard deviation. Distributions of such turbulence standard deviations, conditioned on the mean wind speed, are quantified by fitting the measured data to logarithmic Gaussian distributions. By combining a simple heuristic load model with the parametrized conditional probability density functions of the turbulence standard deviations, an empirical offshore design turbulence intensity is determined. For pure stochastic loading (as associated with standstill situations), the design turbulence intensity yields a fatigue damage equal to the average fatigue damage caused by the distributed turbulence intensity. If the stochastic loading is combined with a periodic deterministic loading (as in the normal operating situation), the proposed design turbulence intensity is shown to be conservative. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spray-Dried Paracetamol/Polyvinylpyrrolidone Amorphous Solid Dispersions: Part I—Stability of Powders and Tablets

The formulation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) is a promising approach to improve the bioavailability of poorly soluble compounds. However, problems often arise in the production of tablets from ASDs regarding the compressibility and recrystallization of the API. In the present study, the preparation of spray-dried ASDs of paracetamol (PCM) and four different types of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and their further processing into tablets were investigated. The influence of PVP type on the glass transition temperature (Tg) and the physical stability of ASD powders were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). ASD powders with 10 to 30% PCM were stable for at least 48 weeks. PCM contents of 40 to 50% led to recrystallization of the amorphous PCM within a few days or weeks. ASD with PVP/vinyl acetate (VA) copolymer (PVP/VA) was the most unstable and tended to recrystallize in PCM polymorphic form II. This formulation was therefore used for tablet studies. The influence of compression force on recrystallization, crushing strength, and drug release was investigated. Even high compression forces did not affect the stability of the ASD. However, the ASD tablets led to slow release of the API.
OPTIMAL TUNING OF A PRACTICAL DIGITAL PID CONTROLLER

Abstract Optimal Tuning of a practical digital PID controller is studied by using the performance indices such as ITAE. IAE. ITSE, and ISE. A simplex searching method that uses the flexible polyhedron is used to find the optimal parameters in the controller. Tuning relations for each of the controller parameters are correlated into the forms that have been used by C.L. Smith and his co-workers. That is: P = A(θ/γ)B or P = A(θ/γ) + B. It is noted that the present tuning relations are more practical in determinations of PID parameters when digital computers or micro-processors are used to implement the practical PID control. For control practice, the use of the existing tuning relations without precautions may result in poor performance in some cases.
All-optical loop mirror switch employing an asymmetric amplifier/attenuator combination

For the first time a report is made on a loop mirror switch containing the nonreciprocal combination of a semiconductor laser amplifier and an optical attenuator. Self-routing of optical pulses has been demonstrated on 10 ns pulses with powers of <250 μW, within a 17 m loop. The model predicts the form of the switching.
Wideband unidirectional patch antenna with Γ-shaped strip feed

A wideband unidirectional patch antenna composed of a shorted bowtie dipole with Γ-shaped feed and an L-shaped electric dipole is designed. It achieves an impedance bandwidth of 87% for VSWR ≤ 2 in the range 2.2-5.6 GHz, stable peak gain of around 7 dBi, unidirectional radiation patterns and low cross-polarisation over the whole operating band. It is sufficient for accommodating recent wireless communication services such as 3G, WiFi, WiMax, Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc.
Improving Matching Accuracy of Underwater Gravity Matching Navigation Based on Iterative Optimal Annulus Point Method with a Novel Grid Topology

In this study, we improve the matching accuracy of underwater gravity matching navigation. Firstly, the Iterative Optimal Annulus Point (IOAP) method with a novel grid topology is proposed for breaking through the inherent grid structure limit of the canonical gravity matching algorithm and enhancing its underwater gravity matching accuracy. The theory of IOAP is as follows: (1) small-annulus matching and positioning mechanism on the tracking starting point is developed by employing the starting point and drift error of the INS (Inertial Navigation System), the fixed rotation angle, etc. The optimal matching location of the starting point is obtained by matching and comparing the matched points in this small-annulus grid, which contributes to heightening the initial-position error insensitivity of the algorithms. (2) Variable-angle three-layer annulus matching and positioning mechanisms on the tracking ending point were constructed by using the optimal matching location of the starting point and combining the tracking direction-and-distance information of the INS and the cumulative drift error, etc. It is used to generate the annulus matching points with the ring-type grid topology. (3) The optimal matching position of the ending point in this annulus is obtained by iteratively calculating the evaluation index value of the matching points and following the evaluation index optimal rule. Secondly, we comprehensively consider the main performance evaluation indexes of the underwater gravity matching algorithms, such as the statistical indicators of the matching accuracy, the average matching time and the matching success rate, and take them as a basis of the pros and cons of the matching analysis. Furthermore, under conditions that include different scale searching regions or different reference-angle ring radii, the statistical results verify that the IOAP had a different matching ability and better robustness. Finally, several trajectories with the starting points from different areas and the ending points in different gravity ranges are tested and compared to carry out the numerical simulations. These results indicate that the IOAP has many advantages, such as a high matching accuracy and strong positioning applicability in different gravity regions. Compared with the TERCOM (terrain contour matching algorithm), its average matching accuracy was the highest, increased by 40.39%.
Reliability indexed sensor fusion for vehicle longitudinal and lateral velocity estimation

In this paper, a new estimation technique, reliability indexed sensor fusion (RISF), is proposed. The proposed RISF technique uses noise covariances as the reliability index in an adaptive Kalman filter framework. The uniform boundedness of the RISF is proved and the RISF technique is applied to the vehicle longitudinal and lateral velocity estimation. Multiple sensors, such as the wheel speed sensors, the accelerometers, the yaw rate sensor, and the steering angle sensor, are used for the velocity estimation. Test results show the accuracy of the proposed RISF technique.
KEEP OUR MEMORIES: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS CO-DESIGN GRADUATION ALBUM VIDEOS USING GOOGLE+

This paper describes an across-classroom participatory design. The students, as stakeholders, shared photos, participated in discussions and group-designed their graduation album videos using Google+ in a primary school. This design activity spanned over two and a half months, and data were collected from a number of sources, such as the content of the Google+ site, comments posted by the students, questionnaires and interviews. The findings indicated that this pioneering practice helps the students to develop various generic skills such as IT and design skills, collaboration skills, and organisational skills. The study also highlighted the students’ perspectives and the enhanced student responsibility and also demonstrated that the Google+ functionality has the potential to improve the students’ engagement and boost their design activity through their visible accomplishment. The conclusions reached by this study were that giving the students a dominant role in an across-classroom collaboration design activity using social networking can be useful for developing a diverse range of student capabilities and can play a significant role in their learning.
Elevated temperature relieves phosphorus limitation of marine unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria

The warming ocean is expected to be more phosphorus (P) limited due to increasing stratification. P is a major limiting nutrient of marine diazotrophs, while the interactive effect of temperature elevation and P limitation on marine unicellular diazotrophs is unknown. Here, we examined the physiology of a major unicellular diazotroph, Crocosphaera watsonii, grown under P‐limited and P‐replete conditions at 25°C, 28°C, and 31°C. Growth, N2, and CO2 fixation rates of C. watsonii increased with temperature under P limitation, and growth rates were similar between P‐limited and P‐replete treatments at 31°C. At high temperature, the P use efficiencies for N2 and CO2 fixation under P limitation were more than twice higher than under P‐replete conditions. Expression of genes involved in P acquisition, intracellular recycling, and substitution in C. watsonii was upregulated at higher temperature under P limitation. These results suggest that P limitation in C. watsonii was relieved with elevated temperature through various temperature‐dependent economic strategies on P metabolism. Through meta‐analysis of a field data set using general additive model, we found that C. watsonii abundance was correlated mainly with temperature and phosphate, and predicted to increase significantly with further warming.
Transport Weight Reduction through MDO: The Strut-Braced Wing Transonic Transport

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) has been used to investigate the use of anew concept for a transonic transport, the strut-braced wing. The incorporation of a strutinto more traditional transonic transport concepts required the application of computationaldesign techniques that had been developed at Virginia Tech over the previous decade.Formalized MDO methods were required to reveal the benefits of the tightly coupledinteraction between the wing structural weight and the aerodynamic performance. Toperform this study, a suite of approximate analysis tools was assembled into a complete,conceptual-level MDO code. A typical mission of the Boeing 777-200IGW was chosen as thedesign mission profile. Several single-strut configurations were optimized for minimumtakeoff gross weight, with the best single-strut configuration showing a nearly20% reductionin takeoff gross weight, a 29% reduction in fuel weight, a 28% increase in the lift-to-dragratio, and a 41% increase in seat-miles per gallon relative to a comparable cantileverconfiguration. The use of aeroelastic tailoring in the design illustrated ways to obtain furtherbenefits. The paper synthesizes the results of the five-year effort, and concludes with adiscussion of the effects various constraints have on the design, and lessons learned oncomputational design during the project.
Vegetative propagation of Ficus benjamina using non-sterile sand and hardwood cuttings

Ficus benjamina a multipurpose tree, used as fodder, firewood, and for shade in Asia and Africa. With an objective to identify a low cost rooting medium for farm-grown cuttings a comparative experiment was conducted to compare the effect of: 1) 100% non-sterile sand (S), 2) a mixture of 50% sand and 50% commercial media (M), and 3) commercial media (CM) on root and shoot growth using three replicates of 16 cuttings per plot in a randomised complete block design. A single wound was made in the cambium layer, using a sharp knife, and then treated with 0.3% indolebutyric acid (IBA). Cuttings were maintained under controlled temperature of 20 to 24 o C in a heat bed, where the mist was regulated for a 10-second spray every five minutes throughout the experiment. The root and the shoot growth were recorded 55 days after planting. Number of surviving roots and leaves did not differ between media. Length of the longest root (5.3, 7.8, and 7.0 ± 0.45 mm) and number of new leaves (1.2, 3.2 and 3.0 ± 0.23 leaves in treatment S, M, and CM respectively) were lower in the sand treatment. It is concluded that unwashed sand provides a satisfactory medium for establishing cuttings of Ficus plants in farm conditions.
Flexible, Biocompatible PET Sheets: a Platform for Attachment, Proliferation and Differentiation of Eukaryotic Cells

Transparent, flexible, biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheets were modified by bioactive polymer-fibronectin top layers for the attachment of cells and growth of muscle fibers. Towards this end, PET sheets were grafted with 4-(dimethylamino)phenyl (DMA) groups from the in situ generated corresponding diazonium compound. The arylated sheets served as macro-hydrogen donors for benzophenone and the growth of poly(2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) top layer by surface-confined free radical photopolymerization. The PET-PHEMA sheets were further grafted with fibronectin (FBN) through the 1,1-carbonyldiimidazole coupling procedures. The bioactive PET-PHEMA-I-FBN was then employed as a platform for the attachment, proliferation and differentiation of eukaryotic cells which after a few days gave remarkable muscle fibers, of ~120 µm length and ~45 µm thickness. We demonstrate that PET-PHEMA yields a fast growth of cells followed by muscle fibers of excellent levels of differentiation compared to pristine PET or standard microscope glass slides. The positive effect is exacerbated by crosslinking PHEMA chains with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate at initial HEMA/EGDMA concentration ratio = 9/1. This works conclusively shows that in situ generated diazonium salts provide aryl layers for the efficient UV-induced grafting of biocompatible coating that beneficially serve as platform for cell attachment and growth of muscle fibers. Beyond this work, diazonium coupling agents constitute the corner stone of next generation processes for building flexible platforms for cell adhesion and uses thereof.
Characterization of a no-flow underfill encapsulant during the solder reflow process

A challenge in flip-chip technology development is to improve the thermo-mechanical reliability of the flip-chip assembly. To increase reliability, an underfill encapsulant is applied to the gap between IC chip and substrate to provide thermal-mechanical protection as well as environmental protection to the assembly. Two processes for applying the underfill encapsulant to the gap between IC chip and substrate can be described as the fast-flow method and the no-flow (reflowable underfill) method. The fast-flow method is currently the most widely used method. The no-flow method is a new innovative method that provides cost savings. In order to develop novel underfill encapsulants for the no-flow process, a better understanding of the underfill properties during the solder reflow is needed. This paper studies two aspects of the No-Flow underfill: fluxing activity and viscosity during reflow. These two aspects are important for proper interconnect formation. Solder wetting studies were conducted by applying the no-flow underfill on top of solder beads on substrates of different metallizations. The samples were then placed in a 7-zone reflow oven on different eutectic type heating cycles. Cross sections of the samples were taken and the angle the solder makes with the substrate was determined. The viscosity of the underfill during reflow is important to allow proper solder interconnects. To acquire the viscosity of the underfill just before, during, and shortly after the solder reflow temperature, a no-flow underfill encapsulant developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology was studied. Samples of this underfill were placed in a 5-zone reflow oven on a standard eutectic cycle and taken out at different points. The samples were then analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to find the % conversion (amount of cure) of the underfill material. These % conversions were then used to find the complex viscosity at different points in the reflow process. In this paper, we present the experimental procedures and results of the No-Flow underfill's fluxing abilities and viscosity during reflow heating conditions.
High performance RF integrated passive devices on thick oxide substrate using Cu‐BCB process

In this paper, we develop a low‐cost manufacturing technology for RF substrate and a high‐performance process technology for integrated passive devices by electrochemically forming thick oxide on Si wafer and processing Cu thick metal and BCB. Several integrated passive devices such as LPF, BPF, and balun are fabricated using this technology and they show good RF performance in spite of their small chip size. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 37: 49–52, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10821